Jon Rahm arrived at Augusta National as one of the favourites for the Masters. He is now leaving with questions and an admission.
Rahm was five under through 16 holes on Sunday. He was hoping to finish with an emphatic flurry.
But the 2026 Masters was not to be for Jon Rahm.
Rahm’s Struggles at Augusta
Rahm’s approach shot at the 17th landed on the green but rolled off the false front and back into the fairway. This summed up his Masters performance.
He has finished 2-2-1-5-2 in his five starts on LIV Golf this year. All of the Strokes Gained metrics pointed to Rahm’s game being in top shape. His game looked to be back to the level that saw him triumph at Augusta in 2023.
Over the past two seasons, since his move to LIV Golf, Rahm’s major record has been confounding. He has three top 10s in seven starts. Only one — the 2025 PGA Championship — saw him truly contend on the back nine on Sunday.
Rahm didn’t win at all in 2025. That was not on LIV, the DP World Tour or at a major. He said there was a problem in his takeaway that he rectified during a three-month break at the end of 2025 and that he finally felt like himself.
Then came Thursday’s first round. Rahm shot a six-over 78 with zero birdies. He was 11 shots back of the leaders before the sun set. His Masters hopes were effectively dashed after a round where his swing abandoned him.
“It’s a hard golf course,” Rahm said after his first round. “Some of the players might have been able to manage a respectable round, but when you have no feel with the swing whatsoever, it’s just not an easy one.”
Swing Anomaly and Frustration
Rahm hit 20 range balls out of “frustration” on Thursday. He then rebounded with a two-under 70 on Friday to make the cut. But he entered the weekend 16 shots back of Rory McIlroy.
Rahm said “golf is golf”. He brushed off the inquiries about why he was once again not contending at a major. He said an “anomaly” with his swing led to a bad start and, while frustrating, that’s just how golf is sometimes.
- Rahm had zero birdies in the first round.
- He shot a six-over 78 on Thursday.
- He finished the first round 11 shots back of the leaders.
“I came in with the same expectations I come into any other major, any other tournament,” Rahm said after shooting one over on Saturday to book an early morning tee time on Sunday. “Not any higher or lower. If I knew the why [it hasn’t worked out], two things: Probably not going to say it right now, and I would have tried to avoid it if I knew the why I played the way I played so far.”
Rahm went out early on