Jon Rahm casts pale shadow of his former Augusta self in mediocre Masters defence

Jon Rahm is the not first defending champion at the Masters to struggle. Indeed, it has turned into a trend since Tiger Woods became only the third player in history to retain his title 22 years ago.

But there was something about the Spaniard’s demeanour here in the third round that indicated he has seen the Green Jacket replaced with a strait-jacket. Definitely, his controversial comments on Friday evening suggested he has found the playing part of the experience maddening.

At five-over after a 72, Rahm will not feature on this Masters Sunday. A year on from overhauling Brooks Koepka down the stretch for a clinical four-shot win to become the fourth player from his country to don sport’s most famous garment, Rahm has cast a pale shadow of his former Augusta shelf.

No doubt, the critics will look at the respective Rahm build-ups from 2023 and 2024 and claim that he came in undercooked after making that shock move to LIV Golf last December. Last year, he played in eight tournaments (28 rounds), winning three, before arriving in Georgia. This time, he has played in five LIV events (15 rounds), winning none.

Rahm has been defensive about his schedule. “You’re saying like playing a little bit less is a bad thing – which I wouldn’t think it is,” Rahm said in his pre-tournament conference here. “If anything, I feel physically better than I did last year. But then once competition starts, it doesn’t really matter. Once the gun goes off, whatever you feel is out the window; you got to go out there and post a score.”

The trouble is he posted mediocre scores. A 73 and a 76 saw him scrape inside the cut by two shots and Sir Nick Faldo certainly saw the dangers in Rahm’s schedule. The three-time champion focused not so much on the paucity of his competitive activity, but on the strength of the challenge. “He’s been playing resort courses right now in shorts for the last couple of months,” Faldo said. “He hasn’t really been tested.”

Of course, Faldo is in the exclusive of three – with Woods and Jack Nicklaus – who have successfully defended at the National. Considering the limited numbers in the field and the value placed on experience, the Masters should be amenable to the glorious returns. But in those two decades here since Woods won the third of his five jackets, only two have comeback to record a top five – Woods, himself, in 2006 (tied third) and Jordan Spieth in 2016 (tied second).

And in the other 19 Masters in this period, only two other defending champions have finished in the top 10 – Phil Mickelson in 2005 (10th) and Scottie Scheffler in 2023. There have actually been as many missed cuts as top 10s and although it probably does not yet qualify as a curse, it surely is a case of uneasy lies the head that wears the crown at the Champions Dinner?

Is the hoo-ha surrounding that clubhouse soiree to blame, what with the fuss made of the menu and the parade of legends attending in honour of the previous year’s winner? Rahm played this down.

“The Champions Dinner, you just have to work around it,” he said. “You’ve just got to make sure I’m ready at a certain time, which I almost made the mistake of not being on time because so used to not having anything to do on Tuesdays that I scheduled my practice round a little too late. I just hope I make it on time.”

Rahm was punctual and a good time was had by all, despite the LIV elephant in the room. Yet there was one awkward moment when Tom Watson referenced the breakaway league and the ongoing split with the PGA Tour. “I got up and I’m looking around the room, and I’m seeing just a wonderful experience everybody is having,” Watson revealed. “They are jovial. They are having a great time. They are laughing. I said, ‘Ain’t it good to be together again?’  And there was kind of a pall from the joviality, and it quieted down. And then Ray Floyd got up and it was time to leave.”

Rahm has seemed in a sour mood since and his comments on Friday night were viewed as inappropriate for a player in his position. Granted, the conditions were treacherous, but they were playable. However, Rahm believes they might have halted play.

“A couple of times I questioned myself why we were out there, especially when I got to 18 and saw the whole front of the green just full of sand,” he said. “I understand they wanted us to finish. I can imagine they were very close to calling it a few times, especially when we were on 11 green.

“You just put the ball down, and it’s very close to moving. Not only that, how long did it take us to play? Over six hours, just because they had to blow the greens in between groups, and then when you get to a group, people stepping back and back in. It’s just, again, borderline. It was very, very close. It’s about as hard a golf course as I’ve seen in a very long time.”

With the gusts calmed, Saturday’s fare was not as tricky, although Rahm was woefully uninspired. He went out in 37 shots, having bogeyed the seventh and from there reeled off nine pars before his one and only birdie on the 17th. So no birdies in a display devoid of any recognisable elan. Long before he reached the clubhouse, he was resigned to falling short.

So his Green Jacket will have to remain in the champions locker room, as only the reigning champion is allowed to wear it off the premises. Any regrets? “I’m going to regret not wearing it more often,” Rahm said.