Jon Rahm arrived as a Masters favorite. He left with questions and an admission

Jon Rahm stood in the middle of the 17th fairway on Sunday at Augusta National and sent his approach shot soaring toward the pin. The two-time major champion was five under through 16 holes and hoping to finish with an emphatic flurry.

But that was not the story of the 2026 Masters for Jon Rahm.

The ball left his club, and the 2023 champion immediately started barking at it. “Go! Go!” The ball landed on the green but immediately rolled off the false front and back into the fairway. “What the hell?” Rahm muttered while looking back down at the turf.

That has been the story of this Masters for Jon Rahm.

He arrived as one of the pre-tournament favorites. He has finished 2-2-1-5-2 in his five starts on LIV Golf this year, and all of the Strokes Gained metrics pointed to Rahm’s game being in top shape, back to the level that saw him triumph at Augusta in 2023 and serve as a constant presence on major leaderboards. 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, but only one — the 2025 PGA Championship — saw him truly contend on the back nine on Sunday. That day at Quail Hollow, Rahm said it was the “most fun” he’d had on a golf course in a while. Rahm didn’t win at all in 2025 — 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. The results and the data suggested that Jon Rahm was back to being Jon Rahm. That he would be a factor at this Masters.

Then came Thursday’s first round, where Rahm shot a head-scratching, six-over 78 with zero birdies. He was 11 shots back of the leaders before the sun set, and 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.”

Rahm hit 20 range balls out of “frustration” on Thursday and 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” and 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.

“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 Sunday alongside Sergio Garcia. By the time McIlroy and co-leader Cameron Young arrived at the course, Rahm was well into his final round. On a gettable day, he went out in 32, making five birdies and two bogeys. He birdied 12 and 15 to get back to level par with three holes to play. He made a ho-hum par at 16 and then got up-and-down for par after a poor second shot on 17.

“I got away a lot of what not to do. Today was much better,” Rahm said on Sunday. “Crazy, same person, right? Even though I made some mistakes, I was able to rectify quite a few of them and have a good round.”

Then came an admission — Rahm has to alter some things as he looks toward the PGA Championship next month.

“Played really bad the two days. Shot two under on the second round, but that was about as good as I should have shot with how I was hitting it,” Rahm said. “Definitely some things I’m going change going forward. Preparation-wise and what to do.”

Standing on 18 tee at even par on Sunday, Rahm let his final tee shot of the 2026 Masters fly. It started left at the fairway bunker and never left. “Oh start it further right; get a good lie,” Rahm barked at his ball as it soared through the Georgia sky. It landed in the face and Rahm was eventually left with a lengthy, downhill putt for a closing par. It was a good roll. As it approached the hole, Rahm gestured for it to turn right. It didn’t, settling inches away from the cup.

He shook his head, tapped in for a finishing bogey and rubbed his eyes. Major weeks carry weight for everyone; they are even heavier for those whose legacies are on the line, who have designs on etching themselves into golf history. You only get so many chances to put yourself in the fight, to give yourself a shot to knock one off. This was supposed to be one of those weeks for Jon Rahm.

Instead, he was left staring off into the Augusta sky after another major had passed him by.