Jon Rahm turned a miserable start to the 2026 Masters into something salvagable on Sunday, but it still left him chasing too much ground at Augusta National. The 2023 champion, who opened with a six-over 78 and no birdies, fought back with a two-under 70 on Friday, then shot one over on Saturday before going out early on Sunday alongside Sergio Garcia.
Rahm said he hit 20 range balls on Thursday out of frustration after a first round that left him 11 shots behind the leaders. He entered the weekend 16 shots back of Rory McIlroy, a gap that framed the rest of his week even after he made the cut. On Sunday, he opened in 32 with five birdies and two bogeys, birdied 12 and 15 to get back to level par with three holes to play, then saved par at 16 and got up and down after a poor second shot at 17.
That finish mattered because the week had started so far from the standard Rahm has set in majors. He arrived at Augusta with strong LIV Golf results this year and numbers that pointed to top form, yet his first-round collapse made the course look far bigger than the player. Rahm said, “It’s a hard golf course,” and added that some players might still have managed something respectable, but not when there was no feel with the swing.
The swing itself was the real story underneath the scorecard. Rahm said there was a problem in his takeaway that he fixed during a three-month break at the end of 2025, and he called the issue an anomaly. He said he had the same expectations he brings to any other major or tournament, no higher and no lower, and he sounded as if the early Masters damage had been more an interruption than a warning sign. “Golf is golf,” he said.
That view fits the broader picture of where Rahm stood coming into Augusta. He said he had gone 2-2-1-5-2 in his five starts on LIV Golf this year, but he did not win on LIV Golf, the DP World Tour or at a major in 2025. Over the previous two seasons since joining LIV Golf, he had three top 10s in seven major starts, and only the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow brought a real Sunday run. For now, the Masters added a familiar contrast: the same player who won here in 2023 can still rescue a round in a heartbeat, even if the week had already slipped beyond his reach.
