AUGUSTA, Ga. — Defending Masters champion Jon Rahm struggled through his third round at Augusta National on Saturday, dropping to 50th place on the leaderboard at 5-over par after 54 holes.
The Spanish golfer found himself trailing leader Rory McIlroy by 17 strokes after closing his round with a bogey on the 18th hole, marking his third score of five on a par-4 during Saturday’s back nine.
“Well, the only thing about a weekend like today, once things are not going well enough, is you can start trying things just to see how it feels or how you can do it in competition, right?” Rahm explained. “Just a bit of what I did today. Probably what I’ll do tomorrow. Hitting it on the range is one thing; doing it on the golf course is a different thing.”
The 2023 Masters winner enters Sunday’s final round tied with fellow Spaniard and LIV Golf member Sergio Garcia. After barely making the cut following an opening round 78, Rahm bounced back with a 70 on Friday before Saturday’s third-round setback.
His Saturday round began promisingly with birdies on holes one and three, putting him at 2-under before things unraveled. He finished the round with a 73 after recording bogeys on the 5th, 11th, 14th, and 18th holes.
The former world number one admitted he used the later holes of his third round to experiment with aspects of his game that he typically wouldn’t attempt during tournament play.
When asked about adjusting from LIV Golf competition back to PGA Tour events, Rahm dismissed any concerns. “Golf is golf,” he stated, noting his strong performance in LIV events where he recorded 17 top-five finishes in his first 30 starts.
Rahm acknowledged he has theories about his poor performance this week but declined to share specifics. He did hint that putting, rather than swing mechanics, might be the issue.
“I’ll tell you one thing: My putting hasn’t been the best and I’ve been putting the line the last two days which I rarely ever do, right, just to help me a little bit,” he revealed.
With his position far down the leaderboard, Rahm’s chances for his 77th career top-10 finish appear slim, and even a top-25 finish would require an exceptional final round. He had expressed pessimism about his chances even before Saturday’s round.
“I’m going to need an absolute miracle,” he said Friday.
That miracle failed to materialize, and Rahm now faces the possibility of watching McIlroy capture the green jacket while maintaining his commanding lead.
McIlroy has been vocal about the LIV Golf situation and recently criticized Rahm’s unwillingness to meet DP World Tour requirements for Ryder Cup eligibility, calling the tour’s offer “a really generous deal.”
Looking ahead, Rahm has never captured the PGA Championship, which takes place May 14-18 at Aronimink Golf Club, followed by the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in June. He claimed the U.S. Open title in 2021 and has two top-10 finishes in 10 PGA Championship appearances.
