Jon Rahm had a brutal opening day of the Masters and his 2023 victory at Augusta Nationwide appears like a distant reminiscence, with the blame for his woes directed at LIV Golf
Jon Rahm’s depressing opening day on the Masters has been blamed on LIV Golf, with the Spaniard battling to make the minimize at Augusta Nationwide.
Rahm trudged off with a six-under-par 78, a whopping 11 photographs adrift of first-round leaders Rory McIlroy and Sam Burns. The Spaniard was broadly anticipated to contend this week, having completed within the prime 5 in every of his 5 begins this season.
The 2023 Masters champion has gained the breakaway league’s order of advantage in each seasons since leaping ship from the PGA Tour, however his performances on the majors have gone downhill. That pattern continued on Thursday.
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The 31-year-old carded 4 bogeys and a double with out making a birdie, and his woes had been the results of poor strategy play. He hit simply 9 greens in regulation and was left scrambling for pars.
Golf Channel pundit Brandel Chamblee, who additionally delivered a scathing overview of Bryson DeChambeau’s “abysmal” first-round effort, believes Rahm’s transfer to LIV has broken his recreation.
“It’s like he’s forgotten how one can play the sport,” Chamblee stated. “It’s wonderful to me. On each tee, he’s swinging as exhausting as he can; it’s like he’s in a protracted drive contest. I’ve by no means seen anyone swing it as exhausting as he’s swinging it on each tee shot. It’s like there’s no nuance or no area of interest to his golf swing.
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Chamblee was scathing of Rahm’s play together with his driver(Picture: Joel Marklund/Augusta Nationwide/Getty Photos)
“You’re speaking, although, a few man who hit 82 per cent greens in regulation on LIV. They’re not being challenged, they’re not being examined, and they also’re not prepared. They’re taking part in golf programs that aren’t notably exhausting, they’re not arrange very exhausting, they usually solely need to beat 5 or 6 guys.
“If each single week you exit and also you’re not challenged – after I have a look at the statistics, it’d be like if Steph Curry was capturing free-throws with a hula-hoop-sized rim and considering he’s 100%. That’s the false vanity they’d have coming in right here.”
LIV’s ultimate occasion earlier than the Masters was three weeks in the past in South Africa, the place DeChambeau beat Rahm in a playoff. The event was an enormous success for the league, with sold-out crowds lining the fairways.
However by way of a take a look at, the Steyn Metropolis format was the polar reverse of Augusta Nationwide, which is taking part in agency and quick after heat circumstances all through the week.
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The South Africa tour cease was performed at altitude, and bouts of heavy rain softened the course, making prime circumstances for scoring. Rahm and DeChambeau tied the 72-hole lead at 26 beneath par, but the winner might conceivably end at lower than 10 beneath this week.
It was a tough day for LIV total, with solely Sergio Garcia not capturing over par, and Chamblee — among the many most vocal critics of the Saudi-funded circuit — believes the league is guilty for its gamers’ lack of kind.
“Keep in mind early on they’d some good finishes, Brooks [Koepka] gained a significant, Phil [Mickelson] gained a significant, and Bryson gained a significant,” he stated. “However as time has gone on with LIV, they’ve gotten worse and worse and worse.”
