Oversold by LIV, undercooked Rahm left making up the numbers at Augusta

Captain Jon Rahm of Legion XIII GC seen on the 18th green during the final round of the LIV Golf Mayakoba at the El Camaleón Golf Course on Sunday, February 04, 2024 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. (Photo by Doug DeFelice/LIV Golf)

Watching dominoes fall in a rippling cascade is every child's dream, but it clearly does not correlate with the complex landscape of men's professional golf.

Just ask Jon Rahm, the reigning Masters champion, who arrived in Augusta with just 15 competitive rounds under his belt — 21 fewer than world number one Scottie Scheffler.

The big Basque admitted in his pre-tournament press conference that he expected his move to LIV Golf, reported to be worth north of $500 million, to accelerate a deal between the US circuit and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and move the needle in the PGA Tour's battle with LIV.

So far, the indications that an agreement, if it ever happens, is two or three years away, which leaves Rahm in the invidious position of playing resort golf in his shorts during the peak years of his career as he looks to add to his haul of two major titles.

The two-time Irish Open champion only made the cut with a shot to spare at Augusta National on Friday, and he remains irrelevant heading into today's final round after he made one birdie and one bogey in a level par 72 yesterday to languish in the bottom half of the leaderboard on five-over par.

His admission to the BBC Sport's Ian Carter in Miami last week that LIV Golf likely needs to change its format and move to 72 holes was hugely significant.

"If there ever was a way where LIV could go to 72 holes, I think it would help all of this argument a lot," Rahm said.

"The closer I think we can get LIV Golf to some other things, the better. I think it would be for some kind of unification to feed into a world tour or something like that. I don't know if I'm alone in this, but I definitely wouldn't mind going back to 72 holes."

Carter pointed out that surely he knew what he was signing up for as LIV is the Roman numeral for 54.
But Rahm insisted that PIF governor and LIV overlord Yasir Al Rumayyaan has always said that LIV or 54 signifies the perfect round of golf.

That may sound like the moving of goalposts to many but it's also an admission that LIV's 54-hole format of shotgun golf in your shorts is not serious preparation for events as brutally exacting as the Masters.

Sources in Spanish golfing sources confirmed yesterday that Rahm had been telling his sponsors not to panic about his LIV Golf move and he would be welcomed back into the PGA Tour fold before long.

He felt he was the lynchpin figure that would make going to LIV legitimate for any player. But without Rory McIlroy, that now looks doubtful.

"I could be the start of a tipping point in that sense," Rahm told the BBC. "The balance of golf could be disturbed a little bit. Luckily, in my career, especially last year, I accomplished a lot, and I got to be one of the bigger names in golf.

"There are few active players that could have had a bigger impact than myself in that sense. Not to be patting myself on the back too much, but I understood the position I was in."

Rumours of a McIlroy move to LIV have been rife in a week when Greg Norman has been spotted following the world number two.

All indications are that despite McIlroy's close association with Al Rumayyan and his admiration for his business savvy, his move to LIV is about as likely as seeing Pope Francis leading a 12th of July parade.

Rahm was in no great mood to talk after his 72 yesterday and he admitted that being in Butler Cabin today as a jacket bearer rather than winner is not what he had in mind.

"Yeah, I mean, worse case, I'll be a part of the ceremony," he said. I'll be there. Yeah, I'm guessing it will be a little different. I don't know if I'll go back home or not, but obviously, I'm going to have to come back and get ready at some point. It's a bit of a sour feeling knowing you're not in contention."

As for the reasons for his poor display, he admitted he had lost his swing.

"Those first two days I think I said it yesterday, it's just too hard of conditions to not have your swing," he said. "Being a little lost and not being under control of what was going on makes it so much harder.

"Had to play very defensively and try to pick my spots and just couldn't put myself in a good position coming into today. I think if you came out today and somehow shot 67 or lower, maybe you could give yourself a little bit of hope.

"But it's a hard golf course out there. Anything under par is a good round. Anything in the 60s is a fantastic round today.”