Jon Rahm comes to rue brutal LIV Golf warning as Masters defence turns to dust

Jon Rahm has failed to defend the green jacket

Sir Nick Faldo’s pre-Masters prediction for defending champion Jon Rahm has come to fruition, with the LIV Golf star struggling to find his best form whilst back at Augusta National this week.

Rahm became the latest star to get their hands on the famous green jacket in Georgia 12 months ago, after seeing off multiple major champions in Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson. The Spaniard returned to Augusta with the hopes of becoming just the fourth Masters champion to go back-to-back, but things have not gone to plan.

Rahm – who made headlines in December after signing a mega-money deal with LIV Golf – struggled at times this week, and headed into the final round 12 shots behind leader Scottie Scheffler.

One man who predicted a potential Rahm struggle was Faldo, who after Jack Nickluas became only the second green jacket winner to defend the crown in 1990. Doubting the 2023 champion’s chances due to his move to LIV Golf, Faldo told the Sky Sports Golf podcast in the build-up: “I think he feels that [lack of intensity].

“I know that he made comments about watching Riviera [Genesis Invitational] and thought he wished he was there. I thought The Players was good and I bet he wished he was in there. He has been playing resort courses in shorts for the past couple of months and hasn’t really been tested yet.

“He’s a hell of a player, but he’s going to have to make a little bit of effort to step it up and get the right intensity. Whether coming into defend you can do it, or whether he’s just not quite sharp enough because he hasn’t tested himself quite as much, we’ll have to wait and see.

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“I wish him all the best but I hope the [back-to-back winners] club stays at three!” Faldo’s hopes have since come true amid Rahm’s showing this week, and speaking after his third round on Saturday, the LIV star believes the damage was done to his chances following tough conditions in rounds one and two.

“Those first two days I think I said it yesterday, it’s just too hard of conditions to not have your swing. Being a little lost and not being under control of what was going on makes it so much harder,” he said. “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.” Despite his struggles at Augusta, Rahm has enjoyed an impressive start to his season with LIV. After five events, the Legion XIII captain is second in the season-long standings, having finished inside the top-10 on all five occasions.