Jon Rahm, the 80th-ranked Spanish golfer in the world, is headed to the 2024 Masters. He addresses this daunting task with humbled optimism. Though it’s been a bit of a rough season, Rahm is looking forward to a new beginning. Maybe that’s why he’s so focused on getting ready for his next big show—Augusta National. His dedication to the tournament is blaring as ever. In nine appearances there, he has played the Masters course in the weeks leading up to the event seven times.
Though bewildered by his high rank right now, Rahm is adamant that he knows how good he is. He stated, “I would still undoubtedly consider myself a top-10 player in the world,” reinforcing his belief in his talent and skill set. He’s had tremendous success on the LIV circuit. Since joining in December of last year, he’s made the cut every week, with a runners-up finish in Mexico and seven additional top-10 finishes in 18 total events played.
The 2023-2024 season has been uncharacteristically brutal on Rahm. He struggled with his game throughout this period, missing the cut at the PGA Championship and sidelined by a foot injury that kept him from competing in the U.S. Open. Reflecting on last season, he admitted, “I never really felt 100% comfortable with my game throughout, and that’s possibly why on the bigger stages when it was difficult, like here or the PGA, I didn’t play my best golf.”
Rahm’s pre-tournament routine, minus the mask “I’m not superstitious at all. He has been a vocal advocate of maintaining his goals as current, instead of sticking to fixed, long-term targets. He likes to keep his goals as fluid and moving purposes. Rather than adopting normal practice and committing to winning X number of whatever over the next five years, he opts for a much looser approach.
As he looks to the Masters this year, Rahm says he’s better prepared to face whatever’s coming. He remarked that he believes he is playing much better golf than in previous months and has made strides in refining his driver technique.
“I had to be really good last year,” Rahm admitted. For all the disappointments of last season, Hayes still seems to think his skills can rise above the noise and find a way to shine.
Unlike his woes a year ago, this time he hopes a fifth visit will be the ticket to break through at Augusta National. So far, the Masters has been a key theme in Rahm’s career. After winning the tournament in 2023, his 2024 season suddenly went south and he was unable to make the cut. With good reason this year as he looks to get his mojo back and build on that showing.
Looking forward, Rahm’s approach will be more all-around—both in terms of a well-rounded approach to his game and a desire to play to his full potential. He laughed at what his new strategy would be if he won the tournament again, “Well if I win this year, for sure I’m not coming back so early!
Jon Rahm is coming into the 2024 Masters full of hope and resolve. Instead, golf fans around the world can’t wait to see if he can take his recent resurgence and parlay it into a career-defining week on one of the sport’s grandest stages. His story is an incredible testament to individual grit. It reaffirms the perpetual surprise of professional sport, where each cycle brings new glimmers of hope for atonement and achieving greatness.
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