In any other golf tournament, when the defending champion plays poorly he or she usually cannot get off the golf course and out of the area quick enough, but not at The Masters.
The Masters has a rich tradition, and it’s something that Jon Rahm respects despite producing his poorest showing in eight Augusta appearances, and he’ll wait around to help fit the Green Jacket on a new winner; just as Scottie Scheffler did 12 months ago when Rahm was victorious.
The defending champion was bitterly disappointed having recorded scores of 73, 76, 72 and a closing 76 for a nine-over tally, 17 shots more than last year’s 12-under, four shot victory toast.
“I kind of went out there to try some things to see how it felt. Irons felt better, and off the tee felt good, to be honest”, said Rahm after the final round.
“It felt pretty good. Just a couple of bad swings in there. There’s a lot of things that contributed to me not having my best week, and one of them I think was obviously on the greens, which is not easy. Never really had the pace of the greens, and a couple too many three-putts. That’s the easiest way to fix it, but that’s, I think, very subjective to this golf course and the conditions we’re playing on.”
When asked his emotions having now returned to Augusta National as a Masters champion, Rahm spoke of the rich reception he received from everyone but also revealed his clear disappointment in finishing well down the leaderboard and just inside the top-50.
“Well, it’s harder to talk about it when I’ve played this bad”, he said.
“It’s been nice to have some receptions walking up to some tees no matter what my score was and seeing the appreciation.
“But when you don’t have your best week, it’s not that — it’s hard to have to stay now to put the jacket on somebody else and never really ever have a chance.”
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