Jon Rahm's Masters Meltdown: 17 Shots Back With One Round Left and Putting in Freefall

Jon Rahm is tanking at Augusta. The 2023 Masters champion sits tied for 50th place, 5-over par through three rounds, and a brutal 17 shots behind leader Rory McIlroy heading into Sunday's final round. The Spaniard's Saturday was a disaster: bogeys at holes 5, 11, 14, and 18, including his third five on a par-4 hole on the back nine. He's tied with fellow LIV Golf member Sergio Garcia with almost no path back into contention.

From Promise to Collapse in One Round

It started with hope. Rahm birdied the first and third holes and sat 2-under before the third round imploded. A 73 left him deep in the field, and he knows it. "I'm going to need an absolute miracle," he said Friday. Saturday's round made that miracle look even less likely.

Rahm didn't go down without trying to salvage something. He's already looking ahead, using the latter holes of the third round to work on parts of his game he wouldn't normally experiment with in tournament settings. "Well, the only thing about a weekend like today, once things are not going well enough, is you can start trying things just to see how it feels or how you can do it in competition, right?" he told reporters.

The Putting Problem Nobody Saw Coming

Rahm admitted his putting hasn't been sharp. He's been putting with a different line the last two days, something he rarely does, just trying to find any spark. He wouldn't fully diagnose what's gone wrong, but ruled out a swing change. The issue, he suggested, might be on the greens.

Coming off a year dominating LIV Golf with 17 top-five finishes in his first 30 events, transitioning back to PGA Tour majors has been rough. "Golf is golf," Rahm insisted when pressed about the adjustment, but the scorecard tells a different story.

Next Up: The PGA Championship Awaits

Rahm still has one round left on Sunday, but a stellar 18 would be needed just to crack a top-25 finish. He's never won the PGA Championship, his next major test May 14-18 at Aronimink Golf Club. With two top-10 finishes in 10 career PGA Championship starts, he'll need to regroup fast. The U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills comes one month later, where at least he won that title back in 2021.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.