Jon Rahm endured another day to forget at The Masters as he shot a one-over 73 on Saturday to take his total to five-over.
Rahm narrowly made the cut after shooting 78 and 70 in rounds one and two respectively, despite being among the favorites to win the tournament at the start of the week.
His struggles at Augusta National were emulated by the majority of his LIV Golf counterparts, with only five of their 10 starters making the cut.
But much of the focus was on Rahm, who currently leads the LIV Golf individual standings and won The Masters in 2023.
The Spaniard has now analysed his latest round in Georgia, having entered the clubhouse with just four players behind him in the post-cut leaderboard.
Jon Rahm admits he’s been ‘putting the line’ at The Masters
When asked why the tournament hasn’t turned out how he would have liked after entering with such high expectations, he replied: “I came in with the same expectations I come into any other major, any other tournament.
“Not any higher or lower.
“If I knew the why, two things: Probably not going to say it right now, and I would have tried to avoid it if I knew the why I played the way I played so far.”
And sharing if there is anything he can now try and take from Sunday as the other majors approach, he said: “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?
“Just a bit of what I did today.
“Probably what I’ll do tomorrow. Hitting it on the range is one thing; doing it on the golf course is a different thing.”
Confirming if that involves a change to his swing, the two-time major winner commented: “No, not a swing change.”
And when questioned about an adjustment perhaps, Rahm admitted: “I’ll tell you one thing: My putting hasn’t been the best and I’ve been putting the line the last two days which I rarely ever do, right, just to help me a little bit.
“Just an example. Doing it on the putting green it’s easy, so, yeah.”
How has Jon Rahm performed at The Masters so far?
Such a disappointing first three days does mean Rahm can afford to relax somewhat and indeed experiment at Augusta.
He should, of course, be eager to climb the leaderboard as much as he can, but he’ll be well aware that a victory is completely out of the question.
There should also be a sense of pride on the line as he represents LIV Golf at The Masters, along with Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton, Dustin Johnson and Charl Schwartzel.
Rahm has been very consistent with pars so far this week, tying for first with 38 upon the conclusion of his third round.
But from his 54 holes, the 31-year-old also carded nine bogeys and one double bogey, as well as six birdies.
He has indeed improved on the greens, posting putting figures of 1.83, 1.67 and 1.56, for an average of 1.69.
Read more:
Jon Rahm addresses claims that LIV Golf hasn’t prepared him for The Masters
Lee Westwood makes complaint about Augusta National after watching The Masters
Justin Rose shares how the Augusta patrons have been treating him at The Masters
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