Spain's Jon Rahm delivers his worst-ever Masters performance in disastrous golf title defence

The Spanish golfer surrendered the coveted green jacket after finishing nine over par after a miserable week at Augusta

Carlos Nieto

Madrid

Monday, 15 April 2024, 09:29

Jon Rahm's defence of his Masters crown and the coveted green jacket couldn't have gone much worse. The Spanish golfer carded a +4 in Augusta on Sunday for a final score of +9 to draw a line under what he described as a dreadful week.

Across the eight Masters editions he has competed in it, this was his worst-ever performance. In fact, Rahm had only ever finished outside the top 10 on three occasions.

After strong winds and a shaky performance almost meant his missed the cut, Rahm arrived at the final round with plenty of work to do. And it started off promisingly.

By the third hole, he had already scored more birdies (two) than he did throughout the entire previous day (one). A spectacular shot from the fairway on the seventh lifted his spirits as he sunk a birdie.

At that point, his scorecard showed a -2 for the day, offering a glimmer of hope to salvage his performance. However, he couldn't maintain that momentum. A bogey on the eighth hole dashed his aspirations. Once again, putting proved to be his downfall on a day where his driving had improved compared to previous days.

However, the tenth hole proved to be a nightmare. "It usually doesn't bounce like that, and it just shot off on the approach," said the golfer from Barrika, watching his ball roll downhill at the edge of the hole.

A double bogey followed, weighing heavily on him, and another bogey greeted him at the beginning of Amen Corner. Within four holes, he went from -2 to +2.

Then, at the 16th hole, he found the water. The penalty stroke and another putting error resulted in his second double bogey of the day, sealing his fate at +9.

In the end he finished in 45th place, level with veteran Spaniard José María Olazábal. American Scottie Scheffler picked up the green jacket.

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