Once again, The Masters is going to be an extremely important week for those who play on LIV Golf as the league continues to fight for credibility from the wider golfing public.
Those representing LIV Golf will be under the microscope at Augusta National. Rightly or wrongly, there is still a debate to be had regarding whether moving to LIV has helped any of their star names improve.
Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau are the only players to win majors since joining LIV. Meanwhile, no player has won their first major title since making the jump.
Of course, many expected LIV players’ record in majors to improve from the start of the 2024 season for one reason.
LIV Golf star one to watch in Miami ahead of The Masters
The signing of Jon Rahm had the potential to be a massive moment in golf’s civil war. And he proved to be the star on LIV as he clinched the individual title in his first season.
Rahm is returning to a place where he has happy memories next week. The Spaniard became his country’s fourth winner of The Masters in 2023.
There will be plenty of interest in how he fares at LIV Golf Miami this week. Rahm is yet to win this year. But speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, Ryan Lavner suggested that he would not be surprised to see the Legion XIII captain make a real statement ahead of his next visit to Augusta National.
“I think the player to watch this week is Jon Rahm, the 2023 Masters winner. He’s been top six in every LIV event this year. All of his strokes gained numbers look great. He’s driving the golf ball at an elite level again. You remember last spring, that was sort of the bugaboo, had a left miss that he was certainly unaccustomed to,” he said.
“He told reporters today he’s still not at his best but he loves the work that he’s put in the last couple of weeks as it relates to his game and fine-tuning things. It sort of feels in the same vein is what we heard from Rory, same vein as what we heard from Scottie. I don’t know if anyone in the game is in full flight at the moment. But obviously these are crucial weeks for making sure that you find something, and heading to Augusta National where precision and distance control is going to be of paramount importance.”
How Jon Rahm performed in the majors in 2024
Few would have imagined when Rahm made the move to LIV that he would go on to only make one top 10 in the majors in 2024.
His Masters defence ended with the 30-year-old tied for 45th. And he finished the tournament on nine over par – 20 shots off Scottie Scheffler.
His fortunes did not improve at Valhalla as Rahm missed the cut at the PGA Championship. And he had to withdraw from the US Open at Pinehurst due to injury.
A tied seventh finish at Royal Troon was impressive, but Rahm needed an amazing performance on Sunday to get himself inside the top 10 at The Open Championship.
However, you have to admire his consistency on LIV. And if he does contend this week at Doral, then plenty will be expecting big things from Rahm at Augusta.
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