Despite being a past Masters champion, few would have had Zach Johnson to be the one to make the early charge on Saturday at The Masters on their bingo card, with the 49-year-old posting a 66 while playing alongside Jon Rahm.
The 2007 Masters champion is on course for his best finish at Augusta National since 2015 when Zach Johnson finished tied for ninth. He made five birdies and one eagle to fly up the leaderboard.
It remains to be seen where Johnson will be at the end of the day – he was in and around the top 10 while the leaders were playing the front nine on Saturday – but one person he will not be playing with on Sunday is Jon Rahm.
The two were paired together for the third round, with Rahm managing to make the cut with a 71 during the second round.
Zach Johnson issues his verdict on Jon Rahm’s third round at The Masters
The Spaniard was once again unable to break 70 as he posted a two under par round to return to level par for the tournament with 18 holes to play. It appears that another underwhelming finish at Augusta National is on the cards for the 2023 champion.
Rahm has faced criticism over his form in the majors since joining LIV Golf. But speaking after the third round, Johnson insisted that he was extremely impressed by what he saw from the 30-year-old.
“No, I appreciate it. I appreciate that. I don’t want to say I’ve seen it coming because that’s not what I’m trying to – I’ve seen the work and the results of hitting the face and seeing the line on putts. Not this week, but weeks prior I’ve seen it,” he said, as he reflected on his own performance.
“It just hasn’t showed. My hope is that it continues to show, one, but two, I’ve always modeled my game after guys before me and guys that are consistent. I don’t know if today is a flash, but today was, for lack of a better term, a stroll in the park. I didn’t feel like it was work.
“Obviously being paired with Jon was awesome because his scorecard was not indicative of how he actually played in my opinion. That guy is really close. Unfortunately he’s still really, really impressive and a tremendous guy.
“I love the pairing. I loved making the weekend. I guess it’s been a couple years. I think I made it two years ago, so it’s not like it’s that foreign.
“But man, I was in control.
“This game, man, right now there’s a lot of analytics, there’s a lot of data, there’s a lot of things you can chew on and spew out, but when it comes down to it, it’s still a sport.
“You’ve still got to be an athlete. When you’re on these grounds right here, it helps to know it. It’s also, like, when you’re playing on some place that you love and you’re familiar with, when this membership, these green jackets want you here, you want to play good.
“It’s just icing on the cake if you do. It’s just one day.”
More major disappointment for Jon Rahm at Augusta
Whether he would like to admit it or not, Rahm went into the week with a point to prove. He has been superb on LIV Golf, but he has not yet taken that form into the majors.
He finished in the top 10 at The Open Championship. But poor performances at The Masters and the PGA Championship last year did nothing to silence those who feel that playing on LIV has not helped his chances of adding to his two major titles.
Rahm definitely has the game to compete with the likes of Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau. But he has not shown that in the four biggest events of the year since moving to LIV. Meanwhile, few will forget his Sunday collapse at the Olympics.
He can restore some pride in the final round this week. But there is no escaping the fact that Rahm is not a factor in the majors yet again.
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