It’s been nearly a year since Jon Rahm had the opportunity to defend his title, which is quite odd. And now he’ll be making an even more unique appearance at Augusta National Golf Club next month as the current Masters champion.
During his Zoom conference on Tuesday morning, Rahm dedicated almost eight minutes to discussing the menu for the Champions Dinner and carefully contemplated the speech he must give that night in front of all other green jacket owners. However, it never crossed his mind that this year’s 86th Masters Tournament would bring a new experience with it as well.
In 2023, Rahm clinched his fourth PGA Tour victory in just over three months by triumphing over Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson with a four-stroke lead. However, as he had become a member of the LIV Golf League alongside Koepka and Mickelson in December prior to these victories, Rahm was unable to defend his titles at The Sentry, The American Express or the Genesis Invitational.
Rahm reminisced about the atypical circumstances of defending his title in a tournament, which occurred during the Vidanta Mexico Open last year. This happened just two weeks after he had clinched his second major championship victory by winning the Masters. He chuckled as these memories crossed his mind.
He admitted, “To be honest, it hadn’t crossed my mind until now. I usually focus on my day-to-day routine and current goals. However, upon reflection, defending the Spanish Open was a significant achievement for me – this could potentially become my second title defense ever which would be truly remarkable.”
“I believe the Masters being a major event already sets it apart, so I would not have dwelled on tournaments that I did not defend. That decision has been made and accepted by me. However, my hope is to return and successfully defend the Masters title which would be an exceptional achievement as very few golfers have accomplished this feat.”
The list is brief. At 29 years of age, Rahm aims to follow in the footsteps of Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods by becoming the fourth player to achieve consecutive victories at The Masters Tournament.
Even though he claims to move past the skipped title defenses, he still misses revisiting places where he has achieved triumph.
Rahm openly shared, “I won’t sugarcoat it. While some aspects of this have been manageable, I must confess that not being able to defend titles with such personal significance has been challenging.” Having followed the broadcasts himself, Rahm expressed his genuine fondness for Palm Springs and winning twice there. In addition, he acknowledged Riviera as an enchanting golf course loved by many players and fans alike. His absence from these locations was a source of difficulty for him to face.
Despite not earning World Ranking points in the four LIV events he’s participated in this year, Rahm remains the No. 3 player globally. He mentioned that his game is heading “in a really good direction,” and mentally he feels fantastic after playing less than last year. To prepare for the Masters, Rahm will participate in an event at Doral in Miami one week before and visit Augusta soon afterward – it’ll be his first time since winning there.
“Next week, if it’s alright to disclose, I plan on going for a few days,” Rahm stated with slight hesitancy. “A close and valued companion of mine who happens to be a member there will accompany me as we participate in some rounds.”
“If you catch my drift, I believe it would have been quite challenging to defend one’s title at the Masters without having previously participated. Therefore, I aim to gain as much familiarity and emotional readiness for returning before the week of the competition.”
While at the location, he will mark off one task from his list by searching for and locating his new locker in the Champions Locker Room.
“I believe that my next course of action,” he stated, “is to determine the location where my name will be displayed and identify whom I am going to share a locker with.”
Rahm has already experienced the life-changing impact of winning the Masters, and his decision to join LIV altered his professional career trajectory. As a defending champion, this year’s tournament will undoubtedly hold unique significance for him.