Jon Rahm has revealed it's not been easy being unable to defend his titles on the PGA Tour - after the Spaniard opted to make the move to LIV Golf last December.
Rahm made history by moving to LIV, signing a record-breaking deal worth a reported £450million to join Greg Norman and co. The switch did come at a cost though, as like those who made the move before him, he was banned from competing on the PGA Tour.
The suspension appears to have had no impact on his efforts on the course, with Rahm currently second in the LIV individual rankings, having finished third, eighth, fifth and 14th in his opening four events on the LIV setup.
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Despite enjoying life on the breakaway circuit, Rahm has admitted not being able to defend the crowns he won on the PGA Tour in 2023 has been a bitter pill to swallow. The Legion XIII captain won three times in the space of three months at the beginning of 2023, prevailing at The Sentry, American Express and Genesis Invitational.
Due to his ban though he was unable to return as defending champion this campaign. "For everyone who said this was going to be easy, not being able to defend titles I want to defend, it hasn't," Rahm said per Barstool Sports.
One title he will be able to defend though is his Masters crown. The 29-year-old won his second major title at Augusta National last April, seeing off fellow LIV star Brooks Koepka to get his hands on the iconic green jacket. He will return to Georgia next month to defend his Masters crown and will also take on hosting duties at the past champions dinner.
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Rahm revealed his menu for the dinner on Tuesday, which was unsurprisingly inspired by his Spanish roots, with a selection of tapas and a Basque ribeye steak included. Opening up on his menu choice - which also includes a family favourite dish of his grandmother's - he said: "I wanted to make sure the Basque heritage was there.
“I know Jose [Maria Olazabal] has done it twice, but where he’s from and where I’m from is a little bit different, so I wanted to put a little bit of my essence into it.”
As for his champions dinner speech, a man who is used to performing on the biggest stage of all has plenty of nerves. "This has definitely been rent free in my head,” he added “I don’t know exactly what I’m going to say, but hopefully one or two glasses of wine will help me get a little bit more fluid in that speech.”
Rahm's defence at the iconic Georgia course will begin in less than one month on April 11.
