Jon Rahm has opened up on the "downfall" in his game that led to his missing cut at this week's PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. Rahm missed the 36-hole cut for the first time in 19 major starts in Kentucky on Friday, with his last coming at the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black.
The Spaniard was playing in his second major event since making the move to LIV Golf last December, with the first coming at last month's Masters where he finished in a tie for 45th during his title defence. Rahm was far from his scintillating best at Augusta, but things proved even more difficult this week.
The two-time major champion played his opening two rounds in level-par, but this was not enough to book himself a spot in Kentucky over the weekend, after the Legion XIII captain missed the cutline by a single shot.
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In the aftermath, he revealed it was his lack of accuracy off the tee that cost him dearly. "[I am] surprised because of how I felt like I was hitting it in Australia and Singapore and in the week off before coming here, especially off the tee, hitting great drives, and that’s what’s been my downfall.
“I just couldn’t find a fairway off the tee. You can make birdies off the fairway, but off the rough, it’s a tough golf course to score on and that’s kind of what happened to me.” Rahm's week got off to a nightmare start, after the 2023 Masters champion found himself four-over through his opening six holes on Thursday.
A fightback soon came though, as he went on to make six birdies to end the day at one-under. He was unable to better this on Friday though, as signed for a one-over 72, making his missed cut all the more frustrating having needed a birdie from his last four holes.
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"I was just hoping to get one more and clear myself,” Rahm commented. “When you’re playing bad you kind of need the extra motivation in some kind of way. It was on my mind and the swing wasn’t quite there, but with the putter I felt comfortable.
“I was just begging to give myself some kind of a chance and I could never give myself anything on the last three holes [after saving par on the sixth]. I think it was 25 feet, 25 feet and 60 feet.” The Spanish star will now have some time away from competition on the back of his short-lived U.S. PGA showing.
He and his fellow LIV stars will make their return to the Saudi-backed circuit on June 7 when they make trip to Houston. It will then be straight back to action for the former world No. 1, as he turns his attention to the third major championship of the year at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst - an event he won back in 2021.
