Jon Rahm opened the 2026 Masters with a six-over-par 78, his worst round ever at Augusta National. [1] The 2023 champion never contended. He closed with a 68 on Sunday — seven birdies, a flash of the player he was — but finished tied for 40th, irrelevant to the tournament long before the leaders reached Amen Corner. [2]

Rahm was candid afterward. He told reporters his preparation "needs to change" and acknowledged that his LIV Golf schedule, which has him playing 54-hole, no-cut events against smaller fields, may not be building the competitive sharpness required for a major. [1] It was the kind of admission LIV critics have been waiting for and LIV supporters had hoped would never come.

Rory McIlroy, who won the tournament, added a layer when he expressed empathy for Rahm's position. "I feel for him," McIlroy said, a comment that read as gracious but carried an edge: the implication that Rahm's talent is being wasted in a format that does not test it. [1]

On X, the reaction was less diplomatic. Golf accounts treated the 78 as case-closed evidence that LIV does not prepare players for the pressure, the depth, or the 72-hole grind of a major championship. [2] The data is small — one bad week proves nothing — but the narrative is stubborn. Rahm has not finished in the top ten at a major since joining LIV. The question is whether that is coincidence, adjustment, or something structural about his preparation.

-- AMARA OKONKWO, Lagos