Jon Rahm Makes a Bittersweet PGA Tour Confession; Admits Feeling Wyndham Clark’s ‘Gut-Wrenching’ Pain

THE PLAYERS Championship was a bundle of joy, thrills, and surprises for Jon Rahm. But not without a tinge of regret. By this time last year, the Spaniard had seven top-ten finishes from eight starts, including three titles. But none he could defend like Scottie Scheffler did at Ponte Vedra. And Rahm sure misses it. The reigning Masters Champion said, “I mean, it stays constant. There’s some tournaments I’m definitely going to miss. I hope I get to tee it up at THE PLAYERS again.”

Last year, Rahm had to pull out of THE PLAYERS because of a stomach illness. The Spaniard was set to tee off alongside then-world no. 2, Scheffler, and world no. 3, Rory McIlroy, on Friday after shooting 1-under 71 in the opening round. Recounting that, the 11-time PGA Tour winner quipped, “It would be a bit of a sour taste if my last ever start at THE PLAYERS was WD because I was sick… It would definitely be a weird feeling if I never get to do it again.”

Jon Rahm has one top-10 from his seven outings at TPC Sawgrass. His lowest score came in 2019 when he shot 11-under, but that only got him to a T12 on the leaderboard, as Rory McIlroy snatched the title at 16-under. But this year, five players shot 15-under or better at Sawgrass, which definitely surprised Rahm. 

“I couldn’t tell the course conditions; right, I wasn’t there, but it looked like the greens were up to speed… I would have guessed if you shoot 20-under that you are at least winning by five, so the fact that Scottie only won by one is incredible.” The current World No. 3 admits it’s a great accomplishment for Scheffler “to be the first ever back-to-back champion.” More so because “there’s no way of really setting a dominance for a long time because you simply have to be the best.”

Gushing over the nail-biting finish, Jon Rahm told the mediapersons from Augusta National, “Jesus Christ! That was fun to watch. I feel for Wyndham [Clark] because to come back and play the last three holes the way he did and have that lip-out, it’s gut-wrenching to watch, but it made for great TV, and it was really fun.” But here, Rahm chose his words carefully. While he sure wants to be a part of all these again, the Spaniard has no desire to relinquish his LIV Golf comfort.

Jon Rahm is content where he is

While Rahm regrets not being a part of THE PLAYERS, he reaffirmed that his new life is “a little bit different,”  but one he has been “enjoying.” The 29-year-old has netted a top-10 finish in each of his four outings this season at LIV Golf. Nevertheless, the current World No. 3 is “looking forward to joining with the rest of the best golfers in the world and teeing it up at the Masters with them.” He has, in fact, finalized the menu for the champion’s dinner as well.

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The Basque native has been open about this conflict and the emotion of being unable to attend some of the events he wanted to. Only last month, he admitted during the WM Phoenix Open that “it was a lot harder to be at home not competing and know that those events were going on.” The Spaniard, though, might not have to carry this regret for too long, as PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan initiated a direct meeting with the players and directors in the Bahamas. It will take some time to bear fruit, but Jon Rahm can surely look forward to the ongoing negotiations between PIF and the PGA Tour.

Read More: “Want to Give Credit”: Jon Rahm Remains Grateful to Phil Mickelson for Lending a Helping Hand