Jon Rahm doesn’t feel he is playing badly, but not everyone is convinced. The Spaniard had seven consecutive top-10s before withdrawing from LIV Golf Houston last week. Although Rahm was forced to pull out of the season’s third major due to a foot injury, the former U.S. Champion said, “It’s not like I’ve been playing bad, even though a lot of you make it sound like I’m playing bad. I had two bad weeks.”

Those two bad weeks—a T45 at the Masters and the Missed Cut at the PGA Championship — seem to have become a deciding factor. As the news of his withdrawal hit the booth, Paul McGinley, former Ryder Cup winner, dubbed it the “continuation of a disappointing season for Jon Rahm.” 

The 57-year-old explained his stance, “He’s had a very poor season, particularly when it comes to major championships so far. he’s not the same competitor he was this time last year.. he doesn’t seem to have the same spring in his step…”

By this time last year, Jon Rahm already had four titles, including his second major at Augusta National. Although he couldn’t lift another silverware since April, the 29-year-old had top-10 finishes in three of the four majors, including a T2 at the Open Championship. Whereas, last month, the 11-time PGA Tour winner missed the cut in a major for the first time since the 2019 PGA Championship. 

All these, McGinley believes, point to a lack of competitive edge from the Spaniard. The veteran analyst added that Rahm lacks “the consistency, the intensity that he had this time last year, when he was arguably the most dominant player in the game if not he was very close to Scheffler.”

Jon Rahm has faced a steady barrage of criticism since joining LIV Golf. Paul McGinley was one of the first to claim Rahm’s move would be a huge blow to the Tour. The veteran also questioned Rahm’s decision, as it came after the Spanish International opposed the LIV’s 54-hole format.

Jon Rahm has burnt a few bridges

McGinley, then speaking to Sky Sports, said after Rahm’s switch, golf fans would have a hard time trusting players’ words. “I don’t know who to trust or what to say anymore because so many people have completely reversed their positions on what they said.” The four-time European Tour winner also opined not the team format but Rahm was enticed by the “huge gigantic amount of money that has been put in front of them, like it has been with all the previous players.”

Notably, Rahm said during the PGA Championship that he still belonged to the PGA Tour. “I still want to support the PGA Tour. And I think that’s an important distinction to make. I don’t feel like I’m on the other side. I’m just not playing there,” Rahm said. That exception didn’t sit well with Golf Channel analyst, Aaron Oberholser. 

The former golfer said, “I mean, I want to I want to wring his neck through the television. I’m that mad, right now. I’m that mad. I mean— and every player in that locker room right now, if they watch that — on the PGA Tour — should be absolutely incensed with him.” Jon Rahm needed a top performance at the majors to silence the critics. However, his foot injury played spoilsport in his plan.