It was a scintillating Saturday round at the 2023 Open Championship. The misty afternoon of the third round badly required a jolt and it came in the form of Jon Rahm. The Spaniard dished out a flawless 63 all the while posting a course record at the Hoylake. Little did he know that the next day, Brian Harman would swoop in to clinch the win. And it hasn’t been the same for the golfer ever since.

The past season up till now sure been a rollercoaster ride for Rahm. The golfer emerged victorious at the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions, the American Express, the Genesis Invitational, and the Masters. However, the Spaniard hasn’t managed to win once since then and has even jumped ships to the Greg Norman-led circuit. The fans, meanwhile, can’t help but wonder if that turned out well for the athlete!

Jon Rahm’s 2023 Open Championship and what followed

Rahm had, back at Royal Liverpool, carded a 7-under 277 owing to figures of 74-70-63-70 after four days of play. He did so by dishing out a total of 16 birdies and 9 bogeys over the four rounds. Regardless of his finish, he could only clinch the runner-up position with three other golfers; Tom Kim, Jason Day, and Sepp Straka. Fast forward a year, and a lot of things have changed. But that hasn’t stopped the athlete from looking back and evaluating his performance.

“Last year from Masters on, I didn’t really play my best,” said a disappointed Rahm ahead of the upcoming major at Royal Troon. “I didn’t feel at my best up until Ryder Cup. Ryder Cup was the only resemblance to maybe the early part of the year. This year, the first half hasn’t been my best.” The 29-year-old could only finish a dismal T45 at the 2024 Masters while missing the cut at the PGA Championship that followed soon after.

The same wasn’t the case with his performance on LIV Golf, interestingly. Out of the 10 starts he made, Rahm placed 9 times inside the top 10, the last of which he had to withdraw due to an infection at Houston. But at the same time, it remains a stark contrast when compared to the performance that the pro dished out in 2023.

The Spanish professional had, last year, finished a total of 10 times inside the top 10 on the PGA Tour. His run included 2 runner-ups and a T3 placement out of 20 starts, not to mention the 4 victories he carded. But the numbers only seem to act as a temporary sense of relief for the golfer who hasn’t raked in a win since the 2023 Masters, neither on the PGA Tour nor on LIV Golf.

Can LIV Golf be the solution to his woes?

While Rahm did realize his dip in performance at the majors, he hasn’t completely lost his hope. The golfer was optimistic ahead of the Open Championship at Royal Troon when he said, “Nashville and last week [Spain], I felt closer to getting to a higher level of golf where maybe there isn’t as many thoughts on my process. Maybe I’m playing a little bit more freely and seeing the ball flight that I want to see more often.” The athlete had finished T4 and T10 at Nashiville and Spain, respectively.

Jon Rahm was also hopeful of getting back the momentum that he had displayed in early 2023. “Yeah, I’m getting much closer to what it might have been early last year,” added the 2-time major champ. He even pointed out how a single moment can change the whole situation as he positively said, “I know that in a matter of in one moment, in one swing, or one day that changes it all and you may start a streak of good weeks.” But will the golfer clinch that opportunity? That is something that remains to be seen!