© Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
Audio By Carbonatix
Former world #1 ranked golfer and 2-time major champion Jon Rahm had a roller coaster of a back nine in his final round at the PGA Championship. Afterward, he spoke about the thrill of it all and his comments seemed to suggest there’s some regret, or at the very least considerable apathy, with his status on the LIV Golf tour.
Rambo’s front nine in his final round at the Quail Hollow Club began rather uneventfully with seven straight ho-hum pars. He got his first birdie on the short 315-yard par-4 8th hole after hitting his tee shot over the green. With a par on 9, Jon Rahm went into the back nine and caught fire.
With birdies on 10 and 11, Rahm got to -9 and was tied with Scottie Scheffler for the lead on Sunday in a major championship. But Jon would finish his round bogey-double-double and drop 5 shots and slip to a tie for 8th place. After the round, Normal Sport‘s Kyle Porter asked Jon Rahm “how close did (the round) feel to being really special?” and here’s what Rambo had to say.
Jon Rahm: “It was really close. God, it’s been a while since I had that much fun on a golf course, 15 holes. Even the first seven the day where I was swinging well and things weren’t happening, but I kept myself in and made the pars that I needed and played really good golf from the 8th to the 15th.”
Notice how Jon Rahm didn’t mention LIV Golf at all. He didn’t have to. But he was honest in saying that “it’s been a while since (he) had that much fun on a golf course” competing for a meaningful championship at Quail Hollow Club. Here is Rahm’s response on video:
That whole post-round press conference from Jon Rahm is great. And before any PGA haters/LIV stans want to send me hate mail, I’m a big Jon Rahm fan and I have zero qualms with him taking the $350 million pay day to join LIV! I’d have done the same. But he evidently misses something about his previous life, whether that’s the roar of the fans, the strength of competition, the PGA Tour in general, or perhaps it is just that he found his game that’s been missing for a while.
But, Rahm’s comments suggest that despite finishing in the top 10 on the LIV Golf tour for 19 straight invitationals, he doesn’t feel the same competitive spark out there that he does when competing for major championships. This charge on the back 9 is also unique for Rahm in the sense that this was the closest he’s come to winning a major without actually doing it. He won the 2021 U.S. Open and 2023 Masters and finished t2nd at the 2023 British Open (5 strokes back)but this was different.
In Jon Rahm’s own words, he said “I think this is the first time I’ve been in position to win a major, that close, and haven’t done it.” He then goes on to talk about how he’s “embarrassed a little bit” after the way he closed his round:
Jon Rahm with some great perspective after the PGA Championship and quoting Charles Barkley, "I play golf for a living, its incredible. Am I embarrassed a little bit over how I finished today; yes. But I just need to get over myself, its not the end of the world." #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/3KzrUTXP1w
— Chris McKee (@mrmckee) May 18, 2025
I miss watching Jon Rahm compete week after week against Rory and Scotty, JT and Xander. LIV Golf is full of studs. I love Bryson these days. But as a fan, I wish every week was a unified field like it once was.