Jon Rahm entered Sunday’s final round with slim hopes of hoisting the Claret Jug at the 152nd Open Championship. He was six shots off the lead with some of the game’s best in between, including Xander Schauffele, who would go on to win.
Yet, Rahm came out on fire. He birdied each of his first three holes and picked up another on the par-4 7th to go out in 32. As he made the turn, all of a sudden the two-time major champion was within striking distance.
But it was still going to take exceptional play on the back nine. That did not happen. Rahm bogeyed ‘the railway’ par-4 11th and parred out from there. He carded a 3-under 68 Sunday to finish tied for seventh at 1-under par.
Afterwards, Rahm pinpointed exactly what went wrong this week.
“The one thing I keep thinking about all week is the fact that I didn’t birdie a single par-5, which I can’t remember the last time I played good golf, possibly finished top 10, and not birdied a single par-5. In fact, I played them 3-over par. That’s where I think basically where the tournament might have been for me,” said Rahm.
That has been a consistent theme to the Spaniard’s 2024 season. Rahm has played the par-5’s at even par across 10 major rounds.
“Augusta in the wind conditions, those par-5s is not easy. PGA I played two rounds and played terrible. The same applies to this week. Even the ones at times I had a chance, I just didn’t make the putts.”
Rahm will head back to the drawing board looking for answers. The once top-ranked golfer in the world has had a rough go since leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. He is yet to win on the Saudi-backed circuit and only just earned his first top-40 finish in a major.
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