Heading into the Augusta National, Spanish superstar Jon Rahm had discovered a lucky charm. Out of his nine appearances at the event (including this year), on seven occasions he arrived early to practice there beforehand. This year, he did not do that. The only other time he did not arrive early was in 2023, the year he won the event! “If I win this year, then I definitely won’t come again early,” Rahm had said ahead of the Augusta National. His form was not too bad either. He was sitting in the third position in LIV’s individual standings. But the reality panned out differently.

What Rahm showcased at Augusta National was far from the world-beater he has been in the last few years. The 30-year-old failed to execute right from the first round of the major. He recorded eleven bogeys in the 72 holes to finish with a 3-under par 285. While Rahm was disappointed, Rory McIlroy triumphed, and guess what, he took a page from the former champion’s book on this way to the win.

McIlroy came into the final round with a two-shot deficit. Hopes to end his majors drought and win his first-ever green jacket were still alive. But as he hit a double bogey on the first hole on the final day, it seemed that the hope was about to be extinguished. However, instead of sliding into the thoughts of defeat, the Northern Irishman started thinking about Rahm’s 2023 victory. In that, Rahm opened the tournament by four-putting the first hole, but then came back from behind to win it.

“Walking to the second tee, the first thing that popped into my head was Jon Rahm a couple years ago making double and going on to win. So, at least my mind was in the right place, and was at least thinking positively about it,” McIlroy said. Did Rahm hear that? While we did not get to hear anything from him about that, he did come out praising the new champion heavily for his accomplishment.

Nearly two days have passed, and the 2024 LIV Golf Player of the Year finally broke the silence. After sorting out his thoughts, the 2x major winner shared an Instagram post giving an overview of everything that happened at Augusta National. Sharing a slideshow of himself from the 2025 Masters, Rahm’s caption read, “What an amazing week. We witnessed history made on Sunday, 6th man and first ever European to accomplish the grand slam! Congrats Rory!!!! This is something we all dream about and he achieved it.” 

Despite his loss, he was excited for his Team Europe colleague as McIlroy achieved one of the biggest milestones in golf. However, the post was not a dedication to Rory McIlroy. Rahmbo also dove into his own performance at Augusta National.

He wrote, “As for myself rough start to the tournament set me back to far to have any change but happy about my play on the weekend. It’s always a pleasure to get to go back to Augusta National! There is nothing like it.” The Spanish swinger did tee off on the wrong foot on the iconic course as he managed a 3-over 75 in the first round. From that point on, it got quite challenging for him to stay motivated and compete for the Green Jacket.

Justin Rose, despite the loss, was happy for his fellow U.K. citizen. He spoke on his Instagram post about how McIlroy completely deserved it. Shane Lowry was ecstatic as he embraced his close friend when the latter got off Holly and walked towards the Green Jacket Ceremony. Then there were others who didn’t have the best time at Augusta National. In the last round, Bryson DeChambeau failed to capitalize on his form and sank from 2nd to T5 on the leaderboard. Jena Sims confirmed that Brooks Koepka went into seclusion after a disappointing run in the first major of the year.

Win or lose, there is no question that Rahm gave it his best shot to finish with a -3 at the end of the fourth round. Let’s compare his performance to others who had miserable starts and see how he fared against them.

Was Jon Rahm the best among the worst starters?

The only round that Jon Rahm went over par was on Thursday. Other than that, he had a quite decent run with 71-70-69 in the remainder of the tournament. At one point, Rahmbo was also at risk of missing the cut for the weekend. But a recovery in the second round ensured that he played the entire tournament without missing a hole. Once at the bottom of the table, Rahm managed to rise up the rankings and finish at T14.

Augusta National is an extremely difficult course. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that golfers struggle to recuperate after bad performances in the first 18 holes. In fact, out of everyone who finished over par in the first round, only Xander Schauffele was able to break into the top 10. After shooting 73 in his first 18, Schauffele managed to end with 5-under par 279 for a T8 finish.

Danny Willett also went 3-over in the first round. But unlike Rahm, he couldn’t get back in rhythm as he finished at T42. No one else from first place to T42 had scored 3-over 75 in the first round. Just goes to show that despite a bad start, Jon Rahm did actually play pretty well at Augusta National to finish at T14.

Do you think the Legion XIII captain would have been fighting for the Green Jacket with Rory McIlroy if he had had a better start? Let us know in the comments section.