In 2023, Jon Rahm was en route to becoming the Player of the Year after his outstanding run on the PGA Tour. Apart from his iconic win at ANGC, the Spaniard had also captured the Sentry, American Express, and Genesis Invitational, making it 4 wins before May. However, by the end of the season, Rahm’s focus had shifted to LIV Golf. He had joined the Saudi-based Tour towards the end, and Scottie Scheffler ended up winning the Player of the Year award instead.

Since then, the careers of both stars have taken separate routes. Scheffler had an outstanding 2024 to her, his third consecutive POTY award. Rahm enjoyed similar success in LIV Golf. However, the Legion XIII captain didn’t have the same success in majors as he had in 2023: top 10 in 3 out of the 4. In 2024, the stats dropped. T45 at Masters as a defending champion, followed by a missed cut at the PGA Championship. Then came the US Open, and Rahm didn’t play because of an injury. After the break, he returned at the Open and finished T7. Then at Augusta this year, he finished T14.  started the rumors that suggested joining LIV Golf has been detrimental for Jon Rahm in the majors. Well, after an excellent run at the top of the 2025 PGA Championship, having carded 4 under in R3, the 30-year-old had a befitting reply.

Sitting in the Press Conference after an excellent third-round performance, a journalist asked him, “I think this is your best round in a major since you joined LIV, certainly a better position going into Sunday. Is it a process getting to this point, and do you feel vindicated given a lot of people suggested that move might hamper your ability to be in this position in these four tournaments?” A couple of weeks ago, Fried Egg Golf raised the question that the Spaniard’s pursuit in LIV Golf has cost him his major form.

Rahm was confident after the round he had. So he didn’t shy away from replying, “Me going to LIV and playing worse in majors had nothing to do with where I was playing golf. My swing was simply not at the level it had to be for me to compete. It’s easier to post a score on non-major championship courses and venues, and I think when you get to the biggest stages like this one and these courses, those flaws are going to get exposed, and it did.” Deflecting the blame away from LIV Golf, Rahm said that it was his swing that was causing an issue over the last few months. The swing hasn’t been the issue at LIV Golf events, where he continues to finish in the top 10 every week. However, the Spanish golfer has struggled with the drivers, irons, and wedges in the majors since exiting the PGA Tour.

Continuing to explain his side of the story, Rahm further stated, “There’s been weeks where I was able to play better, like The Open last year. The Masters obviously wasn’t a good start, but it got better as the week was on, and I’m still working and trying to get my swing to a better spot. But I would say even 2023, after winning the Masters, I did not play good at all until the Ryder Cup, right. So I think the problems began earlier than people think. But I’m now getting closer to a position of being comfortable. I think this week so far and this round has been a show of it.” The 2-time major winner has shown glimpses of brilliance every now and then. As he mentioned, Rahm couldn’t continue his form from the 2023 Masters in the tournaments beyond it.

While his position on the leaderboard may have been the reason behind his confidence, how well has Jon Rahm really performed at Quail Hollow as compared to his run at Valhalla?

What has changed for Jon Rahm in the 2025 PGA Championship vs. in 2024?

In 2024, Jon Rahm was certainly not in his best form at Valhalla. He missed the cut after managing a par finish at the end of the second round. Stats show that he missed the cut for several reasons. Rahm had really bad driving accuracy, only hitting the fairway 50% of the time. He managed to reach the green in regulation on only 21 occasions out of the 36 opportunities he had. His scrambling record was also terrible, managing only 53.33% success. Across the two rounds, the Spanish golfer only had 0.358 total strokes gained from all positions.

In the 54 holes of the 2025 PGA Championship, Rahm has gained 10.645 strokes. Off the tee, there is only one golfer on the field at Quail Hollow who has a better strokes gained than him. Rahmbo’s driving accuracy is at 61.90% and has managed to find the green in regulation 68.52% of the time. A 4-under par 67 in the third round has boosted Rahm to solo 8th, and he is only 4 strokes away from the world no. 1, Scottie Scheffler. Based on the stats alone, we can see that Jon Rahm’s swing might be the reason behind his failure to perform in the majors. But if he can deliver consistently while traveling the world with LIV Golf, then why can’t he do the same on the courses he has been familiarized with over the years?