Rahm reflects on his year as reigning Masters champion
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm says he’d always heard that it was special to win the Masters.
Now he knows it firsthand.
“I had heard from a few other players, a few Masters champions and a few that have won other majors rather than the Masters, that they said there’s something different, something special when you win one,” he said during an interview Tuesday.
The jump from no majors to U.S. Open was smaller from the U.S. Open to the Masters, he said.
“It is the biggest tournament in the world, with no offense to anything else, but it’s probably the most followed one by people that don’t even play golf,” he said.
“That’s I think what makes the difference. Your notoriety goes up quite a bit. But it’s also the tradition. By being the only venue, we keep coming back year after year – all the traditions, all the shots, all the stories make it so, so special.”
What do patrons think of his move to LIV?
“I think Jon being in LIV now and making the move, he’s not going to play well this week,” said first-time patron Josh Brinkerhoff from Utah.
Herbert Weaver, a patron from Savannah, has the opposite view.
“I think he has a really good chance,” Weaver said. “Won it last year, playing really well, so I think he has a really good chance.”
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Rahm said he finds something in LIV Golf that he didn’t have before: sharing a common goal with other players as a team.
“That’s something I was jealous of from any other sport,” he said.
However, “I still love the PGA Tour,” he said.
As so many eyes are on him to see if he can do what few have done – and defend his champion status – his eyes are on the prize that means a little more than most.
“You do get a trophy, but the one that we all care about is the jacket,” Rahm said. “I think it’s something really special to know, when you win, that the only jacket that ever leaves Augusta National is that one. I think that’s the most special part of all.”
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