Upbeat Jon Rahm ready to tame Blue Monster

Jon Rahm tackles the Blue Monster this week as he prepares to chase a second green jacket.

The Spaniard spoke to reporters on Wednesday ahead of the LIV Golf Miami tournament at Trump National Doral, which earned its colourful nickname for its demanding 7,701-yard length and plentiful water hazards.

“Augusta is a whole different level and so is the Blue Monster, but that’s why I like this week,” Rahm said. “It’s such a good prep for a Major coming up. I’m looking forward to this week to hopefully see some of those improvements and come into next week with a clear mind of what to do.”

Rahm, 30, has finished top six in each of the first four events on the LIV Golf calendar, including a T2 at the season-opening tournament in Riyadh. The Legion XIII captain ranks No 2 in the individual standings behind Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, while his team ranks No 2 behind Fireballs GC.

“I’m feeling good,” he said. “I’ve been able to have a lot of good finishes, but I would say it hasn’t been what I would consider playing my best. I think I’ve scored really well but with some level of discomfort in some parts of my game that I kind of need to get over to accomplish bigger things, especially talking about major championships.

“I’m very close to that if not over that. I think especially the last few weeks, I’ve been playing really good golf, feeling really comfortable.”

Rahm tied for fourth at Miami in 2024, finishing 8-under par and three strokes behind winner Dean Burmester, who defeated Sergio Garcia in a playoff.

Rahm heads to Augusta next week for the Masters, where he followed up his 2023 victory with a disappointing tie for 45th place in 2024.

Though he has not won a tournament since LIV Golf Chicago in September, the two-time Major winner (2021 US Open) is not short on confidence.

“I’m always just absolutely blindly confident in my abilities,” Rahm said. “I think all of us up here, every time we tee it up, we think we’re going to win, and that’s why they have accomplished a lot of what they have and everything that they have. I’m looking forward to seeing those changes that I’m talking about that have been there for the better part of a year-and-a-half, I just haven’t got over that.”

Field Level Media