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Reigning champion Jon Rahm believes his move to LIV Golf has left him better equipped to retain the green jacket.
The Spaniard, who scored an emotional four-stroke victory last year on Seve Ballesteros’ birthday, dealt a blow to the PGA Tour when he quit his Saudi-backed rival in December.
There are fewer events at LIV and fewer holes to play, but when asked if that would have an impact, Rahm insisted it would help his performance in the coming days at Augusta National.
“You’re saying that playing a little less is a bad thing,” he said at a news conference Tuesday.
—Which I don’t think is the case. In any case, if I had to go by how I feel today on Tuesday, I feel physically better than last year. But once the competition starts, it doesn’t really matter.
Jon Rahm believes his move to LIV Golf has left him better equipped to retain Masters title
The Spaniard scored an emotional four-stroke victory last year on Seve Ballesteros’ birthday.
‘Once the gun goes off, whatever you feel goes out the window; you have to go out and post a score… I feel fresh and ready for it.”
Rahm, 29, admitted he was sad about not being able to play in some of the PGA Tour events.
“There are some places I miss not being, not just because I won but because I love it, right?” he said.
‘And that’s the reason I played well in those tournaments. Not being in Palm Springs, Torrey, Phoenix and Los Angeles wasn’t the easiest. And I will continue to say it because those are places that I love.”
Rahm, who lives in Arizona, added: “Going through Phoenix as many times as I had to, seeing the stands and knowing I wasn’t going to be there was pretty difficult.” Good?
There are fewer events at LIV and fewer holes to play compared to Rahm’s rivals on the PGA Tour
“I still love the PGA Tour and I still hope that at some point I can compete there again. You miss competing against certain people, right? But at the end of the day, I’ve had so much to focus on in the dynamics that obviously have changed a little.
‘I’m a team leader, a team captain, to a certain extent. It’s still golf.
Rahm has been a key figure in the European Ryder Cup team, but with LIV players banned in Rome last year, it remains uncertain whether he will be in the team next year.
‘I’m worried?’ he said. ‘Yes, I hope I can be there. I hope to play well enough to earn my way there. And if they have to choose me, I hope they can choose me.
‘Yes, I want to be there. “It’s definitely something I want to do and I don’t want to miss out.”