When Jon Rahm returns to Augusta National for the 2027 Masters, he’ll likely have made some changes to how he prepared.
That, at least, was the sentiment that the former world No. 1 and 2023 Masters champion echoed in the aftermath of his final round Sunday, when he finished 1-over for the tournament and 13 shots behind winner Rory McIlroy.
“Definitely some things I’m going change going forward,” Rahm said, according to Golf Digest. “Preparation-wise and what to do. But it’s hard to say how much I learned because I don’t think we ever seen a Masters this firm and I don’t know how long it’s going to be until we do again. Both off the tee and on the greens.”
Rahm didn’t specifically hint at what those changes would be, but he wasn’t the only golfer in the field to mention the course conditions following the final round — as current world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler made it clear that he wasn’t thrilled with the conditions Friday morning compared to the afternoon.
But with Rahm, he opened with a 6-over 78 Thursday before making the cut thanks to a 2-under 70 one day later — following that up with a 1-over and a 4-under across the final two rounds to finish in a tie for 38th place, which marked his second-worst placement in the standings across his 10 years in the tournament, according to Golf Digest.
“Have you ever seen looking down the property how yellow the patron areas and how brown and purple parts of the greens and fairways are?” he said. “It will be a long time until we see it like this. Definitely have some things in mind for future editions where it gets to this level.”
Even as some LIV Golf members returned to the PGA Tour, Rahm served as one of the names who stuck with the Saudi-backed golf league for the 2026 schedule — saying in January that “I’m not planning on going anywhere” even after the Tour offered a return route for those who’d previously bolted and won either a major or Players Championship between 2022-25.
Rahm hasn’t won a major since that Masters championship, and this weekend, he watched as McIlroy — his Ryder Cup teammate — left Augusta National with his second consecutive victory, holding off a late push from Scheffler and benefitting from late collapses by other golfers in the field.
