Masters champion Jon Rahm has been warned he isn't ready to defend his title this year – no matter how much he tries to 'convince' himself he is.
Rahm will go out to defend his title at Augusta this week having made the switch from PGA to LIV GOLF late last year. He's hoping to become the latest player from the breakaway tour to win a major after Brooks Koepka, who finished runner up to Rahm at last year's Masters, claimed the PGA Championship last year.
Rahm has called for LIV to introduce 72 hole courses to get their players ready for the big events but insists he's as sharp as ever and ready to go. However former PGA star Notah Begay III isn't convinced. Although Koepka came close last year, Rahm was the convincing winner while he was still under the PGA banner – with Koepka's second-place finish compared to Rory McIlroy who was distant runner up to Scottie Scheffler in 2022.
Begay told American TV: "Brooks Koepka nearly did it last year, but that's an asterisk, he never really had the chance to win it. Similar to Rory McIlroy, he never really had a chance.
"What I heard up there in the press conference was someone trying to convince himself that the decision he (Rahm) made to go to is justified and certainly is in his bank account, but I don’t think he’s going to be as prepared. You have to play against the best players to be as sharp as you possibly can. That's one of the most demanding tasks that can be asked of players."
Speaking at his press conference, Rahm said: "Well, you're saying like playing a little bit less is a bad thing. Which I wouldn't think it is. If anything, if I had would go based on how I feel today, I feel physically better than I did last year. But then once competition starts, it doesn't really matter.
"The competition's still there. Yeah, they're smaller fields, but you still have to beat some of the best players in the world and you still have to play at the same level you have to play on the PGA Tour to win those events. So that doesn't change."
