Does Jon Rahm Miss the PGA Tour?

Accompanied by his green jacket, Jon Rahm hopped on a Zoom meeting on Tuesday for his Masters media availability. Based on social media you’d think that his Champions Dinner menu was the only topic of discussion, but the defending champ answered a wide variety of questions beyond the subject of tapas.

While discussing the current state of both his game and professional golf at large, Rahm was clearly very well-versed on the PGA Tour’s current season. He’s watched a lot of golf this year, including the Players Championship and Genesis Invitational, he noted strong play from Scottie Scheffler, and he admitted that he didn’t think his game was as strong as it was last winter. When asked about not being able to compete against Scottie every week and prove where his game stands, Rahm said “I feel like my game is in a really good position. I have not played my best yet. But I can see every tournament getting a little bit better.” He later added, “My game is trending in a really good direction. Not that I’m playing bad. I’ve been in contention pretty much every week, but it could be better than what it is right now.”

Part of this is projection based on subtext, tone, and body language, but it was clear that Rahm was bummed he couldn’t play against the unquestioned best player in the world on a weekly basis. He’s one of the most competitive players in professional golf, and you know it eats at him to not be thought of as the best player in the world. The second weekend in April can quickly change the narrative, but the fact of the matter is that the vast majority of media and golf fans believe that Scheffler is the clear-cut No. 1 right now. And what seems to bother Rahm even more is that it’s not even much of a debate.

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.