This Masters leaderboard is incredible – but one name is missing

The Indian Summer of Justin Rose. The Greatest Showman in Bryson DeChambeau. Rory McIlroy reviving his shot at immortality. Scottie Scheffler hiding in plain sight as always.

And that’s to say nothing of other compelling names like Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry, Tyrrell Hatton and Jason Day lurking as we approach a thrilling weekend at Augusta National.

This is a Masters leaderboard we could scarcely have dreamed up on Thursday morning. There is a strong feeling here that this 89th staging of the tournament could be one for the ages.

Perhaps someone should try telling that to Jon Rahm, though.

Not for the first time in recent memory, the Spaniard is entering a major weekend conspicuously off the pace. After a second round 71, the 2023 champion is ten shots off Rose’s halfway lead.

Rahm’s blunt assessment of another two rounds grappling in the middle of the pack at Augusta?

“Not good.”

Indeed, he almost snapped his driver in anger during a 75 on Thursday and has not had the air of a man in control of his game.

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“I grinded and got a lot of good up-and-downs to be able to break par and hopefully make the cut,” he said. “But just a lot of bad swings and then a lot of mistakes when I was in a good position.”

So much, of course, has been made of Jon Rahm’s major misery since joining LIV Golf. The observation being made by many is that Rahm is not coming into golf’s marquee events anywhere near sharp enough with smaller fields in more sporadic LIV starts.

Yes, top-ten finishes on the breakaway league has almost become his modus operandi, but those results are inconsequential for a man who has previously placed such emphasis on legacy-defining victories.

A T45 at the Masters, a missed cut at the PGA Championship, withdrawal from the US Open and a T7 without threatening at The Open has seen Rahm’s star fall in the majors while others have risen.

It is, of course a stretch to say that this is some kind of major decline. Silly, in fact.

But if Rahm is being held to the same standard as other serial winners like McIlroy and Scheffler, his recent performances in the tournaments that matter most have been extremely underwhelming.

And on this evidence, Rahm is doing little to dispel his growing number of critics.

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The mystery for the two-time major champion here, though, is that his game feels almost as strong as it did when he slipped into a Green Jacket two years ago.

“It feels very close,” he sighed. “I wish I could explain it. There’s a lot of good swings that I just haven’t gotten the reward I thought I was going to get, but it feels a lot closer than the score reflects.

“Also, it’s a heck of a golf course we’re playing out here. It’s not easy. It’s very difficult, especially with the wind. It’s always going to be harder to minimize mistakes.”

In a Ryder Cup year, European skipper Luke Donald will be keen to see Rahm deliver at least a couple of big moments before his anticipated – but by no means certain – appearance in New York.

“I understand I have less weeks that count, but I can’t be out there thinking on the Ryder Cup,” he said, addressing the away match which looms large in September.

“Good golf takes care of everything. This week is big enough as it is. It would be a bad frame of mind to be thinking that many months in advance.”

Touché.

Rahm first needs to work out how he will go about performing a minor miracle this weekend.

“It’s going to take something around 66 or lower to probably get close enough to attack on Sunday,” he claimed as the top of the leaderboard took shape on Friday afternoon. Worryingly for Rahm, though, the cream has already risen to the top and won’t be relenting.

With a mountain to climb, one would would assume that only a course record-equalling 63 would suffice in his bid to get his name right back into the big conversation once more.

And as another important week threatens to pass him by, that’s really all Rahm has been so desperately fighting for.

Ben Parsons is the Senior Writer at bunkered and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.