Former PGA Tour player ‘completely disagrees’ with what’s been said about Jon Rahm after the PGA Championship

No player came closer to snatching the PGA Championship title off of Scottie Scheffler on Sunday at Quail Hollow than Jon Rahm, with the Spaniard moving level with the world number one at one stage during the final round.

It has been a frustrating time for Jon Rahm in the majors. Since joining LIV Golf, the 30-year-old has rarely looked like contending at the biggest events in the game, with Rahm even missing the cut at the PGA Championship last year.

So it felt like a real statement that he did play so well at Quail Hollow. When Scottie Scheffler reached the turn on Sunday, he had seen his hefty lead disappear thanks to Rahm.

Of course, it was Scheffler who managed to get the job done. Rahm meanwhile, played the final three holes in five over par to fall back into a tie for eighth in the final standings.

Brendon de Jonge disagrees with what was said about Jon Rahm after the PGA Championship

With Bryson DeChambeau also failing to keep up with Scheffler over the final 18 holes, Brandel Chamblee suggested that the likes of Rahm and DeChambeau are paying the price in the majors for plying their trade on LIV.

There is plenty to criticise LIV Golf for, including the money involved removing some of the motivation of some of the players within the league. There was a fairly poor showing from a number of their players at the second major of the year.

However, speaking on 5 Clubs, Brendon de Jonge hit out at the suggestion that Rahm suffered because of playing on LIV.

“I completely disagree with that. The fact that Jon Rahm’s playing on the LIV tour has absolutely nothing to do with that finish. He chased it on three very difficult holes because he had to,” he said.

“You said it, Scottie Scheffler was behind. He knows Scottie Scheffler’s not going to make a mistake. You haven’t taken advantage of two easy holes in 14 and 15. You’re forcing it on 16, 17, 18, on hard holes, no matter what tour you’re playing on.”

How Jon Rahm has performed in the majors before and after his move to LIV Golf

Rahm has an outstanding record in the major championships across his career. He has missed five cuts in 34 appearances, while he also eight top fives. And of course, he has two victories.

At the time he made the jump to LIV, he was the current Masters champion. He also finished in a tie for second at The Open Championship – though some way adrift of Brian Harman.

However, Rahm failed to register a single top 10 in the majors in 2022. It was the first time since 2017 that he had done that.

He has two top 10s in five major appearances since joining LIV Golf. And his tied eighth finish at Quail Hollow clearly does not tell the full story given how far he pushed Scheffler.

It would not be a surprise to see Rahm add a third major at some stage soon. And you can imagine that he will have been keeping plenty of receipts.