Jon Rahm torn apart and branded a 'competitive irrelevance' in brutal LIV Golf putdown

Jon Rahm has been a ‘competitive irrelevance’ at major championships since joining LIV Golf, commentator Eamon Lynch has said in a brutal takedown. Lynch says Rahm has performed ‘miserably’ ahead of The Open.

The Spaniard heads to Royal Troon having struggled for form. He failed to compete with the leaders in his defence of the Masters and then underwhelmed at the PGA Championship.

Rahm, who signed a widely reported £450million deal with the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf tour at the end of 2023, was forced to pull out of the US Open at Pinehurst No 2 with a foot injury. That compounded his misery in the majors.

In a brutal takedown, Golf Channel’s Lynch has labelled Rahm a ‘competitive irrelevance’ in the majors ahead of The Open. He hinted at the 29-year-old’s form being poor ever since he joined LIV Golf, and wondered whether it is a ‘coincidence’.

"To me the biggest story is Jon Rahm," Lynch said of the build-up to The Open.

"I know he withdrew from Pinehurst with a foot injury earlier that week but he's been a competitive irrelevance in the major championships so far this year.

"A guy who won The Masters and contended in two other major championships [last year] and was such a storyline every time we went to a major championship.

"The game just hasn't been there. Perhaps it's a coincidence that it's happened after he went to LIV Golf. You know, every one has slump years and maybe this is just his.

"But to me, a guy who finished tied second in The Open last year [and] going back there this year having performed pretty miserably by his standards in major championships, to me, is the storyline."

Rahm has hit back at criticism about his performances. He believes the media played a role in stirring a negative perception of his displays at major championships this year.

"Yeah, I'm in a happy place. It's not like I've been playing bad, even though a lot of you (journalists) make it sound like I'm playing bad. I had two bad weeks,” the 2023 Masters champion said last month.

'I've been top 10 and had a chance to win in most of the tournaments I've played, and then unfortunately Augusta and PGA wasn't my best showings. But yeah, I'm happy."