If Jon Rahm needed any reassurance that his shock move to LIV Golf would not harm his chances of winning more majors, he did not need to look hard for evidence.
After starting with a four-putt double bogey in last year’s Masters, Rahm ended up battling with Brooks Koepka in the final round and ultimately finishing four shots clear of Koepka and Phil Mickelson.
With Patrick Reed another shot behind in a tie for fourth it was a strong showing for the LIV contingent, who enjoyed even more bragging rights a month later when Koepka claimed his fifth major title in the US PGA.
So while it is undeniable that Rahm’s preparations for his Masters title defence are a world away from those of 12 months ago – three PGA Tour wins in eight starts compared to contesting just five 54-hole LIV events – there is little chance of the Spaniard being written off for being unprepared.
“I came in here last year thinking the same thing about all of the LIV players, the ones that potentially could win, and they proved me wrong,” two-time US Open champion and ESPN analyst Curtis Strange admitted.
“Two or three of them played really well. So I don’t think that’s a point any more.
“I expect Rahm to be ready to go. I think, because of what Rahm’s been through a little bit the last year, going over there, he might feel that he has a little bit more to prove.
“But he’s incredibly talented, great champion at the Masters. There’s no reason why he couldn’t be champion there again this year.”
The stars certainly seemed to align for Rahm last year, his victory coming on the 40th anniversary of his idol Seve Ballesteros claiming a second win at Augusta National and on what would have been his fellow Spaniard’s 66th birthday.
It even concluded with the kind of par on the 18th of which Ballesteros would have been proud, although Rahm still insists his tee shot into the trees, which meant his ball failed to even reach the fairway, was not as terrible as it looked.
“Out of all the great things that week, a lot of people remember the four-putt and the tee shot on 18, which wasn’t as bad as people think,” Rahm said with a smile.
“What stood out to me is I had this image in my mind of how great I played all week, which I did, and then I watch the actual summary and I couldn’t help to think, man, I missed a lot more shots than I thought I did.
“I guess it is a good lesson to have in mind, right? Not only that I could play better in theory but the fact that there’s a mental lesson there, that you’re going to miss shots and you just have to figure out how to minimise the damage.
“Going back to Sunday, it’s always very difficult to put into words. Very few times do I remember in any sporting event to have so many things line up to make something so memorable for a player.
“With it being Easter, with it being Seve’s birthday, with my caddie Adam and me registering as the 49th player and being 4/9, the actual date of April 9th, being the fourth Spaniard to win it, 10th Spanish major.
“Just a lot of little things that made it so much more special than what already winning the green jacket and being the Masters champion is.”
Speaking of special memories, Rahm’s came in the early hours of the morning following his victory, when he took advantage of his new status to access parts of the clubhouse which are usually off limits.
“I was there with my dad and [wife] Kelley in the clubhouse,” he explained.
“It’s one in the morning and I said if there’s a time to maybe get away with something it’s right now, so I asked, can we go to the champions locker room because I don’t know if they’re ever going to be able to go up there again. They said yes.
“It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had, to see people’s names on the lockers, to actually see the locker room.
“My dad and I walked out to the balcony looking down Magnolia Lane, what you could see of it in the pitch darkness. Somebody took a picture of my dad and I talking, me with the jacket on, and it’s one of the better pictures we have.
“I think it’s my dad’s or my mom’s WhatsApp picture, which is really cool to see, and then having Kelley up there for that as well, is special.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to recreate that again with any of them, but I’m really glad that they let us do that and they got to see the history of it.”
PGA Championship: Morikawa and Schauffele share lead ahead of final round
Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele are joint leaders at the PGA Championship, with a host of contenders still in with a chance of triumphing going into the final round.
Schauffele crucially recovered from a double-bogey on 15 to birdie his last two holes on Saturday. That meant he finished on 15 under, carding a second successive 68.
Morikawa went one better with a four-under 67, so sits in a share of the lead in pursuit of his third major title, having recovered impressively from a bogey on two to produce a blemish-free round from there.
Sahith Theegala is only one behind the leaders at Valhalla Golf Club, while Shane Lowry, Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland are only two off the lead.
Lowry stormed into contention as he equalled the lowest round in men's major history during a sensational third round in Kentucky.
The Irishman carded nine birdies and no bogeys to set a new career low and jump to 13 under after being eight strokes off the lead at the halfway stage.
Lowry had the opportunity to produce the first '61 round' in a men's major history but missed the hole by mere inches on 18, settling for a record-equalling 62 instead.
It is just the fifth time a 62 has been carded at a major, with Schauffele doing it for the second time on the first day at Valhalla.
Robert MacIntyre and Justin Rose are also in striking distance, as they sit three shots off the pace after producing impressive rounds of 66 and 64 respectively.
Rory McIlroy, though, is seven shots behind Morikawa and Schauffele at eight under, level with Jordan Spieth.
And, after a tumultuous week, world number one Scottie Scheffler looks to have slipped out of contention after posting a two-over 73. He is on seven under in a tie for 24th position.
As for Schauffele, he has had 12 top-10 finishes at majors, including two second-place and two third-place finishes. He has lead since round one and will now look to finish the job on Sunday.
"Felt like I've had to work for a lot of my birdies the last two days," he said after round three.
"Haven't been able to make many putts. I feel like I'm still hitting the ball. Feel like I'm hitting the ball pretty nice.
"If I can just get the putter going a little bit, it should free me up."
PGA Championship: Lowry in contention with record-equalling round
Shane Lowry stormed into contention for the PGA Championship as he equalled the lowest round in men's major history during a sensational third round at Valhalla.
Lowry carded nine birdies and no bogeys on Saturday to set a new career low and jump to 13 under after being eight strokes off the lead at the halfway stage.
The Irishman had the opportunity to produce the first '61 round' in a men's major history but missed the hole by mere inches, settling for a record-equalling 62 instead.
It is just the fifth time a 62 has been carded at a major, with Xander Schauffele doing it for the second time on the first day at Valhalla.
Rickie Fowler had previously done it in round one of the 2023 US Open along with Schauffele, while Branden Grace was the first to do it at The Open in 2017.
"I just went out there with the hope of trying to get myself towards double digits," he told Sky Sports.
"I thought if I could get myself to 10 under today, I could give myself a chance going into tomorrow. I went out and got off to a great start, rolling putts in and felt great and just kept going. I enjoyed it. Myself and Justin Rose, we were great out there and just enjoyed every minute of it.
"It’s pretty cool to do something like this, but there is a lot more to do tomorrow."
Rose played a 64 to finish seven under on the round and moves to 12 under for the tournament.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy shot a three-under 68 to move to eight under par in the Championship, and reigning champion Brooks Koepka is now on four under after a 74.
Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa were among the later starters in Kentucky.
PGA Championship: Woods determined to 'keep fighting' after missing cut at Valhalla
Tiger Woods vowed he would "keep fighting" after missing the cut at this year's PGA Championship.
The four-time champion will be absent from the weekend at the second major of the season, having carded rounds of 72 and 77 in Valhalla.
Woods concluded his opening round with a bogey-bogey finish, while he hit two triple-bogeys in the first four holes of his second round - doing so multiple times in a single round at a major for the first time.
The 48-year-old, who finished seven over par and 19 strokes behind halfway leader Xander Schauffele, was making his first appearance on the PGA Tour since last month's Masters, and knows he needs to improve ahead of the US Open at Pinehurst in four weeks' time.
When asked about his next steps, the 15-time major champion responded: "Just keep fighting. Keep the pedal on, keep fighting, keep grinding, keep working hard at posting the best score that I can possibly post. That's all I can do.
"I got off to a bad start [in the second round] and the rough grabbed me at [the second hole]. I compounded the problem there at [the fourth].
"[I] just kept making mistakes and things you can't do, not just in tournaments but in majors especially. I hung around for most of the day, but unfortunately, the damage was done early.
"I need to play more. Unfortunately, I just haven't played a whole lot of tournaments. Hopefully, everything will somehow come together in my practice sessions at home and be ready for Pinehurst."
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