At Augusta National, composure is as important as precision. Yet during the final round of the 2026 Masters, that balance cracked, and it was Sergio Garcia under scrutiny for that. However, when asked for his opinion, Jon Rahm didn’t fuel the outrage. Instead, he offered a perspective that hinted at his own performance at the first major of the season.
“I don’t know. It may be. I’m not sure. I don’t remember who I play with or who I don’t all the time especially if we’re playing badly,” Jon Rahm said at the press conference when asked about his experience playing with the fellow Spaniard.
“But, it was good. Obviously he hasn’t been swinging it the way he would like. Wasn’t the easiest day for him so I kind of — not much I can say. To talk to him when I could and lift his spirits up a little bit. But felt like I was exactly where he was at today the last few days so I can’t really say much.”
As the 2x major winner noted, Garcia was not swinging the way he wanted in the final round, which was challenging right from the beginning.
He started with a bogey on Tea Olive. Following that bogey, he hit the tee shot on Pink Dogwood into the woods. That’s when frustration got the best of him, as he snapped his driver on the tee box. As a result, he broke the tee box, a water cooler, and his driver.
Afterwards, the chairman of the competition committee at The Masters, Geoff Yang, gave him a code of conduct warning on the 4th tee. A second infraction would have brought a two-shot penalty, and a third would lead to disqualification. However, it wasn’t his first time letting frustration loose. Garcia broke his driver in frustration at the 2025 Open Championship, too. Because of that, he had to play the final round without a driver.
So, while many criticized Garcia, Jon Rahm showed his quiet support. There was also a small, fun incident between the two Spaniards. On the same hole, Rahm’s caddie was helping him deal with a bunker. So, Garcia bizarrely carried Rahm’s golf bag down the fairway, creating a lighter moment amid the drama.
And as Rahm said, he knew what position Garcia was in because he himself was there for the last few days.
Rahm’s final round was a 4-under 68, but the past three rounds were not that great. His initial round of 6-over 78 included four bogeys and a double bogey on Azalea, where Phil Mickelson thinks it is easier to score an eagle compared to other holes. He was 12 shots behind co-leaders Sam Burns and Rory McIlroy, and it completely derailed his path to contention at Augusta National.
Jon Rahm did manage to make the cut with a 2-under 70 in the second round, but struggled again in his 3rd. It was a 1-over 73 round comprising 3 birdies on Tea Olive, Flowering Peach, and Firethorn, and 4 bogeys on Magnolia, White Dogwood, Chinese Fir, and Holly.
And because of that, Rahm made a new career low at the Masters.
Jon Rahm faced a birdie-less round for the first time at the Masters
Rahm had his 10th Masters start in 2026. In the previous 9, he has won in 2023, averaged 71, had a lowest round of 65, and a highest round of 77. Besides that, he made $5,456,217 in official money across those 9 starts.
This time, though, he played his worst-ever Masters round, surpassing the previous 77 with a 6-over 78 in the opening round. What’s more, this was the first time he failed to make a birdie. In the previous 36 rounds he played, he always made a birdie, including his round of 77.
After the round, Jon Rahm called Augusta “a hard golf course” with no swing feel. He said that he needed a “Herculean effort” to contend. He expressed frustration at the position after high expectations from the LIV win in Hong Kong.
After enduring one of his toughest starts at Augusta, Jon Rahm understood the frustration that led to Sergio Garcia’s outburst more than most. That shared struggle explains why he chose empathy over criticism.
