Jon Rahm ties for seventh at 2020 Masters after more missed opportunities

Jon Rahm completed his third straight top-10 finish at Augusta National, but he’s tired of moral victories.

He sat at 9-under-par after a Friday 66, putting him in a great spot heading into the weekend. Then, little went right for the 26-year-old Spaniard. After struggling on the second nine in the third round, he played even-par through the first nine Sunday.

With a bogey on No. 10 and a double-bogey on No. 12, he rallied to go 4-under over the next six holes to finish with 71. It was another case of not being able to take advantage of the conditions, while others did.

“I don't even know what to say. Just the whole thing of the week, I couldn't get anything going. I started poorly, made the good birdie on 2, but after that, every option I had, I just didn't make it,” he said. “I had good putts on 3 and 8. I thought I made them. None of them went in. Then all the other shots just weren't quite as precise as they need to be at Augusta. It is what it is.”

Once again, one round put him out of contention at a major. He hopes to put that and the rest of this year behind him as quickly as possible.

“At least I battled back at the end, not like I did yesterday, but kind of tired with that and kind of tired of having to deal with majors,” he said. “I always have one round that sets me back big time, and I have to somehow make a miracle Sunday to have a chance. So looking forward to hopefully fixing that.

“And almost like a lot of people this year, probably looking forward to putting 2020 behind me and just looking ahead.”

As for what the course looks like when April rolls around, Rahm is crossing his fingers it plays more traditionally.

“You know, I hope they make it as firm as possible, the complete opposite of what we saw this week,” he said. “I was talking, joking with Patrick Reed and Sebastian (Muñoz), kind of walking down the last few holes saying, it's like you almost have to hit the delete button from what you learned this week because it's never, ever going to play again.”

Rahm added that certain shots he made this week, due to the November conditions of the course, will not carry over to future Masters. He also hopes the conditions in April will make the course harder to crack.

“Some of the shots we hit. I landed a 5 iron pin high on 5 and stayed on the back edge. Usually you're in the bushes trying to figure out what to do, and many other shots like that that usually are just unplayable. My shot into 15, I hit a low 4 iron that landed a yard short and stayed four feet,” he said. “All those shots will never, ever play like that again. So I kind of hope we see the opposite and see a more challenging Masters.“