Tag: Masters

Masters Survey 2024: Keegan Bradley on the ‘secret bathrooms,’ Justin Thomas dreams of the Champions locker room & Zach Johnson’s Butler Cabin humble brag among pros favorite building or room at Augusta National

Keegan Bradley’s answer to the question of his favorite building or room at Augusta National might be the best answer of this year’s entire Golfweek Masters Survey. “This is going to sound strange but there are these secret bathrooms on the course,” …

Keegan Bradley’s answer to the question of his favorite building or room at Augusta National might be the best answer of this year’s entire Golfweek Masters Survey. 

“This is going to sound strange but there are these secret bathrooms on the course,” he said. “There’s one behind 11 tee and one as you are walking down 13 to the left. It’s a nice moment to get out of the scene for a second, take a breath, it’s very calming. I like to do that.”

Strange, indeed. Forget for a moment that he picked a place that technically may be neither a building or a room, but who knew the club had “secret bathrooms.”

The rest of the answers are a bit more what you’d suspect, although more votes for the caddie building than expected. The locker room got its share of votes, including from Kevin Streelman, who liked to grab a coffee and sit on the balcony overlooking the famed Tree and first tee. “It’s pure,” Steve Stricker said of the locker room. But count Tony Finau and Justin Thomas among the pros who long for the day that they can get the first-class upgrade to the prestige of the Champions locker room, of which Padraig Harrington said, “there’s only one room to be at Augusta National and I’ve never been there.” Gary Player, a three-time Masters champion, has and he confirmed it’s everything it’s cracked up to be, saying it has “an ambiance like no other.”

Although the Black Knight gets topped for best humble brag by Zach Johnson, who proclaimed, his favorite spot at Augusta National is Butler Cabin. “Ideally on Sunday night,” said the 2007 Masters champ, “is pretty good.” That answer is tough to beat.

The locker room is the coolest place.

The caddie building is tough to beat. A lot of different characters down there, a little more relaxed and the food is really good there.

Right now, it’s the locker room. Hopefully someday it will be the champions locker room.

Any room that’s got President Eisenhower or Bobby Jones in it. Though the Champions Locker Room has an ambiance like no other. 

The clubhouse is cool. Player dining is nice and quiet. 

I love the lockerroom. It’s our safe place, get out of the chaos, room on the side that we can eat in and looks over No. 1 tee and see everybody out there. 

I don’t even use the locker room. I just walk across the street from my bus.

The Champions Locker room but I haven’t earned the right to be there yet.

This is going to sound strange but there are these secret bathrooms on the course. There’s one behind 11 tee and one as you are walking down 13 to the left. It’s a nice moment to get out of the scene for a second, take a breath, it’s very calming. I like to do that.

The locker room is pretty special. Seeing Jack and Gary and Tiger walking around. It’s a place of solitude. There’s a little back area with a balcony and a few seats and I grab a coffee and you’re looking down at the tree and the first tee.

Family dining.

The caddie house. It feels like Augusta but comfortable, low key and relaxed. Guys in their jumpsuits. Every player feels like they can take a reprieve when they step inside the caddie house. 

I wish it was the Champion’s Locker. There’s only one room to be at Augusta National and I’ve never been there.

I imagine if I had won there it would the Champions locker room. But I do love the locker room for the rest of us. It’s pure. 

Not yet but it’s going to be the Champions locker room when I get there.

The phone room in player dining in the locker room. We are able to bring our phones in but if you need to make a call you go in this room. There have been times, especially if there is a rain delay, when there is a line to go in that room.

Butler Cabin, ideally on Sunday night is pretty good. The Tuesday dinner up above is the best.

Rory McIlroy shaking up Masters prep: won’t arrive until Tuesday, skipping Par 3 Contest in bid for elusive career Grand Slam

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

For Rory McIlroy, he’s about to embark on his 16th attempt to win a Green Jacket at the Masters and his 10th try to complete the career Grand Slam.

But doing the same thing over and over is the definition of insanity, so McIlroy intends to shake things up again this year. Golfweek has learned McIlroy, who reportedly made a scouting trip Monday to play Augusta National, won’t return to the course until late Tuesday of tournament week and plans to skip the Par 3 Contest on Wednesday.

Last week, McIlroy participated in a small gathering with members of the Apogee Club, a private club with courses being built in Hobe Sound, Florida, and played with his TGL team member Keegan Bradley. During the round, which was taped for possible inclusion in season 3 of “Full Swing,” the Netflix documentary, and by Golf Channel for a future show on the hi-tech indoor TGL debuting in 2025, Bradley asked McIlroy when he was going to get to Augusta National ahead of the Masters. McIlroy said not until late Tuesday and explained to Bradley the lead-up to the start of the Masters drags too long so he intends to arrive later than he ever has before. (It’s not as if he doesn’t know how the course plays at this point.) In previous years, McIlroy has talked about killing time by doing puzzles at his rental house, and he’s also taught himself to juggle. He’s still trying to put the pieces together for what constitutes a winning approach to the Masters and ending his major-less skid, which dates to the 2014 PGA Championship.

Padraig Harrington once noted with all of McIlroy’s vast talent, all he really had to do was be patient.

“All Rory has to worry about is peaking the right weeks and his game is plenty good enough,” he said. “Wouldn’t you love to just be patient and wait for those weeks to turn up?”

Well, McIlroy has good reason to have become impatient. Those weeks of brilliance haven’t been turning up of late. While McIlroy did successfully defend his title in the DP World Tour’s Dubai Desert Classic in January, he has been mired in an early-season swoon (for him). McIlroy has failed to record a top-10 finish this season on the PGA Tour. If he fails to do so this week in San Antonio at the Valero Texas Open, it will mark the first time he’s headed into the Masters without one since 2010.

ESPN’s Andy North walked with McIlroy the last three rounds at the Players last month and rated his iron play this season as below average.

“His iron play this year has not been anywhere near to his standard. He had a great day with his irons on Thursday that week, and he thought he’d gotten over the hump,” North said. “That’s concerning to me, and I think that’s one of the reasons he’s playing this week. He wants to see if what he’s been working on the past couple weeks is what he wants to do.

“But to win at Augusta, you go back and look at the winners, everybody talks about putting and driving length and all that kind of stuff. Who hits the most greens has a great chance to win,” he added noting that Tiger Woods topped the field in greens in regulation in 2019 as did Scottie Scheffler in 2022.

McIlroy has top 10s in seven of the past 10 years at Augusta National but despite finishing a distant second in 2022, he really hasn’t been in the trophy hunt since playing alongside eventual champion Patrick Reed in 2018. Last year, he said he felt as confident as ever and flamed out early on Friday with a missed cut.

Fellow ESPN commentator Curtis Strange said he had talked to McIlroy’s mental coach Bob Rotella and the other reason McIlroy is playing the week before the Masters this year is simple: to keep his mind off next week.

“I like that he’s playing this week,” said Strange. “Bob said the main thing for Rory next week is to stay calm and cool. He had this phrase, ‘Mind has to be stronger than the swing,’ and I think in Rory’s case that’s exactly right because he does have some baggage coming into here because he knows he could have won here a couple of times but he knows he has the game as well.”

Added ESPN’s lead anchor Scott Van Pelt, “It’s a challenge to figure out how do you thread the needle? And maybe there’s no recipe because it’s hard to win this one. If he does, everyone’s going to say, well, of course. But if he doesn’t, then you join the list of guys going how the hell did I not win that tournament?”

Might as well shake things up in the lead up to the Masters. He’ll arrive later and take a more business-like approach with one goal in mind: to ensure the mind is stronger than the swing.

Masters Survey 2024: Padraig Harrington, Gary Player, Collin Morikawa among pros sharing their funniest ticket stories

A ticket to the Masters is one of the most coveted tickets in all of sports. Few know better than Masters contestants, who are given eight badges for their family and are allowed to buy up to four more. That’s when the fun begins – trying to divvy …

A ticket to the Masters is one of the most coveted tickets in all of sports. Few know better than Masters contestants, who are given eight badges for their family and are allowed to buy up to four more.

That’s when the fun begins — trying to divvy them up for the week to family and friends. Zach Johnson carries around a spread sheet in his wallet so he can keep track of it. Will Zalatoris is another Excel spreadsheet guy to manage his ticket requests. Brian Harman has his wife handle it.

“I told her at the beginning I’m trying to win this tournament, you’re in charge,” he said.

We asked pros to name their funniest Masters ticket story and from Paddy to Gary to Collin and beyond, they didn’t disappoint.

My wife handles all that. I told her at the beginning I’m trying to win this tournament, you’re in charge so I always tell anyone who asks to text her.

Last year I had two friends come in on Thursday night. I completely forgot to leave their tickets at Will Call. I was teeing off in five minutes and took one last look at my phone. The tickets were still in my bedroom in a backpack. I gave them the code to our rental, they had to drive there, find them and I didn’t see them until the 15th hole.

My church minister from South African, who was touring America, asked me for a ticket. I made the mistake of giving him my own badge. When he came to the gates, the security guards grabbed him to question how he obtained Gary Player’s badge. Fortunately, the chairman at the time, Bill Lane from Texas who was the ultimate gentleman, took care of the matter. 

I don’t know if it is funny but it’s a cool one. I get picked up from Palm Springs by a really nice volunteer one year and we get to talking and he says it’s his dream to go to Augusta and take his son. I said, “I’ve got some tickets for this year.” The way he looked at me was everything. We stayed in contact and I got him tickets for Monday and Tuesday practice rounds.

I always say turn up and we will find you a ticket. It’s difficult to promise someone a ticket but someone who makes the effort to come from Ireland, I always found a way to get them in.

One year, I hit it straight through the 14th fairway and I’m in the crowd. This guy who I’d given a ticket to has broken free from the ring of people standing by my ball and is beside my caddie asking him what I have left? He got so excited. One of my other ticketed friends leaned over the crowd and grabbed him by the collar to bring him back in. I had one guy completely lose their mind in the excitement and another who was well aware to bring him back down to earth.

One time I had a couple tickets that came available and I offered them to a buddy of mine who is a professional wakeboarder in Orlando. He dropped everything and rented a car and drove up. It was a reality check and made me appreciate how special it is either to play in it or to go and watch it.

Our friends showed up from many states away and they brought their newborn baby. They were asked for a ticket for the baby. No forgiveness.

Not a funny one, but I keep a spreadsheet because I have one friend coming in Monday-Tuesday and another for Tuesday-Wednesday. I need it to keep track of everything.

I have over-committed and had members save me. I’m a little OCD. We are given eight, I buy the max of four. I make a spreadsheet and I keep it in my wallet. 

From Jack Nicklaus to Tiger Woods, Verne Lundquist explains his favorite Masters calls ahead of his final trip to Augusta National

Lundquist will call his 40th and final Masters this year for CBS.

Verne Lundquist has a plan next Tuesday night to hang around Augusta National Golf Club to say a proper goodbye to both Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the longtime CBS announcer prepares to call his final Masters in 2024.

“Those two guys have had a terrific impact on my professional career,” Lundquist said on a call with the media ahead of the first men’s major championship of the year. “And I’m in deep gratitude to them both.”

Uncle Verne has been a signature voice at the Masters and will make his 40th and final trip down Magnolia Lane next week. The Masters is an event steeped in history, and Lundquist has covered nearly half of the tournaments. For a man who has seen so much action and drama among the Georgia pines, two of his calls come to mind as his favorites, and they’re Nos. 1a and 1b on his all-time list: Nicklaus’ putt in 1986 and Woods’ chip in 2005.

“I lean towards ’86, probably more so because of the fact that Jack is six months older than me, and I tend to remind him every chance I get,” he said with his signature laugh. “Jack hadn’t won in two years at that time and there are many stories about his championship run on Sunday.”

“(Jim Nantz) had a great call. First Augusta, 1986, he was working at 16 and I think the story is, when Jack hit his tee shot at 16, (his son and caddie) said, ‘Be good’ and Jack without looking up said, ‘It is,’ and the ball almost went in the hole. Jim said, ‘The bear has come out of hibernation.’”

Nicklaus was tied for the lead on the 17th tee after Seve Ballesteros found the water on No. 15. His drive went near the green on No. 7 and he then hit a pitching wedge about 12 feet above the hole. Enter Lundquist.

“I can remember thinking to myself as he walked up, ‘Keep it simple and get your butt out of the way.’ And I managed to do that,” Lundquist remembered of the famous putt. “I boldly predicted ‘Maybe’ when it was not that far from the hole, and then I reacted with what I said, ‘Yes sir!’ with slightly more emphasis than that. I think because I know Jack so much better than I know Tiger, I lean toward the Jack call.”

It will be an emotional week for the entire CBS crew as both Lundquist and CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus will be working their final Masters.

“He’s just the voice,” Nantz said of his good friend and colleague. “His calls are truly legendary. … Augusta’s a place that I feel like kind of comes to life every April. It’s not just because it’s a gathering of the greatest players in the world and there’s a golf competition, but it’s a week where history, where voices, they come back. We hear them again. We still kind of feel and have front of mind the legends of yesteryear. The Gene Sarazens, they make an earthly visit every year in April. Byron (Nelson), Ben (Hogan), Sam (Snead), of course Arnold (Palmer), there’s one week a year where they come back in our lives, back on our planet.

“What I’m saying here is Verne’s always going to always have a home in Augusta. He’s going to be a part of Augusta forever. Those calls that he’s made, they’re going to be played back 50, 100, 200 years from now,” Nantz continued. “He’s gonna have a home there, a permanent residence. I’m just really appreciative. I don’t know quite exactly how I’m going to say my goodbyes, but I’ll figure it out.”

When Lundquist and McManus discussed “the proper time to exit stage left,” the pair agreed that 40 Masters had a nice sound to it. He knows the emotions will hit when he arrives on site the Sunday before tournament week, but he’s going to relish every moment of every day at the course.

“I’ll be emotional and there’s a spot on my left thigh that I’ll be pinching to make sure I don’t shed a tear on the air, but it’s been a great run,” Lundquist said of his time calling the Masters. “Hey, I’m 83 years old and I’ve been blessed to have a sensational professional life and a wonderful personal life. I wasn’t the first to say this, but thanks for the memories.”

LIV Golf’s Cameron Smith has chopped off his signature mullet

The party in the back is no longer.

Cameron Smith has a big couple of weeks of golf ahead, and the Aussie will be a bit more aerodynamic when he walks the fairways at LIV Golf Miami and the Masters.

The 30-year-old captain of Ripper GC in the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League is known for his 2022 Open Championship victory at St. Andrews, and of course for his signature mullet hairstyle. Let me rephrase that: his former signature hairstyle.

Smith has chopped off his business in the front, party in the back style for a more reserved, spiked look ahead of his return to the golf course this week. The reason? Boredom.

Smith is currently eighth in the season-long LIV standings with finishes of T8-T15-T41-T2 so far. Following this week’s 2024 LIV Golf Miami event at Trump National Doral, Smith will return to Augusta National, where he finished T-34 last season after finishes of T2-T10-T3 in the three years prior.

It’s a real shame, as the mullet and green jacket combination in Butler Cabin would’ve been quite the sight to see.

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Report: Tiger Woods landed in Augusta this weekend; is it his final tune-up for the 2024 Masters?

This would be the 26th Masters start for the five-time champion.

With the 88th Masters Tournament just two weeks out, the signs are pointing to Tiger Woods making his long-awaited return to Augusta National Golf Club.

According to reports from ESPN and the X account Radaratlas2, a plane owned by Woods was set to land in Augusta Saturday morning. Could it be a final tune-up for April 11?

This would be the 26th Masters start for the five-time champion, who has always been open about his love for this course and this tournament.

“I’ve always loved this golf course, and I love playing this event,” Woods said after his second round in 2023. “Obviously I’ve missed a couple with some injuries, but I’ve always wanted to play here. I’ve loved it.”

Photos: Tiger Woods, Elin Nordegren on hand to watch Charlie Woods get his state championship ring

Woods withdrew from the 2023 Masters after 54 holes due to reaggravating plantar fasciitis. He finished 47th in 2022 but has a chance to break another record in 2024. If he makes the cut, it will be his 24th consecutive made cut at the Masters, passing Gary Player and Fred Couples (23). Woods’ only missed cut at Augusta came in 1996, his second career start.

Ever wanted to play the Par 3 Course at Augusta National? Here’s your chance (sort of)

This may be your best chance to play the famed 9-hole course.

The Par 3 Contest is one of the best parts of Masters week every year.

Now, you have a chance to play the famed 9-hole course. Well, sort of.

As part of its Road to the Masters series, EA Sports PGA Tour is adding the par-3 gem at Augusta National Golf Club in a future update. Last year, the video game became the first in nearly a decade to feature Augusta National as a playable and licensed course. Now, the par-3 course is getting its due.

Some details haven’t been announced, like whether the Par 3 Contest will be a playable mode and official release date.

But, if you’ve ever wanted to take a swing at the most famous par-3 course in the world, this is probably the only chance you’ve got.

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Want Masters merch but can’t go to Augusta National? Get your fantasy lineup ready

Daily prizes and overall tournament winners will be awarded.

The Masters logo is one of, if not the, most recognized symbols in golf. Augusta National Golf Club’s exclusivity makes the merch with the Masters logo all the more desirable.

If you don’t have a ticket to the upcoming 2024 Masters and still want to get your hands on some merch, you better pick a solid lineup. Masters Fantasy returns in 2024, and there’s more on the line than just bragging rights.

The free-to-play fantasy game online (or via the Masters app) allows users to create pools and compete against friends, family and fans from around the world. The top three performers for the whole tournament will be awarded, and daily prizes per round are also up for grabs. Fans from India and Mexico are also able to compete this year. Official rules can be found here.

Each lineup will consist of four players from four different categories: Former Masters champions, players born in the United States, players born outside the United States and a wild card player.

The following prizes will awarded: Grand prize, first runner-up; second runner-up and daily prizes. Winners will be notified by email.

Overall grand prize (U.S. and Washington D.C. only):

Total value: $2,453

  • Pro V1 Dozen Golf Balls (3)
  • Headwear (5)
  • Golf Umbrella (2)
  • Tournament Chair (2)
  • 2024 Pin Flag (2)
  • Dated Watch
  • Leather Valuables Pouch
  • Leather Headcovers
  • Leather Golf Bag

Overall runner-up (U.S. and Washington D.C. only):

Total value: $1,000

  • Duffle Bag
  • Travel Kit
  • 2024 Pin Flag
  • Wine Glasses (2)
  • Double Old Fashioned (2)
  • Woven Throw

Overall second runner-up (U.S. and Washington D.C. only):

Total value: $572

  • Wine Set (2)
  • Double Old Fashioned (2)
  • Ale Glasses (2)
  • Stemless Wine Glass (2)
  • Italian Mug and Plate (4)
  • Cocktail Napkins
  • Leather Coasters
  • 2024 Pin Flag
  • Bar Towels

Daily prizes during four tournament rounds (U.S. and Washington D.C. only):

Total value: $509.50

  • Duffle Bag
  • Cinch Bag
  • Jute Bag
  • Mini Garden Gnome
  • Headwear (4)
  • 2024 Pin Flag (2)
  • 24 oz. Tervis (2)
  • 24 oz. Corksicle (2)
  • 16 oz. Tervis (2)

International prize (India and Mexico only, prizes awarded to highest scorer from each country)

Total value: $509.50

  • Duffle Bag
  • Cinch Bag
  • Jute Bag
  • Mini Garden Gnome
  • Headwear (4)
  • 2024 Pin Flag (2)
  • 24 oz. Tervis (2)
  • 24 oz. Corksicle (2)
  • 16 oz. Tervis (2)

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Tiger Woods officially registered for 2024 Masters; past champion Angel Cabrera visa denied

The Masters field is currently at 85 players.

Past champions Tiger Woods is officially listed in the 2024 Masters field, and Angel Cabrera is officially out.

Woods, a five-time Masters winner most recently in 2019, is officially listed on the entry list for competitors on the tournament website and in the latest update to the Masters app, which went live Wednesday. Woods’s participation was expected as he has made clear his intention to build his schedule around the four majors ever since being involved in a car crash in February 2021 that required multiple surgeries and nearly led to the amputation of his right leg.

But Woods, 48, has played just one full competitive round in the lead up to the Masters, withdrawing after six holes from the second round of the Genesis Invitational in February citing the flu. He played in the one-day Seminole Pro-Member in early March but elected not to play either the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he has won eight times, or the Players Championship last week, the Tour’s flagship event and where he’s a two-time champion. Woods, who is making his 26th Masters appearance, survived the 36-hole cut at the Masters last year to tie a record with Gary Player and Fred Couples for most consecutive tournament cuts made with 23. Woods withdrew Saturday, stating he aggravated his plantar fasciitis.

Cabrera, the 2009 Masters champion, hasn’t competed in the Masters since 2019. The 54-year-old Argentine, who also won the 2007 U.S. Open, was sentenced in July 2021 to two years in prison for threats and harassment to his partner, but was released late last year and last month competed in his first PGA Tour Champions event in Morocco, finishing T-27. He has been listed on the tournament website as “a past champion, not playing,” though he is eligible to compete in the field as is custom to past champions.

Speaking to Golf Digest after his release from jail, he said memories of his victory at the Masters helped him pull through while serving time.

“I remember nearly every strokes of that Sunday I won the Masters and would replay it in my mind: the playoff, the famous shot I made through the trees,” he said.

“It’s my dream to return to that prestigious place and walk the course that gave me so much joy and satisfaction,” he said, calling it like a second home. “It would be a great privilege to return and to attend the Champions Dinner with so many of the golf world’s greatest players.”

Speaking during a press conference at the Latin America Amateur Championship in Panama in January, Augusta National Golf Club Chairman Fred Ridley said Cabrera would be welcomed back with one caveat.

“Angel certainly is one of our great champions,” Ridley said. “As we all know, he has been unable to participate in the Masters the last couple of years due to legal issues. Presently we have been in constant contact with Angel’s representatives. He presently is not able to enter the United States. He doesn’t have a visa, and I know that that process is being worked through. We certainly wish him the best of luck with that, and we’ll definitely welcome him back if he’s able to straighten out those legal issues.”

Golfweek has learned Cabrera’s visa has been temporarily declined.

“More information has been requested and will be provided to the embassy shortly. Final decision on the visa will take no less than 8 to 10 weeks. He will not be at The Masters,” Cabrera’s longtime agent, Manuel Tagle, wrote in an email to Golfweek.

The Masters field is currently at 85 players. The first men’s major of the year runs April 11-14.

Jon Rahm reminisces on his Masters victory: visiting the Champions locker room and more

“It’s fun to think about it now, that four-putt.”

The night Jon Rahm won the Masters, he didn’t want it to end.

Who can blame him? It was one of the great days of the Spaniard’s life, winning his second major on the birthday of his countryman and childhood hero Seve Ballesteros by four shots over Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka. Draped in his Green Jacket, Rahm wasn’t ready to leave Augusta National Golf Club just yet despite it being past midnight, so he made his big ask.

“It’s 1:00 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?’ ”

By ‘we’ Rahm meant with his wife, Kelley, and father, Edorta.

“Because I don’t know if they’re ever going to be able to go up there again,” he explained. “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, to see still the showcase they had for Scottie’s win, take a few pictures while I was up there.  It was really fun.”

That included walking out to the balcony and peering down Magnolia Lane in pitch darkness. A photographer captured the moment for posterity.

“I didn’t realize the camera was up there, and somebody from the corner took a picture of my dad and I talking, me with the jacket on, out on the balcony, and it’s one of the better pictures we have. 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,” he said. “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.”

2023 Masters
Jon Rahm is presented with the green jacket after winning the 2023 Masters. (Photo: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Network)

Rahm hasn’t watched the full broadcast of his victory, which was recently added to YouTube, but he has seen the hour-long documentary the club annually produces. Asked to recall his favorite moment from last year’s triumph, he referenced his four-putt on the first hole in the opening round. “That’s always going to bring a smile to my face,” he said. “It’s fun to think about it now, that four-putt.”

What else stood out to him? “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, which I guess 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.  It’s just mainly that you’re going to miss shots out there and you just have to figure out how to minimize the damage.”

Rahm, who defected to LIV in December, is just weeks away from making his title defense at Augusta National and a lot has changed for the reigning Masters champion. Last year, he had made eight starts before the Masters, winning three times, while this year he’ll be down to five and has yet to win any of his starts on the 54-hole limited-field LIV schedule. Another change for Rahm: Last year, he didn’t play the week before the Masters while this year he has a LIV event he’s required to play at Trump Doral in Miami.

“But I’ve done it in the past and done well. It’s hard to say what’s better or not. It’s a little different. I’m glad that this year we’re going to a challenging golf course before playing a major because that I think gets you prepped very, very well for a major tournament,” he said. “I feel like my game is in really good position. I have not played my best yet. But I can see it every tournament getting a little bit better and getting to a point where I like where I’m at coming up to the Masters.”

Rahm announced his menu for the Champions Dinner, which he said was the easy part; it’s the speech he’ll have to make at the Tuesday night dinner he’ll host for the past champions that has been weighing on his mind.

“This has definitely been rent-free in my head,” he said. “I usually have no issues with public speaking, no problem. I’ll get up there and talk about anything. Just the image of standing up and having everybody in that room look at me and having to speak to all these great champions, it’s quite daunting.”

Rahm added that he’s not one to prepare remarks; he’s better at speaking from the heart.

“That’s usually what delivers the better speech,” he said. “I don’t know exactly what I’m going to say, but hopefully one or two glasses of wine help me get a little bit more fluid in that speech.”