sport news OLIVER HOLT: From king of the world to LIV Golf obscurity... tepid, bitter and ... trends now
You may not know this but Jon Rahm's team in the LIV Golf series is called Legion XIII. It makes it sound a little as if he is one of the outriders in a march of doom. Which, in terms of the split that is carving golf apart, he probably is.
Anyway, it's called Legion XIII for the entirely logical reason that Rahm's defection to the breakaway tour at the end of last year meant the creation of a 13th LIV team, with Rahm at its head. Thirteen. Unlucky for some.
Not unlucky in terms of the money Rahm took to sign for LIV, obviously.
Having spoken out against the Saudi-backed series in the past, he decided to take a reported £450million. He was thinking of securing his family's future, presumably, because he hadn't made enough from the sport already.
But there is a price for what Rahm did, too, and as he walked on to the first tee at Augusta National just before noon on a gloriously sunny day in Georgia, there was an unmistakable sense that he is beginning to pay it.
Jon Rahm only just managed to finish inside the top 50 in his defence of the Green Jacket
Rahm looked tepid, bitter and uninspired as he returned to Augusta having joined LIV Golf
As Rahm, 29, stood gazing down the first fairway that plunges into a valley and then rises up the hillside beyond, he knew this was his last day as the reigning Masters champion and that a return to the gilded obscurity of LIV Golf is stretching out before him.
He played his final round wearing the air of a man who is beginning to realise he has made a horrible mistake. He was the king of the world and all of golf stretched out before him, waiting to be conquered. And then he sabotaged it all.
He ruined his legacy by turning his back on mainstream golf at the height of his powers and joining a tour with a 54-hole format, where the lack of intensity seems to have left Rahm singularly unprepared for a return to the demands of more competitive golf.
His move to LIV has changed perceptions of him, too. It has damaged his image and dampened his popularity.
When he got to the first green yesterday, he was met with the sight of a half-empty stand.
Last year he was on top of the world but now looks like a man who knows he made a mistake
Smaller crowds followed the 2023 champion around Augusta National following his defection
It didn't feel as if we were watching the reigning Masters champion. It felt as if we were watching a guy who blew it when he was at his peak.
Those same stands are packed to capacity when Rory McIlroy plays in front of them. And Tiger Woods. And Scottie Scheffler.
But not Rahm. Not any more. His popularity has nosedived.
'He has been playing resort courses in shorts for the past couple of months and hasn't really been tested yet,' three-times Masters winner Sir Nick Faldo said on the eve of the tournament.
'Rahm's a hell of a
