Is Jon Rahm’s Putter Becoming A Serious Problem?

Jon Rahm has more or less been known as a good putter throughout the early stages of his career, or perhaps that status has been elevated over the past several years because of some of the memorable and incredible putts he has holed.

So is he a good putter?. Well, that notion seems to be up in the air after another horrific putting performance during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Thursday. It was punctuated by one of the most bizarre moments you will ever see from anybody, let alone a professional golfer.

Jon Rahm, who had left himself a par putt on the par 3 7th hole from less than a foot away, inexplicably missed the putt.

According to the PGA Twitter account, it was the shortest missed putt on Tour this season. If that all wasn’t strange enough, the current world number one’s description of what unfolded on the 7th is even more strange.

"I really couldn’t tell you. I wish I could give you all the excuses in the world, but no, it’s as simple as — you know, it just didn’t feel good in my hands, and I tried to stop, and I didn’t. I just simply didn’t stop. I don’t know. It was very odd. -Rahm described"

He attempted to stop the motion from inside of one foot?. What?!. That statement seems equally as strange as what actually took place.

Jon Rahm is clearly lacking confidence with his putter in a big way at the moment. A terrible performance at the Genesis Invitational in his last start where he lost over 2.5 strokes on the greens assuredly kept him out of contention at Riviera. Through one round at Bay Hill, the Spaniard lost 2.69 strokes with the putter. There appears to be no evidence of improvement, and at this point and time, it would seem like it is becoming a mental hurdle for Rahm. Especially if his comments on Thursday are anything to go by.

It is all very strange coming from a player who has holed some absolutely incredible putts in the biggest moments. Like at the U.S. Open last year when he memorably made back-to-back mammoth putts to win his first major, or the BMW Championship in 2020 when he made one of the most ridiculous putts you will ever see on his way to victory.

Scenes like that appear to be a distant memory at the moment for Jon Rahm and even with a reported change with his putter this week things have yet to improve at all. The 2021 U.S. Open winner further went on to deny making any adjustments to the length of his putter after his round on Thursday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

“I love when people make up stories. I’m going to clarify this right now because I heard it throughout my whole pro career. Since my senior year in college 2016, the length of my putter hasn’t changed. I’m not going to say who. One particular guy just starts making up the length of my putters. Just over 37 inches, and it’s been like that since my final semester in college, 2016,” he said.

Whatever has or hasn’t happened with Jon Rahm and his putter recently, one thing is certain, it is becoming a very real problem. As was on full display Thursday.