Can Jon Rahm defend his Masters title next year after joining LIV Golf? Augusta event’s eligibility explored

Jon Rahm won the second Major of his career at the Masters in April earlier this year. Rahm registered a four-stroke victory over LIV golfers Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka who were tied for T2.

Although Rahm joined LIV Golf to compete on the breakaway circuit in 2024, he can still compete at the Masters next year as the defending champion. LIV golfers are allowed to compete in all four Majors if they match each tournament's eligibility criteria. Rahm, having won the Masters in 2023, will qualify as a previous winner and can compete at the Masters in 2024 to defend his title.

The 29-year-old golfer has been in incredible form recently, notching four victories on the PGA Tour in 2023. Rahm had also topped the Official World Golf Rankings earlier this year but eventually slipped down to third place in the OWGR. As the winner of the 2023 Masters, Rahm has earned the eligibility to compete in all four Majors in 2024 despite joining LIV Golf.

Brooks Koepka, a LIV Golf player and former Major winner, similarly competed at and won the PGA Championship in 2023. The Saudi-backed circuit players demonstrated incredible performances in the Majors and fans believe they can continue the same in 2024.

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Jon Rahm's performance on the 2023 PGA TOUR

Jon Rahm started the 2023 season of the PGA Tour with a victory at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. He played four rounds of 64-71-67-63 to win the tournament, which featured a stellar field of PGA Tour winners from the previous season. Rahm then went on to win The American Express championship but failed to clinch a hat-trick after finishing in T7 at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Rahm settled for a third-place finish at the WM Phoenix Open before going on to win the Genesis Invitational. Rahm has won four tournaments this year including a Major (the Masters) and was also a part of the winning Ryder Cup European team.

Here are the results of all the tournaments Jon Rahm played on the PGA Tour in 2023:

Sentry Tournament of Champions

• Result:1
• Score: 64-71-67-63
• Prize money: $2,700,000.00

The American Express

• Result: 1
• Score: 64-64-65-68
• Prize money: $1,440,000.00

Farmers Insurance Open

• Result: T7
• Score: 73-67-66-74
• Prize money: $282,750.00

WM Phoenix Open

• Result: 3
• Score: 68-66-68-68
• Prize money: $1,380,000.00

The Genesis Invitational

• Result: 1
• Score: 65-68-65-69
• Prize money: $3,600,000.00

Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard

• Result: T39
• Score: 65-76-76-72
• Prize money: $70,028.57

THE PLAYERS Championship

• Result: W/D

World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play

• Result: T31
• Prize money: $113,761.91

Masters Tournament

• Result: 1
• Score: 65-69-73-69
• Prize money: $3,240,000.00

RBC Heritage

• Result: T15
• Score: 72-64-69-68
• Prize money: $335,000.00

Mexico Open at Vidanta

• Result: 2
• Score: 67-68-61-67
• Prize money: $839,300.00

PGA Championship

• Result: T50
• Score: 76-68-72-71
• Prize money: $37,625.00

The Memorial Tournament presented by Workday

• Result: T16
• Score: 70-70-74-74
• Prize money: $275,500.00

U.S. Open

• Result: T10
• Score: 69-73-70-65
• Prize money: $435,018.00

Travelers Championship

• Result: CUT
• Score: 67-71

The Open Championship

• Result: T2
• Score: 74-70-63-70
• Prize money: $1,084,625.00

FedEx St. Jude Championship

• Result: T37
• Score: 73-67-67-68
• Prize money: $88,000.00

BMW Championship

• Result: T31
• Score: 68-74-71-67
• Prize money: $139,000.00

TOUR Championship

• Result: T18
• Score: 69-65-71-74
• Prize money: $670,000