Jon Rahm admits what upset him most after finishing six over par on day one at The Masters, ‘It’s a big problem’
· Yahoo Sports
Jon Rahm failed to make a birdie in a round at The Masters for the first time in his career, with the Spaniard facing a fight to make the cut at Augusta National.
Rahm was a heavy favourite to contend this week. The 2023 champion has been in sublime form on LIV Golf so far this season. In fact, he had finished in the top two in seven of his last nine events.
Visit mwafrika.life for more information.
However, he has got his work cut out to ensure that he is playing over the weekend.
Jon Rahm reacts to his double bogey in the first round at The Masters
Rahm posted a six-over par round of 78 on Thursday at Augusta to leave himself 11 shots adrift of the lead. Remarkably, he did not make a single birdie during his opening round.
The low point came when he made a double bogey on the par-five 13th. Rahm’s drive ended up in a fantastic position after he had ended up taking a very aggressive line.
However, an extremely poor approach flew into the bushes to the left of the green. With that, he went on to card the seven that seems to have all but put paid to his hopes of winning this event.
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty ImagesSpeaking after his round about that 13th hole, he explained what frustrated him most about the day.
“I still don’t know what happened, honestly. To get so lucky off the tee, to have an eight iron in my hand, I don’t know, that ball came out 20, about 10 yards left, 20 feet higher, and hooking in a way that I didn’t expect. To make such a mistake from what could have been a good birdie look, it’s a big problem,” he said.
“It’s probably the part I’m the most upset at today. On that hole, you know, I’m four over. If I put it on the green, two-putt, three over. Still not good, but a little bit more manageable, right? That was very possibly a three-shot swing after how lucky I got off the tee.”
Jon Rahm was the third worst player in the field on the greens at Augusta National
It was the worst round Rahm has posted in his career at The Masters.
He did recover from a 75 in the opening round to finish fourth in 2018. He also kicked off his 2025 tournament with the same score before going on to squeeze inside the top 15.
Just two players lost more strokes to the field with the putter in their hand on Thursday than Rahm. According to Data Golf, he gave up 3.62 shots on the greens.
Only Mike Weir and amateur Mateo Pulcini performed worse.
You would expect Rahm to fight back on Friday and ensure that he is around for the latter two rounds. However, he will know that he cannot afford to be anywhere near as bad in the second round.