Jon Rahm got off to an incredibly frustrating start on day one of the Spanish Open.
Rahm actually got it to two-under after just six holes of his first round at the Spanish Open, but all of his hard work was undone on the back nine.
The 30-year-old LIV Golf star is looking for his fourth Spanish Open win this week but he’s already behind the eight-ball after his opening round of 72 at Club de Campo de Madrid.
Before the week began, Rahm raved about the Spanish Open golf course, but he did suggest that it needs to be playing hard in order to get the best out of it.
That was certainly the case on Thursday as the wind began to kick up.
Rahm was part of Europe’s special Ryder Cup win last month, but now it’s very much back to business for him in Spain.
And the two-time major champion was not happy one little bit with what happened out on the golf course on day one of his national open.
Jon Rahm left raging after day one at the Spanish Open
Rahm is well known for running hot under the collar when things aren’t going his way.
A visibly frustrated Rahm spoke to reporters after his round of one-over par in Madrid.
He responded when asked to sum up his golf on day one.
Rahm said: “A frustrating day. You couldn’t ask a harder question right now. I’m so angry and I want to be so sarcastic.
“I didn’t think my swing was that…I struggled with the wind to be honest. There was a lot of swings that came out the way I wanted it to and the wind did affect it the way I expected it to.
“I mean I could go through a lot of holes, but like 17 is a great example, I was posing right over the pin, it flew 12 over because the wind was way more down than I though. Same with one but the opposite.
“On two it should be right to left and it got pushed to the right and on three I flagged it another 12, 15 long over it, it was just not what I expected.
“Then a couple of short misses, I didn’t feel like they were bad putts, just misreads or got unlucky with the rolls, that happens, that’s just golf.
“I didn’t feel like I played that bad and the score is not nearly where I would like to be.“
Jon Rahm has a lot of ground to make up at the Spanish Open
Sam Bairstow and Ugo Coussaud are leading the Spanish Open on six-under par.
While Rahm isn’t too far off the lead, a round of 72 was hardly the ideal start.
He may well need to shoot three rounds in the mid-60s now to have a chance of winning, and that won’t be easy to do around Club de Campo de Madrid, especially if the high winds hang around.
It’s not just the strength of the wind but the fact that it is so blustery, with the trees which line the fairways acting as tunnels.
The swirling winds make club selection incredibly tricky.
And Rahm will have to figure out that issue if he is to win his fourth Spanish Open this week.
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