Sir Nick Faldo admits what he just does not like about Jon Rahm after his poor first round at The Masters

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Jon Rahm received scathing criticism from Sir Nick Faldo during the opening round of The Masters on Thursday.

Sir Nick Faldo is often highly critical of players, probably because not many of them can match his record in the game, particularly in Major Championships.

And Jon Rahm was the latest to incur the wrath of Sir Nick during the first round of The Masters at Augusta National.

Nick Faldo recently suggested that LIV players have ‘gone soft’, due to a lack of hunger.

• READ MORE: Jon Rahm blown away by Masters debutant who has a ‘190mph ball speed when he rolls out of bed in the morning’

Whether or not Faldo is right regarding that is up for debate. What is certain though is the fact that Jon Rahm has struggled in big events since making the switch to LIV.

Rahm joined the Saudi-backed outfit’s ranks in early 2024, and he hasn’t been the same player since in all honesty.

Has he lost his hunger? Or is he failing with some of the basic fundamentals of the game?

Sir Nick Faldo does not like one thing about Jon Rahm after poor first round at The Masters

If there is one thing you need to do to succeed around Augusta National, it is putt well.

Rahm struggled massively on the greens on Thursday during his opening round.

And when Rahm missed a short par putt on the 10th hole, Faldo offered some criticism of the Spaniard’s stroke:

“His tempo, I don’t like his tempo, it’s a little feisty – not smooth. He hasn’t got the word smooth in that stroke right now.”

In fairness to the 30-year-old, he has always putted with a short, brisk motion.

The stroke that we saw from Rahm during his opening round on Thursday afternoon was nothing new.

Why was Jon Rahm criticised during his pre-Masters press conference?

Rahm addressed the media at Augusta National earlier this week.

He offered a lot of interesting takes during his presser, but was criticised for doing one thing.

Jon Rahm deflected when asked a question about a potential LIV / PGA Tour merger.

Golf Digest’s Alex Myers suggested that he hated that from the Spaniard, highlighting how press conferences ahead of majors are actually great opportunities for the LIV players to address the ongoing situation.

In the here and now though, Jon Rahm needs to focus on improving his golf game ahead of the second round at Augusta National on Friday, after his poor start to The Masters.