World No. 1 Jon Rahm done in by short putts, opens PGA Championship with shocking 76
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Jon Rahm of Spain putts on the ninth green during the first round of the 2023 PGA Championship.
PHOTO: AFP
ROCHESTER – World No. 1 Jon Rahm has been riding high for several months, with a Masters title
But none of that mattered on Thursday for the Spaniard – who has four PGA Tour titles this campaign – on a difficult first day of the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club.
He piled up six bogeys, a double-bogey and just two birdies in his opening-round six-over 76.
Rahm’s putter played a major role in his undoing down the stretch.
“The only thing I can look back on myself is the three short putts I missed on the back nine,” he said.
“I’m between three to five feet. If I make those putts, I shoot three over, which is not the worst-case scenario.”
Rahm, who started his round on the back nine, was three over through 11 holes when he reached the par-three third.
He landed in a greenside bunker, blasted out and left himself just five feet for par, but the putt did not drop.
The next hole was his only remaining par-five. His third shot nestled to within four feet of the cup, but he grazed the right edge of the cup on his birdie try.
He then struggled at the par-four seventh, reaching the green in four shots. He could have saved bogey from four feet and change. No dice.
Rahm also made a mere five out of 14 fairways in regulation.
“The main thing on this course is hitting the fairway,” he added. “If you put the ball in the fairway, you can actually give yourself a lot of good chances.
“Even No. 18 today was playing downwind, so if you put it on the fairway, you can have a good look at maybe hitting it close and that’s what I didn’t do.”
According to ESPN, the round was the worst score by a world No. 1 in the opening round of a Major since Dustin Johnson shot 76 to open the 2021 PGA Championship.
Rahm came into this championship looking to be the first player to win back-to-back Majors since Jordan Spieth in 2015, and he believes he can still do it.
“If I can somehow manage to put a low one tomorrow and find myself close to even par... going into Sunday, I think I’ll have a decent chance,” he insisted.
The Spaniard was far from the only elite player who struggled on Thursday.
Former Major winners Matt Fitzpatrick and Jason Day also carded 76s. Defending champion Justin Thomas and four-time Major winner Brooks Koepka shot 72s, and Jordan Spieth and Shane Lowry shot 73s.
Topping the leaderboard is fellow Major winner Bryson DeChambeau on four-under 66, one stroke ahead of world No. 2 Scottie Scheffler, LIV Golf’s Dustin Johnson, Canada’s Corey Conners and rookie Eric Cole.
Thursday’s tee times were pushed back by 1hr 50min due to an early morning frost delay with 11 groups having to resume their round on Friday after play was suspended due to darkness. REUTERS, AFP
