Jon Rahm Downplays Incident with Fan at The Open Championship
Spanish golfer Jon Rahm downplayed a tense exchange with a fan during the first round of The Open Championship on Thursday, attributing the situation to an unfortunate moment and his reaction to frustration. The incident occurred on the 10th hole, a par 4, at Royal Portrush, Northern Ireland. Rahm sent his approach shot into the right rough and, immediately, went to a spectator who had whistled during his backswing.Rahm made bogey on that hole and also on the next. Despite this, he achieved a birdie on the 14th hole and finished with a 70, one under par.“Seriously? Whistling? Great timing,” Rahm said. “Right in my backswing. Very smart, whoever it was.”
Jon Rahm
The golfer added that he used the moment to release any tension he had. “It’s really not… it is what it is. To be honest, it probably didn’t affect as much as I made it seem. It was a bad swing too. Just a difficult hole. It’s frustrating, but it is what it is. It’s an everyday thing in golf.” Rahm, 30, arrives after finishing second at the LIV event in Andalusia, Spain, last week. His best result at The Open was a tie for second two years ago, and he tied for seventh at the U.S. Open last month. The two-time major champion seeks to complete the third leg of the Grand Slam of his career this week, adding to his victories at the 2021 U.S. Open and the 2023 Masters.“If I had to paint a picture, you have the most difficult tee shot on the course, raining, with a headwind from the left, it’s enough,” Rahm told reporters about the incident. “I know they don’t do it on purpose. It just seemed like someone was trying to get someone’s attention for whatever reason. It was bad timing.”
Jon Rahm
“There are a few things that would make this very special. Not only getting three majors, being the second Spanish player [along with] Seve [Ballesteros] to win an Open and being the only one with three different majors, that would be… yes, it makes it very, very special, in addition to everything it already is”.
Jon Rahm
