Spaniard Jon Rahm enters the second round of the Masters tied for the lead at 7-under par, which is pretty remarkable considering he spotted the field two shots right out of the gate.
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SportsPulse, USA TODAY
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Legendary words from the late, great Seve Ballesteros were immediately floating around Jon Rahm’s brain when he walked off the first green Thursday at Augusta National.
“I miss, I miss, I miss, I make,” Ballesteros purportedly said, explaining how he four-putted the 16th hole at the Masters in 1990.
Though the authenticity of the quote has been questioned over the years, it felt very real to Rahm in the moment. He had just opened his tournament with a double-bogey that started with a seemingly innocuous birdie putt from the middle of the green.
“(Seve) came to my mind right away,” Rahm said. “It happens.”
It happens?
That’s a new one for Rahm, the 28-year-old Spaniard who was frequently a powder keg of emotion earlier in his career when things went awry on the golf course.
There was some anger over the double-bogey, of course. He admitted to swinging a little harder off the tee on No. 2. But what happened over the remainder of his round was a reminder of why Rahm was one of the favorites coming into the first major championship of the year.
When he’s locked in, he’s probably the best player in the world.
“If you’re going to make a double or four-putt or anything, might as well be the first hole,” Rahm said. “You have 71 holes to make it up.”
He didn’t need that many. Rahm enters the second round tied for the lead at 7-under par, which is pretty remarkable to think about considering he spotted the field two shots right out of the gate.
But seven birdies and an eagle over his final 17 holes added up to what Rahm called a top-three round in his career at the majors, just behind Sunday at the 2021 U.S. Open when he won his first and so far only major title.
“In the past, I haven’t had my best start (at the Masters) and you’re having to swim against the current a little bit and make up shots throughout the week,” Rahm said. “So to be in this position where I’m already starting ahead in a sense is very, very nice. But still three days to play. I have to go hole by hole and shot by shot and keep doing the good things.”
Rahm didn’t come into the Masters riding peak momentum. After an incredible start to the season with six consecutive top-10 finishes and three victories, he played poorly at the Arnold Palmer Invitational a month ago (including a pair of 76s), withdrew after the first round at The Players citing a stomach illness and then lost to Billy Horschel and Rickie Fowler at the WGC-Dell Match Play.
Still, Rahm came into the tournament feeling there wasn’t anything wrong with his game. And even after the first hole where he simply missed the speed of a couple putts, he focused on the positives rather than allowing it to rattle him mentally — something a younger, less mature Rahm might not have been able to process.
“The strokes were good. The reads were good. The roll was good,” he said. “Once I kind of accepted that there was nothing to look into, I just got to work and had 17 holes to make up.”
Barring an injury or something unforeseen, Rahm is a good bet to win a Masters one of these days. He already has four top-10 finishes here in six appearances, and his game is custom made for this place. If Rahm is playing good golf and putting it where he wants off the tee, he could almost walk blindfolded into birdie opportunities on this course.
It’s just a matter of which week it all comes together for him. Though Rahm is sharing the lead with Viktor Hovland and Brooks Koepka going into the second round, getting off to a 7-under start makes him the favorite at this stage.
“Obviously I’ve played really well this year,” Rahm said. “Maybe not the last few tournaments but I’m feeling confident and hopefully I can keep it going. There’s a long way to go and a lot of great players. I’m super happy with what I’ve done today. I didn’t expect to hit a great 3-wood and good second shot and four-putt the first hole but (what happened after) is something to be proud of.”
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Dan Wolken on Twitter @DanWolken
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