In Memphis, Rahm’s debut as world’s No. 1 a rocky one
Golf is hard.
Jon Rahm is living proof, as his debut as the world's No. 1 golfer was not a smooth one.
The 25-year-old Spaniard, playing his first round since winning The Memorial and taking the top spot in the Official World Golf Rankings, spent much of Thursday walking the proverbial tightrope at the WGC-FEDEX St. Jude Invitational at TPC Southwind in Memphis.
Rahm finished at even par and was tied for 36th when his round ended, leaving after a birdie on his final hole.
Playing alongside Bryson Dechambeau and Rickie Fowler, the group began its round on No. 10.
Rahm flew back-to-back greens (Nos. 11 and 12) but successfully scrambled to save par on both. A would-be birdie putt from nearly 16 feet out on No. 13 abruptly slammed on the brakes less than 3 feet from the cup.
Rahm's performance was a far cry from his opening-round performance at last year's tournament, when he fired an 8-under 62 to set the pace for the field. That score tied for the low round in 2019 and helped propel Rahm to a seventhplace finish.
Rahm atoned for the string of bad breaks on the 15th, despite overshooting the green yet again.
He emerged from the bunker with a smile, though, after sinking a 30-plus foot wedge shot to rebound for birdie. But he failed to capitalize, missing a 4foot birdie putt on No. 16 before bogeying 17.
Coming off the second birdie of his round (the par-4 second), Rahm
couldn't shake the struggles off the tee, finding the rough on four of the next five holes.
His frustration boiled over during a bogey on No. 4.
He let go of his iron during the backswing of his tee shot, unleashed an exasperated growl after an errant second shot on the same hole and followed with an angry foot stomp on the approach.
Rahm steadied himself with a sound birdie on No. 5 that prompted a sigh of relief from the 6-foot-2 former Arizona State star.
But he bogeyed three of his last six holes, the final one following a two-putt effort on No. 8 that left him venting as the telecast broke for commercial.
His second round begins at 8:40 a.m. Friday when his group tees off on No. 1.