The Basque shined on the first day in Augusta with a great round of 65 strokes (-7) that placed him provisional leader along with Viktor Hovland
He finished leading after a double bogey on the first hole of the tournament, something that had never happened before
Very regular with the drive and effective on the fairways and regular with the putt, Jon Rahm showed from the first day that he is looking for his first green jacket after to sign a first card of 65 strokes (-7) at the Augusta Masters and to be the leader together with the Norwegian Viktor Hovland, although with many players still in the field.
Rahm, who was already among the favorites before his great start to the season With three victories on the West Coast and which took him to number one in the world, he left no doubt about his game on the first day, which took place in enviable conditions and allowed the Basque to show off his game.
An unbeatable business card for Rahm in the first ‘Big’ of the season that invites optimism for the weekend. Although as they always say, you don’t win the Masters on the first day, but you can lose it.
worst possible start
And never could Rahm imagine that he would start the tournament in the worst possible way. The Basque had his only ‘accident’ of the first round, committing a double bogey after making three putts. An unimaginable +2 for a player of his level.
Although like the great players, from the unexpected setback He knew how to recover very soon. With his good driving game, he reacted immediately to score two consecutive birdies and quickly get under par. Tranquility returned.
His game held firmkicking with precision and adapted to the speed of the greens and he saved a new birdie in the seven to add his first ‘eagle’ in the par five eight that already placed him at the top of the standings.
Shine in the second nine
On the second nine holes, Rahm’s game remained strong, leaving no loopholes for possible accidents like the one suffered on the first holeand remained focused until adding no less than four more birdies, on holes 13, 15, 16 and closed the round with a new birdie on the iconic 18th, perhaps a prelude to what can happen on Sunday.
The Norwegian Viktor Hovland shone on the first day of the Masters
| AFP
Rahm played at a high level but so did the Norwegian Viktor Hovlandwho finished with the same lap as the Spaniard, 65 shots and a shared lead, although some of the favorites such as Scottie Scheffler, defending champion, had been playing from behind.
The one who did not have his day was Sergio García, from Castellón, who had to settle for a round of 74 shots (+2) that left him clearly unsatisfied and with work this Friday to get into the tournament cutoff.