Heritage Classic Notebook: Weather Once Again Unkind to Jon Rahm

Rahm struggled in Round 1 in Hilton Head, but Ernie Els and Rickie Fowler were among the early surprises.

HILTON HEAD, S.C. – Some thoughts after the first round of the RBC Heritage Classic, where Viktor Hovland grabbed the lead, starting with our newly minted Masters champion.

Jon Rahm Survives Bad Weather Again

Mother Nature continues to throw curveballs at Rahm, and he continues to persevere.

In his first round back from winning his second major championship, Rahm paused for over an hour due to the

rain and promptly made three consecutive bogeys before righting the ship to finish 1 over par with a sloppy bogey at the 16th.

“Well, part of the rounds feel like there was a before and after, it was what it was,” Rahm said. “Nothing was particularly good. Nothing was particularly awful. I would have been happy pretty much with anything under par, but just wasn't to be.”

Rahm bemoaned the fact he didn’t make a couple more putts and suggested that his pace was not very good.

“I'm hoping tonight is the day where I start turning things back around and I start feeling a little bit better,” Rahm said of the loss of energy after his win last week. “I hate to make excuses. But I just, you know, a couple of the swings towards the end were my body being tired and it surprised me. The one on 16, I lost one shot right there just because of a really bad swing.”

Ernie Els Looks for More Hilton Head Magic

At 53 years old, Ernie Els looks a bit out of place in this field. But with a week off on the PGA Tour Champions, the burley 6’3” South African decided to take his chances in his first-ever designated event.

It doesn’t hurt that Els has played in the event 20 times since his first appearance in 1995, when he finished T7 in what was then called the MCI Classic.

Els has never won at Hilton Head but has collected almost a $1.5 million in earnings here.

On Thursday, Els shot his third-best opening round with a 3-under 68 and sits squarely at the bottom end of the leaderboard at T10.

The surprising part of his round came early, when he tweaked a 7-iron on the 11th hole, his second of the day, and the ball went right and almost out of bounds.

Two-over after two, Els made good par saves at the 12th and 13th holes and then after hitting a 5-iron to five feet, he drained the birdie putt.

Els admitted he was nervous, like at majors and big events.

“I haven’t been out her for so long and the Tour has changed so much,” Els said. “I don’t know anybody, it’s good they put me with Zach (Johnson) or Nick (Taylor).

Els bemoaned the fact that the golf course has no run in the fairways, and with tee boxes 50 and 60 yards back from when he played regularly, it was going to be difficult. In 1995, Harbour Town Golf Links played to 6,912 yards and this week the length is 7,213 yards or 301 yards longer.

“This is not going to be like the old days,” Els said. “So, I was a bit concerned, but anyway, got it the house.”

Rickie Fowler Off to Strong Start

Unfortunately for Rickie Fowler, he hasn’t appeared at Augusta for a few years.

After a T29 at the 2020 Masters, Fowler has not qualified for the first major of the season, and instead has used the week to work on his game.

In 2021, the Wells Fargo followed the Masters, and Fowler, a past champion there, missed the cut. Last year, he missed the cut at the RBC Heritage one week after Augusta.

This year looks more promising as Fowler shot a 4-under 67 on Thursday and is firmly cemented on the leaderboard. He’s seeking his first win since the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open.

“If you're driving it well, you can push it up there on some holes to get shorter clubs in your hand.,” Fowler said. “But it's more about being in the short grass and being able to control the ball. So, you need to be playing from the fairway to most hole locations to have a chance.”

Stray Shots

Ryan Fox withdrew after nine holes due to illness.

Kevin Kisner withdrew after a first-round 79.