Jon Rahm Channels Seve Ballesteros With One Bad Hole Followed By a Masterpiece
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Seve Ballesteros’s last round at Augusta National came in 2007, but his spirit was part of the 2023 Masters on Thursday.
After Ballesteros four-putted the 16th green from 15 feet at the 1998 Masters, he described it this way:
“I miss, I miss, I miss, I make.”
Jon Rahm said he said he thought about the famous phrase after a four-putt from the middle of the green on the first hole in Thursday’s first round of the Masters.
“I don't want to sound like a broken record, but the fact every single putt felt good makes it easier,” Rahm said after shooting a 7-under 65. “It not like I had the right line and the right read and made a poor stroke. All of them felt good. That's always a lot easier.”
While looking for his first green jacket, Rahm, 28, sounded like an old warrior on a course he has had success, with four top 10s in his limited career of six Masters.
Yet he was strategic about the mishap at the first, suggesting if you are going to make a double bogey in the tournament the best place is the first hole since you have plenty of hole to make it up.
As Rahm walked to the next hole, he remembered the Ballesteros quote and then played it in his head for a couple of renditions before hitting his drive and carrying what he called a little bit of negative energy, sending it 10 yards farther than normal and making an easy birdie that kick-started a run that included an eagle and seven birdies.
“It's still a long way to go,” Rahm said after recording the lowest score ever in Masters history which included a double bogey. “I'm mostly super happy with what I've done today, right. I didn't expect to hit a great 3-wood, a good second shot and four-putt the first hole, but to overcome that and shoot 9-under on the next 17 holes was something to be proud of.”
Besides the four whacks Rahm could do little wrong, hitting every fairway and missing just one green to create looks all over the golf course. He capitalized on many of them including making birdies all four par 5s.
“I tell people who ask me about the Masters, if you can somehow make it through the first six and half holes, and what I mean is putting the ball in the fairway on seven and you're around even par, I think it's a pretty good start,” Rahm said. “It's easy to make bogeys. It's not easy to make birdies. So, if you can get through that, you have a short iron into seven, eight, nine to maybe make some birdies and maybe get the round going.”
Rahm seemed to practice what he preached, going 7 under with five birdies and an eagle from the seventh to the 18th hole.
Thursday’s masterpiece was Rahm’s 10th round in the 60s and tied his best round of his career, which he shot in his third round of the 2018 Masters when he finished a career-best fourth.
The forecast for the rest of the week is cooler and wetter, both of which will change the makeup of the golf course.
“But when it comes, goes through, it softens up the golf course and it gets a little more scorable,” Rahm said. “If there's ever a good time to shoot a low score, obviously Sunday would be the best if you're somewhat close, but knowing that, you know, we don't know how the week is going to unfold, I'm definitely happy I started this way.”