Rahm unable to translate LIV success to Masters, opens with 78

AUGUSTA, Georgia: Jon Rahm may be ⁠the hottest player on LIV Golf this season but the Spaniard was unable to carry that ​form into the Masters where he ​made a disastrous start to the year's first major on Thursday.
Rahm, who is currently sitting atop LIV's individual rankings with a win and three runner-up finishes in five events, looked dejected as he made his way around Augusta National while carding a birdie-less six-over-par 78 that left him searching for answers.
'It's a hard golf course,' Rahm said on the layout where he ⁠won the 2023 Masters. 'Some of the players might have been able to manage a respectable ⁠round, but when you have no feel with the swing whatsoever, it's just not an easy one.'
The two-times major champion had four bogeys by the time he reached the turn and then ran into trouble at the par-five 13th where ‌he turned a potential birdie into a double-bogey.
Rahm sent ​his approach shot from 176 ⁠yards into the azaleas but and was unable to find his ball. After ​taking a drop, he chipped to ‌within 32 feet of the cup and then needed three putts from there to find the hole.
'I still don't know what happened, honestly,' Rahm said ​about his second shot at the 13th. 'To get so lucky off the tee, to have an eight-iron in my hand, I don't know, that ball came out 20 - about 10 yards left, 20 feet higher, and hooking in a way that I didn't expect.
'To make such a mistake from what could have been a good birdie ‌look, it's a big problem. It's probably the part I'm the most upset at today.'
Of the ​10 LIV players in the starting Masters field of 91 golfers, Rahm came into the week as one ​of ‌the ⁠ones considered to have the best chance. He finished the first round in a share of 73rd place and 11 shots back of co-leaders Rory McIlroy and Sam Burns.
Despite the disappointing start, Rahm knows there ​is plenty of golf left and knows a thing or two about ⁠bouncing back at ​Augusta.
In 2023, he opened the tournament with a four-putt double bogey but quickly turned things and slipped into a Green Jacket later that weekend. Last year he opened with a three-over 75 before finishing in a share of 14th.
'I've done that a few times,' Rahm said about his ability to bounce ​back from slow starts at the Masters.
'But it still sucks to be in this ​position, to need a Herculean effort the next two days to give myself a chance to maybe sniff having a chance to win. It's just frustrating.'