Jon Rahm downplayed a terse interaction with a fan during the first round of The Open Championship on Thursday, crediting the situation to unfortunate timing and his ensuing reaction to frustration.
The Spaniard was playing the par-4 10th hole at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland when he sent his approach shot into the right rough. He immediately turned to a spectator who had made a whistling noise during Rahm's backswing.
"Really? Whistling? Right, great time," Rahm said. "Right on my backswing. Very smart, whoever it was."
Rahm would go on to bogey the hole and the following one. The LIV Golf star did manage a birdie on the 14th and finished with a 1-under 70.
"If I were to paint a picture, you have the hardest tee shot on the course, raining, into the wind off the left, it's enough," Rahm told reporters of the incident. "I know they're not doing it on purpose. It just seemed like somebody trying to get a hold of someone for whatever it is. It was bad timing.
"I think I just used the moment to let out any tension I had in me. Really that's not -- it is what it is. To be honest, it probably didn't affect as much as I made it sound like. It was a bad swing as well. Just a difficult hole. I mean, it's frustrating, but it is what it is. It's an everyday thing in golf."
Rahm, 30, is coming off a runner-up finish at LIV's event in Andalucia, Spain, last week. His best finish at The Open was a tie for second two years ago, and Rahm tied for seventh at the U.S. Open last month.
The two-time major champion is seeking to complete a third leg of the career Grand Slam this week to go with his wins at the 2021 U.S. Open and 2023 Masters.
"There's just a few things that would make this one so special. Not only getting to three majors, being the second Spanish player [along with] Seve [Ballesteros] to win an Open and being the only one to three different majors, that would be -- yeah, makes it very, very special, on top of everything that already is."
