MADRID (AP) — Jon Rahm and Shane Lowry are struggling to make a comeback after helping Europe win the Ryder Cup, and Rahm briefly got into an argument with Marshall who tried to cheer him up during the Spanish Open on Thursday.
After finding left rough on the par-4 eighth hole, Rahm saw his lie and began complaining. “What a day, what a day,” he said, followed by a curse word.
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Marshall marked his ball and said, “Okay,” and Rahm immediately looked at him and said, “Don’t tell me it’s okay. Thank you.”
Marshall apologized as he left, but Rahm continued to complain that he was “not okay.”
Rahm made par on that hole, but bogeyed the next hole (his last hole of the day) and finished the round with a 1-over 72. Rahm holed a bunker shot on the par-5 14th for eagle, but his round only resulted in one birdie and four bogeys.
Rahm played in the same group as Lowry, who made the decisive Ryder Cup putt for the Europeans in New York last month, when a raucous home crowd plagued the Europeans from the start. Rahm said during his time in Madrid that the Ryder Cup was the mentally toughest week of his career.
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Lowry shot a 4-over 75 in the opening round at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. The Irishman made six bogeys and two birdies.
The clubhouse leaders were Briton Marco Penge and Frenchman Frédéric Lacroix, who rounded with a 5-under 66.
Rahm won a record fourth Spanish Open title and is on course to overtake Seve Ballesteros to become the most successful golfer on the European Tour since its creation in 1972. This will be Lahm’s seventh appearance in Madrid, having won in 2018, 2019 and 2022. He finished second in last year’s playoffs behind fellow Spaniard Angel Hidalgo.
Ballesteros won the last of his 50 European Tour titles at the 1995 Spanish Open.
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This is the first time the tournament will give the winner an automatic berth to next year’s Masters and British Open.
World No. 1 tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, also a Spaniard, was among the players who followed Rahm in Thursday’s opening match in Madrid.
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AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
