Jon Rahm reveals inspiration behind his strong comeback at Masters 2023 after rough start
Jon Rahm withdrew from The Players Championship due to an injury and then missed out on securing a spot in the top 16 at the Dell Technologies Match Play.
Just ahead of The Masters, his degrading performance came as a concern for the fans. But Rahm washed off their worries with a resounding performance at the 2023 Masters despite having a rough start on the first hole.
He topped the leaderboard with a score of under seven after the conclusion of the first round of the 2023 Masters on Thursday, April 6. Rahm started the tournament with a double bogey on the first hole, but soon turned the table in his favor and made two consecutive birdies on the second and third holes.
Jon Rahm finished with a score of 65 to register a lead alongside Viktor Hovland and Bubba Watson after the opening round.
Rahm made an incredible comeback on Thursday after a disappointing finish in the tournament prior to The Masters. Rahm revealed the inspiration that helped him bounce back in the game after his opening-round performance at Augusta.
During the game, he remembered golf legend Seve Ballesteros' quotes and performed admirably. In a media interview, the 28-year-old golfer revealed:
"I remembered Seve's quote, I think it was here at the Masters, right, when he 4-putted. I just kept thinking to myself, 'Well, I miss, I miss, I miss, I make.' Move on to the next.
He added:
I carried a little bit of that negative energy into the tee shot on 2, hit it about ten yards further than I usually do and moved on with my day. Again, if you're going to make a double-bogey, might as well do it on the first hole of the tournament when you have plenty of holes to make it up."
It is important to note that Jon Rahm is leading the tournament by two strokes over Cameron Young and Jason Day.
"I'm mostly super happy" - Jon Rahm is proud of his performance at The Masters
Jon Rahm has won three PGA Tours since the start of the year. He played the best golf of his career before injuries affected his game at The Players Championship. He withdrew from the tournament with a stomach bug.
In the first round of The Masters, he made a rough start with a double bogey on the first hole and then bounced back into the tournament with two consecutive birdies on the 2nd and third holes.
He made an eagle on the eighth hole and ended the day with seven birdies to wrap up at a score of 65.
Jon Rahm was happy with his performance after a rough game at the Dell-Technologies Match Play. Speaking about his performance at The Masters, Rahm said:
"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. Hopefully I can just keep it going."
The second round of the Masters will start at 8 am ET on Friday, April 7. Jon Rahm will start the tournament with a two-stroke lead.