Rahm paying little attention to rookie history in Masters bid
Rookies have a notoriously poor record at Augusta, but a confident Jon Rahm is paying little attention to history as he bids to win the Masters at the first attempt.
Only once in 81 years has a rookie donned the green jacket come Sunday, but Rahm remains firmly in contention to alter that fact after carding a 70 that left him one under for the tournament on Friday - three adrift of the clubhouse lead.
The Spaniard arrived at Augusta with a big reputation after a brilliant breakout season to date. And when it was put to him that history is not on his side, Rahm had the perfect response.
"Well, first?timers don't usually have a great history at Torrey Pines either and I was able to win that [the Farmers Insurance Open]. I kept that in mind," he said.
"There's nothing that says I'm going to play bad or that I should play bad. I think I liked the conditions, because I usually like tough conditions. I can keep the ball low and pars are my friend.
"On days like today [Friday], I was able to take advantage of my ball-striking and I think I lucked out in that sense."
Rahm has been fearless in his approach thus far, but he insists he is capable of shooting a much lower round.
He added: "Had I made a couple putts, it could have been a lot different. But I'm really pleased with the round I played.
"I've been playing great, my ball striking is great, so if I can get myself more looks and make a couple of them [then] I can maybe get a good round going. You never know. Hopefully, I can."