The Masters: After drawing motivation from Seve Ballesteros to recover from a disastrous start to share the clubhouse leads at Augusta National, Jon Rahm was left feeling proud of his comeback at The Masters.
The world number three shared the clubhouse lead with Viktor Hovland and Brooks Koepka after shooting an eagle and seven birdies in a seven-under 65 after starting the round with a four-putt double-bogey.
After back-to-back birdies from the second hole and a close-range eagle following a magnificent approach shot into the par-three eighth, Rahm finished with four birdies in his next six holes to tie his Master’s career low score.
Rahm made a joke, saying, “If you’re going to make a double bogey, it might as well be on the first hole, giving you 71 to recover. As I made my way to the second tee, I thought of Seve’s famous response to the question of how he could four-putt when he was so good, ‘I miss, I miss, I miss, I make’.
“I’m mostly really pleased with what I accomplished today, correct? I didn’t anticipate hitting a wonderful three-wood, a strong second shot, and four-putting the first hole, but I should be proud of myself for overcoming those setbacks and shooting nine under over the remaining 17 holes. I’m hoping I can just keep going.”
Hovland has had great success scrambling.
Hovland made a 25-foot eagle putt on the second hole and went on to make three birdies in a span of four holes starting at the sixth. Further birdies at the 11th and 13th holes threatened the course record of 63.
A bogey-free 65 was followed by five pars from the Norwegian, who five times out of five from off the green to achieve his first score under 70 at Augusta and tie for the lead in the clubhouse.
No matter how well you hit the ball out here, Hovland insisted that you chip the ball. “On that back nine, where I made a lot of poor shots, you need to have a short game. Really speaking, I was able to stay in the game by making some excellent putts and hitting some excellent chipping.
“The greens are certainly accommodating, but this area is always going to punish you if you become overconfident and try to push a few balls that you definitely shouldn’t.
“You can’t really force a good score, but you know it’s there. Just let it happen, and if you have any putts that are within striking distance, you must make them so that you can settle into a rhythm.”
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