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Frustrated Rahm argues with marshal during Spanish Open
Tales Azzoni, AAP • October 10th, 2025 10:50 am
Spain's Jon Rahm had a frustrating start to his home championship after going round in 72 in Madrid | Photo: AP
Home favourite Jon Rahm and Shane Lowry have struggled in their return to action at the Spanish Open after helping Europe win the Ryder Cup.
Rahm even briefly argued with a marshal, who tried to cheer him up during his opening round at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid on Thursday.
After his drive found the left rough on the par-four eighth hole, Rahm saw his lie and started complaining: 'What a day, what a day". He followed that up with an expletive.
The marshal, who marked his ball then said "it's okay", with Rahm immediately looking at him and saying, "Don't tell me it's okay, please. Thank you."
The marshal apologised as he walked away, while Rahm continued complaining: "It's not okay."
Rahm made a par on the hole, but then bogeyed the next — his last of the day — to finish with a round of one-over 72.
He holed from a bunker for an eagle on the par-five 14th, but his round included only one birdie and four bogeys.
Even after his round, he was still seething. "Frustrating day. You couldn't ask a harder question right now. I'm so angry, and I want to be so sarcastic," he told Sky Sports.
"I didn't feel like I played that badly and the score is not nearly where I wanted to be."
Rahm played in the same group as Lowry, who made the clinching Ryder Cup putt for the Europeans in New York last month, when the raucous home crowd tormented the European players from the start.
Rahm said while in Madrid that the Ryder Cup was the toughest week mentally of his career.
Lowry shot a four-over 75 in his opening round, with six bogeys and two birdies.
Frenchman Ugo Coussaud claimed the outright lead late in the day after a six-under 65, one better than compatriot Frederic Lacroix, Belgian Bernd Wiesberger and England's Marco Penge, currently third in the Race to Dubai order of merit behind Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton courtesy of two wins this season.
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Rahm is trying to win a record fourth Spanish Open title and surpass Seve Ballesteros as the tournament's most successful golfer since the creation of the European tour in 1972.
He's making his seventh appearance in Madrid, with his victories coming in 2018, 2019 and 2022, while he was also runner-up to fellow Spaniard Angel Hidalgo in a play-off last year.
Ballesteros won the last of his 50 titles on the European tour at the Spanish Open in 1995.
For the first time, the tournament offers an automatic spot in both next year's Masters and the British Open to the winner, an alluring prize for the two Australian hopefuls in action this week, David Micheluzzi and Jason Scrivener.
Micheluzzi, who'd begun with a double-bogey six, recovered to a one-under 70 for the round, tied for 34th place, while Scrivener shot a two-over 73.
