Jon Rahm was in a philosophical mood after his bid to land a fourth title at the Open de España presented by Madrid got off to a frustrating start.
The Spaniard, champion in 2018, 2019 and 2022, arrived on home soil as the pre-tournament favourite as he sought to surpass Seve Ballesteros’ haul and draw nearer to the record of Angel de la Torre, who won his national open on five occasions between 1916 and 1925.
Hopes were only increased after his influential role in helping Team Europe win the Ryder Cup at Bethpage, but his return to action did not go to plan as he carded a one over 72 at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid on Thursday.
"I’m frustrated. I’m so angry," he said honestly.
"I didn’t feel like my swing was bad, I just struggled with the wind, to be honest.
"There were a lot of swings that came out the way I wanted them to, but the wind affected them differently than I expected."
Rahm, playing in the headline group alongside defending champion Angel Hidalgo and Ryder Cup team-mate Shane Lowry, initially got off to a strong start.
Starting off the tenth, he recovered from a bogey at the 13th with a chip-in eagle at the 14th and birdie at the 15th to get to two under, but he would struggle on his back nine.
Despite finding the fairway off the tee at the first and second – his tenth and 11th respectively – he would make bogeys, before dropping another shot at his last to finish over par for the day.
“Again, I’m frustrated because I didn’t feel like I played that badly, and this course isn’t really one where I’d expect that kind of round,” added Rahm, who has finished no worse than a tie for 17th in his five appearances at Club de Campo.
"But that’s the challenge. It’s golf. You can win a Major, and come Thursday there’s another tournament going on — everybody’s already forgotten.
"It’s part of the deal; it’s a blessing and a curse. In a sense, when you win, you can quickly get over it. You move on to the next tournament.
"And if you have a bad week, again, you get over it, because there’s always another one following."
