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Jon Rahm has not gotten off to a wondrous start at the Mexico Open on Thursday, April 27. The defending champion and recent Masters winner opened at par early on in the first round. Despite it being early in the competition, he's already five shots behind Stephan Jager, who is in first.
Rahm has enjoyed a stellar form of late and hence, this is a surprising start. Perhaps there's a reason for this play, and perhaps it's his equipment. Whether or not that's the case, one particular club may soon draw the ire of the Spaniard.
At the Open, the two-time major winner said:
"I'm breaking this 8-iron. Absolutely gonna snap it in half and never hit it again."
Rahm won the last time out at the Mexico Open, which capped an 11-month dry spell and ultimately catapulted him into the run he's currently on. He's winning all the time and has ascended to world number one during this run of excellent form.
This may ultimately be a blip. With three full rounds and part of a fourth remaining at the Mexico Open, there's plenty of time to rebound. Rahm had a similarly poor start at the Masters and ended up winning by four full strokes.
Not many golfers are better or are playing better than the Masters' winner right now, and he has a lot of time left to cement that fact.
Jon Rahm has become a fan favorite
Prior to his Masters win, Jon Rahm was one of the world's best golfers. That much did not change after the victory.
The perception of him from fans has, though. Now, he's much more of a fan favorite and a popular player. He discussed the change on the Barstool Fore Play podcast:
"After this win, I've noticed here in the US a massive shift as well. There could be many reasons why but those cheers and those ovations I got at RBC [Heritage]... It's been very different. I think it's because it's the Masters, it's maybe the one event that a lot of people that maybe don't watch golf all the time watch."
He added:
"Maybe because it's my second major, I don't know what it may be. Maybe the year I've had, all these things combined. It's been very different, it's been incredible to be embraced by the US crowd the way Spain has."
Rahm noted that the RBC Heritage, an event elected to stay in, had an electric crowd that was obsessed with him. He's always been popular, but this was a new level, especially in the United States.
His good form has only added to that. The Spaniard is popular and he's good enough to deserve the popularity, too. He's on top of the world (literally in the rankings) and it's a different experience than he had before.
Hopefully, he can rebound at the Mexico Open and continue his winning ways. This way, the fans will have all the more reason to continue loving him.
