“I wished the week would have gone better”: Jon Rahm rues poor first-round outing as he fails to surpass Seve Ballesteros’ record

Jon Rahm, who was a part of the winning Ryder Cup Team, was hopeful of surpassing Seve Ballesteros' three Spanish Open titles this weekend. However, he had to go home with a major defeat as he sat in T9 position, four strokes behind Matthieu Pavon, at the 2023 Spanish Open.

The No. 3 ranked player finished with a 7-under 64 in the last round. He started off strong by birdying his first four holes but slowed down following his bogey on the thirteenth. Though Jon Rahm scored two late birdies, he missed an eagle putt on the last hole.

Speaking about the same with ESPN, Jon Rahm said:

"It was a very good day, I started really well. I wished the week would have gone better. It was a shame how I played on Friday. But to finish the tournament like I did makes the flight home a lot better."

With his triumph in Madrid the previous year, Jon Rahm tied Ballesteros' three victories at the Spanish Open. The former first prevailed in the same competition in 2018 and 2019.

Before this event, Rahm took a week off after the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone in Italy, where he helped Europe defeat the United States by five points.

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A peek into Matthieu Pavon's victory at the Spanish Open

Matthieu Pavon got his first European Tour Victory by four strokes at the Spanish Open 2023. The 30-year-old finished the round with a 7 under 64 to complete the tournament at 23 under par, and this led him to an emotional triumph.

Luckily, Pavon had seven birdies and zero bogeys in his final round at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. It must also be noted that he missed just 3 shots the entire week. Zander Lombard stood in second position while Nathan Kimsey came third.

Pavon expressed his emotions by stating:

"It was a very long wait. Seven years on tour, so that was a long wait. But it really was worth it. Managing my emotions the last two days was a very big accomplishment for me."

The Frenchman, who was making his 185th start, has only two victories on the Alps Tour. Not just that, he finished in second position three times on the European Tour and another three times in second spot on the European Challenge Tour.

Moreover, the only other time Pavon had a 54-hole lead was at the Portugal Masters in 2021, where he also finished runner-up.