Jon Rahm struggled Thursday at Harbour Town Golf Links in his first competitive round since donning the green jacket, ultimately shooting a 1-over 72.
Things quickly turned back in Rahm’s favor Friday morning. The Spaniard began his second round with a par on the par-4 10th before rattling off four straight birdies beginning at the 11th.
Full-field scores from the RBC Heritage
“That start was obviously key,” Rahm said. “Took advantage of some holes that were playing, not that any hole is easy out here, but with the proper tee shots, they were very doable.”
The run of birdies was capped off with a 33-footer at the 184-yard par-3 14th, and Rahm would make three more birdies the rest of the way for a bogey-free 64 to go from outside the cut line to a potential contender on the weekend.
If there was any thought that Rahm might actually enjoy a weekend off after the exhaustion that comes with winning the Masters, the 11-time PGA Tour winner quickly dispelled that notion. When asked whether he considered taking it easy Friday after a poor first round, he initially replied, “I don’t understand what you mean right now.”
After being questioned again as to his incentive to play well Friday instead of mailing it in coming off a Masters victory, Rahm reiterated much of what he said earlier in the week about his motivation to perform at the RBC Heritage.
“It’s my job, right?” Rahm said. “It’s like I said in the press conference. People pay their hard-earned money to watch me perform. It’s my job to perform. They don’t care if I slept good or bad, I feel good or bad. It doesn’t matter. As a competitor, I’m not ducking anything in that sense. I’m going to go out and try to shoot low.”
Friday’s 64 certainly qualifies as low, and Rahm is now a weekend-charge away from the “Jacket Double,” hoping to don the red plaid just a week after strolling Augusta National in green.
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