MADRID (AP) \u2014 Jon Rahm and Shane Lowry struggled in their return to action after helping Europe win the Ryder Cup, with Rahm briefly arguing with a marshal who tried to cheer him up during the Spanish Open on Thursday.<\/p>\n
After his drive found the left rough on the par-4 eighth hole, Rahm saw his lie and started complaining: \u201cWhat a day, what a day,\u201d he said, followed by an expletive.<\/p>\n
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The marshal who marked his ball said \u201cIt’s OK,\u201d and Rahm immediately looked at him and said: \u201cDon’t tell me it’s OK, please. Thank you.”<\/p>\n
The marshal apologized as he walked away, while Rahm continued complaining: “It’s not OK.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rahm made a par on the hole, but then bogeyed the next \u2014 his last of the day \u2014 to finish with a round of 1-over 72. He holed a bunker shot for an eagle on the par-5 14th, but his round included only one birdie and four bogeys.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m frustrated. I\u2019m so angry,\u201d he said after the round. \u201cI didn\u2019t feel like my swing was bad, I just struggled with the wind, to be honest.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s golf. You can win a major, and come Thursday there\u2019s another tournament going on \u2014 everybody\u2019s already forgotten,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s part of the deal; it\u2019s 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\u2019s always another one following.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/a> from the start. Rahm said while in Madrid that the Ryder Cup was the toughest week mentally<\/a> of his career.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Lowry shot a 4-over 75 in his opening round at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. The Irishman had six bogeys and two birdies.<\/p>\n The clubhouse leaders were Frenchman Ugo Coussaud and Englishman Sam Bairstow, who shot rounds of 6-under 65. They were one shot ahead of Austrian Bernd Wiesberger, Englishman Marco Penge and Frenchman Frederic Lacroix.<\/p>\n \u201cMany, many great shots close to the pin,” Coussaud said, \u201despecially on the two par-fives, and I made the two good putts, so just a great day. I had a few bad shots as well but I recovered quite nicely so I\u2019m very happy with today.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n 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. Rahm is making his seventh appearance in Madrid, with his victories coming in 2018, 2019 and 2022. He was runner-up to fellow Spaniard \u00c1ngel Hidalgo in a playoff last year.<\/p>\n Ballesteros won the last of his 50 titles on the European tour at the Spanish Open in 1995.<\/p>\n It is the first time the tournament offers an automatic spot in next year’s Masters and the British Open to the winner.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n World No. 1 tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, also a Spaniard, was among those following Rahm in Thursday’s opening round in Madrid.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n