Jon Rahm (-1) has started under par at the PGA Championship. It’s not a round to set off fireworks. He won’t even finish in the top 20 by the end of the day, but at least he has left Quail Hollow with a good handful of positives and three fewer thorns.
The first one is related to Quail Hollow itself. He shot 70. It matches his best result on this course, achieved twice, in the first round of the 2017 PGA and in the second round of the Wells Fargo in 2021. So, numerically it doesn’t seem very significant, but the feelings have been better. Jon is convinced that he played well today, better than ever on this course. In fact, he feels he should have shot a few strokes less. The first thorn removed: he has finally managed to display his best golf at Quail Hollow.
The second thorn is even bigger. It’s about the Green Mile. He made three pars on holes 16, 17, and 18. It’s the first time he hasn’t played this stretch of the course over par in his career. In his six previous visits to this diabolical corner, his scores were +2, +1, +4, +1, +2, and +3. “It’s a shame because I could have played it under par. On the 18th hole, I hit a very good putt and thought it was in,” the Basque assured at the end. It’s a task left for the coming days. Not only to play this stretch under par, which is really difficult, but to make at least one birdie on one of those three holes.
The third thorn refers to his start in the Majors. His one-under-par result matches his best start in these events since his victory at the Masters in 2023. He also shot one under par at the US Open in 2023 at Los Angeles Country Club and at last year’s PGA at Valhalla. For Jon, it has always been important to start well this week or at least not to feel completely behind.
Those are the three thorns the two-time Major champion has removed, although perhaps the most important thing is that he was happy. The reason for his satisfaction was the performance of his swing. “I felt more comfortable. I hit some very good shots, and the most important thing is that some swings that weren’t so good didn’t end badly. Moreover, there were some shots that might have seemed good on the course, but the swing was actually bad. I feel better and I’m happy,” he stated.
In any case, Jon is not complacent. And rightly so. His result guarantees him nothing at the moment. “Be careful, it’s only the first round,” he warned himself. And he’s right. Also at Valhalla a year ago, he started with 70 and ended up missing the cut, and also at the PGA at Quail Hollow in 2017, he started with 70 and finished the tournament in no man’s land. It’s a step forward, but he must keep advancing, especially avoiding the mistakes that turned his second nine, particularly from 1 to 6, into a roller coaster.
