It didn’t take long for Jon Rahm to turn the air blue in Mayakoba. The Spaniard couldn’t hold himself back on the last two holes. Perhaps expected, because he was looking at a double bogey on the 18th before setting for only a bogey to close his round at 5-under-66, tied with Richard Bland and Laurie Canter.
The Spaniard, though, had a blistering start at his newfound home. However, fans were left expecting more by the time Rahm finished. That is also why, unlike the PGA Championship, netizens were not so lenient on the LIV Golf Pro.
Jon Rahm starts hot before falling off steam
Jon Rahm started his LIV Golf career with a birdie on the par-4 first hole. On a day that saw Joaquin Niemann become the second LIV Golfer to go sub-60—Niemann shot 12-under 59, one short of Bryson DeChambeau’s record of 58–Rahm fell off steam in the last two holes.
The Spaniard made five birdies in the front nine and two more on the back nine on par 5 at the 13th hole and par 3 at the 15th hole. But two consecutive bogeys at the par-4 17th and 18th left him seven shots behind the leader, Niemann, and one shot behind his idol, Sergio Garcia.
After hitting the tee shot on the 18th, Rahm had a hunch this might not end up where he wanted it to. The defending Masters champion cried out, “F__k! Get lucky.” The ball, however, landed on the bunker. Rahm, of course, is not known for hiding his emotions.
Jon Rahm HOT mic 🎙️ 🔥
😡 “F**K!!!! Get lucky!” @LIVGolfUpdates
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) February 2, 2024
At last year’s PGA Championship, the 11-time PGA Tour called out “Great Hole. PGA. Great F__king hole,” after his approach shot went a little haywire. At Mayakoba, where he was perhaps expected to dominate from the get-go, his frustration hasn’t found an echo among fans.
Internet is divided on Rahm’s outburst
Notably, cursing was a point of much concern at the Mayakoba press conference. A journalist told Tyrrell Hatton that LIV Golf fines players for cursing. However, before his teammate, the Legion XIII captain said he would be the first one to suffer, if that’s the case.
Rahm is obviously not the first LIV golfer to get caught turning the air blue. Last year, Cameron Smith and Brooks Koepka both didn’t hide their frustration on a hot mic. One fan thinks it goes with the nature of golf.
🤣🤣🤣Love it! "FUCK" and golf go hand in hand🤣🤣
— Bear (@ThaBigBear74) February 2, 2024
One user pointed out that the broadcast still has multiple issues. But the good thing is, they don’t stop players from letting their frustrations go.
The LIV broadcast remains very clunky but at least they let Rahm work blue. https://t.co/GGM7jqGCae
— Hugh Kellenberger (@KellenbergerGLF) February 2, 2024
Tyrrell Hatton is a self-proclaimed master of swearing. One fan pointed out that, surprisingly, Jon Rahm was caught before the British golfer.
And it wasn’t Hatton. LOL.
— Hank’s Army (@liv2golfone) February 3, 2024
With both Hatton and Rahm on the same team, one fan felt this was just the beginning. They also pointed out that if Hot Mic was on Hatton, it could have been worse.
Expecting a lot more of that. I suspect if a mic was on Hatton it would have been worse today.
— Play Golfer (@Playgolfer) February 2, 2024
LIV Golf has had trouble getting an experienced broadcaster to stream the events. So far, they have relied on YouTube. What happens if they get demonetized?
Imagine if they get demonetized on YouTube. They could lose hundreds of dollars in ad revenue.
— Luke (@sumglew) February 3, 2024
Some of them were more bothered with the dress code at LIV. This user feels Jon Rahm looks utterly stupid in shorts.
He looks ridiculous in shorts!
— nw19 (@nw19) February 3, 2024
Read More: Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton Boldy Admit PGAT-DP World Cravings After Breaking Rory McIlroy’s Heart