Jon Rahm on his Open Championship start: “It’s not easy out there”

Royal Troon quickly turned into Royal Trouble on Thursday at The Open Championship.

Twenty-five mile-per-hour winds out of the south and a steady drizzle wreaked havoc for the entire field as dozens of players struggled. Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau, fresh off their U.S. Open duel, looked lost on Thursday, carding rounds of 7-over 78 and 5-over 76, respectively.

So after posting a 2-over 73, two-time major champion Jon Rahm summed up his round—and the conditions—perfectly:

“It’s not an easy golf course out there,” Rahm said.

“It’s very difficult out there. Eight out of those first nine holes, all of them are in off the right, playing long, difficult holes. Just when you think it might get a little easier downwind, it really isn’t. The back nine has a lot of teeth, and those par-3s are very, very difficult.”

The first six holes at Troon are where players need to attack. But the southernly wind meant that Troon’s most benign stretch played into the breeze—a stark contrast from the prevailing wind that blows out of the north.

“When it’s into the wind, you’re really cautious, and you have to be understanding of how difficult it is,” Rahm added.

Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images

“Eight is clearly the easiest hole on that front nine, just easy wedge shot, no hurt. And just when you think things are going to get a little bit easier, that back nine is brutal. Those downwind holes, 14 and 17 is very difficult today to close, and it’s just difficult in general.”

Rahm made his only birdie of the day at the par-3 8th, the hole known as “The Postage Stamp,” which is also one of the most famous holes in the world. The Spaniard stuck a wedge to 11 feet and then drained the putt to get back to even-par.

But he dropped two shots on the back nine, on the 13th and 16th holes, as Rahm could not salvage those bogeys with any birdies on Troon’s brutal closing stretch.

“I recommend whoever’s watching to watch 14 and 17 because you’re going to see some crazy holes and crazy bounces,” Rahm added of the two par-3s on the back nine.

“Well, 14 is 210 yards, back left pin, severely downwind off the left. Short of that pin, it’s all downhill. We all agree, we had consensus in the group, that the only way to hit it close is hitting the pin. Obviously you can hit it close, but it’s very difficult.

“Then 17, it’s 240 yards, the same, downwind off the left, and the green slopes off everywhere. So it’s very difficult to put that ball on the green. If you’re off the green, it’s not an easy up-and-down in any way. And just how bouncy it is. Both me and Tommy [Fleetwood] landed it front edge of the green and both ended up on the back edge. It’s not something we’re used to seeing in general. It’s more that it doesn’t look as firm as really is playing. That’s why I’m not surprised there’s not many low scores out there. It’s a battle.”

Not only does the wind make it more difficult to flight balls in the air, but it also firms up the course considerably. Firmer conditions make it much more challenging to control the ball on the ground, a crucial element of links golf.

Indeed, it’s a battle, but that’s the beauty of The Open.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.