Rahm, four shots behind leader Pavon after the first day of the Spanish Open

Jon Rahmnumber 3 in the world, this Thursday began the defense of his third title of Spanish Openwhich is played at the Villa de Madrid Country Club, with a 67 hits -four under par-, on the first day of the tournament marked by a huge influx of the national public to follow ‘León de Barrika’, who bathed in mass at the Frenchman’s recital Mathieu Pavonwho finished first in a round of 63 (-8).

Rahm, who played with Rafa Cabrera Bello, winner in 2021, and the German Paul Yannik, completed a good course of play, although far from the good start he had in the tournament in 2022, when he finished the first day with 7 under par The Spanish golfer started on the tenth hole and finished half the round with two birdies and a bogey. On the second, from holes 1 to 9, he made three birdies, on 4, 6 and 7, to finish with a score of 67 strokes (4 under).

“It was a good day of golf. I played very well, I felt comfortable and I hope I can play like that for the rest of the week. and keep throwing good shots,” said Rahm, at the end of the first day, where the Spanish public responded with a good turnout.

‘León de Barrika’ was followed by hundreds of people in the Madrid venue, who accompanied him from hole to hole following his evolution. Everyone had to deal with the intense heat for most of the session wearing caps, hats and sunglasses.

His party mates, the Spaniards Rafa Cabrera Bello and the german Patrick Yannikdid not come close to their records, as they finished at -1 and -2, respectively.

After Jon Rahm ended his participation, the good atmosphere faded a bit over lunch. A large part of the public left and many of the players played their holes with almost no audience following their game until the afternoon.

Another star in the tournament, English Justin Rose, winner like Rahm and with Europe of the last edition of the Ryder Cup, with the French Victor Pérez and the Spanish Jorge Campillo. Rose finished with 71 strokes, even par, and completed his round with a double bogey on the 2nd hole and birdies on the 4th and 6th.

The best day is the French Mathieu Pavon, number 195 in the world ranking, who lived an unforgettable day. He finished first after completing the course at 63 strokes, eight under par, and made one eagle, seven birdies and one bogey. Behind, the Dutch Wil Besselingwho finished second with a 64 stroke, seven under par, and a total of eight birdies and one bogey.

The Catalan Victor Garcia Broto, who earned his spot in the qualifying round, finished his first day in an elite tournament with a card of 66 strokes (-5). This record was about to be better, as a double bogey on the 17th hole, marked by trees and two front bunkers, prevented it. “It has been a great day, very pleasant. It’s true that at first I was a little nervous, but seeing everything was starting to go so well, I calmed down,” he said.

Other Spaniards who also performed at a high level, driven by national fans, were Santiago Tarrío, Alejandro del Rey, Jorge Campillo and Pablo Larrazábal (-3).