Jon Rahm attributed his disappointing two-over 74 on day one of this year's Masters to "bad luck", as his run of rounds of par or better came to an end on Thursday at Augusta National.
Not since an opening 75 in the 2018 tournament has the Spaniard failed to match or beat the card at the iconic Augusta layout. However, his streak has now been snapped at 15, just one shy of the record set by Tiger Woods from 1997 to 2001.
During his round, Rahm cut a frustrated figure and could be heard complaining about "mud balls" as a result of the thunderstorms that swept through the area early in the week. That frustration clearly spilled over into his post-round interview, but despite the setback in his quest to win a second Major title, the World No. 2 insisted his game is in good shape.
Asked to sum up his day, Rahm said: "Most hated question on the planet - not happy. Played great golf, got four mud balls. What am I going to do about that? That's what it is. It's bad luck, and that's what pisses me off. That's all I can say."
He was, however, pleased to have a full complement of patrons back on-site, despite being unable to give them much to cheer about.
"It's good to hear the cheers and the atmosphere is good. I think it would be a big difference more Sunday than a Thursday. But to be honest, it's not where my head's at right now."
Looking on the bright side, when Rahm did last return an over-par score in 2018, he recovered brilliantly with three rounds in the 60s to finish on his own in fourth place, just four shots behind eventual winner Patrick Reed.
He'll be hoping to kick-start something similar when he gets his second round under way at 10.23am local time (3.23pm UK time).
