Well, that probably could have gone better. Jon Rahm, the second-ranked golfer in the world, had a devil of a time on the eighth hole Saturday at The Masters, butchering the 570-yard Par 5 with a two-shot sequence from hell.
The 26-year-old, who impressed by sinking a hole-in-one during a practice round earlier this week, faced a literal uphill battle on eight after his 259-yard tee shot settled on the right edge of the fairway, barely dodging the bunker below it. What followed was a botch job of the highest order with Rahm impersonating me at the local driving range, topping his three-wood with a cringe-worthy, 95-yard worm-burner. Not the finest moment of Rahm’s illustrious career, but not a death sentence either. That would come later.
Well left of the green, Rahm tried to fit his approach shot between a pair of trees, with “try” being the operative word. This time the Spaniard clanked it off the base of the tree, ricocheting back in his direction. The ball landed out of play, disappearing into a thick bed of bushes. After taking a drop, Rahm mercifully found the green, capping his disastrous eighth hole by two-putting for double-bogey.
Already with little margin for error, Rahm’s mental lapse was a costly one, dropping him to -8 for the tournament and six back of leader Dustin Johnson, who is quickly pulling away from the rest of the field. Johnson, who finished runner-up to 2019 champ Tiger Woods the last time he visited Augusta, is seeking his first Masters title and second career major following a victory at the 2016 U.S. Open. The 36-year-old Johnson was crowned the PGA’s FedEx Cup Champion earlier this year, vaulting him to No. 1 in the world rankings.
Rahm still has plenty of time to rally, though his catastrophic eighth hole Saturday certainly didn’t help his odds of capturing an elusive green jacket.
LISTEN NOW on the RADIO.COM App
Follow RADIO.COM Sports
Twitter | Facebook I Instagram