The Open: Jon Rahm shrugs off rules issue despite Friday struggles
Last Updated: 21/07/17 5:45pm
Jon Rahm insists he was fully focused on his golf during the second round of The Open despite his rules controversy on Thursday.
The Spaniard's first round at Royal Birkdale was overshadowed by a potential rules infringement that initially saw him hit with a two-stroke penalty.
Those shots were later restored after officials accepted his explanation that the incident on the 17th, when he moved a live plant near his ball, did not affect his lie.
He returned to the course early on Friday morning, but could only manage to shoot a four-over 74, which included bogeys on the first three holes and four in succession from the 11th.
The 22-year-old recovered a little with birdies at the 15th and 17th to move back to three over following 36 holes and comfortably inside the cut mark.
And Rahm insisted afterwards that his indifferent display was down to the wind rather than the fallout from Thursday's incident.
The world No 7 said: "I was very comfortable with what happened, honestly. It is something unintended, I knew I was not improving my lie. It was up to the rules officials.
"It didn't affect me today. I didn't play bad because of yesterday. Like everybody knows, I played bad because of the wind."
Rahm's playing partner Lee Westwood spotted the potential infringement and suggested consulting a rules official, but the Spaniard dismissed suggestions he might have been unhappy with the Englishman's role.
He said: "I told him no hard feelings, 'I'm not going to be mad at you'. He was actually trying to help me out. He was trying to avoid me getting in trouble. He did it with the best intentions."
Westwood stuck to the known facts of the story when questioned about the matter.
He said: "I didn't see where [the vine] was, I only saw him moving it around to sort of 3 o'clock from where I stood, and I could see it was attached. So I said that it was attached, and they called over a rules official. I'm not going to comment on anything else."
Rahm was also involved in a rules controversy on his way to victory in last month's Irish Open, but says he has not experienced any negativity.
He said: "It would be foolish to go online and see what people have been saying about me because it could be good or bad, but I haven't heard anything negative. The spectators have been wonderful with me. There is nothing to complain about.
"If it happens twice in the space of 10 years nobody will remember. If it happens two tournaments in a row it seems like a bigger deal than it is.
"I wouldn't have won in Ireland the way I did if I wasn't comfortable with what happened. If I felt I deserved a penalty I would have said. I'm an honest player.
"That is one of the things golf teaches you. We are all role models. None of us are trying to cheat or gain strokes like that."
