Jon Rahm has accepted that he deserved a warning during the second round of The Open Championship after throwing his club to the ground on one tee.
Rahm is one of the players who goes into the weekend at Royal Birkdale with a genuine chance of lifting the Claret Jug.
The Spaniard is currently tied for eighth and four shots back of the lead after posting a round of 67 on Friday in Southport.
Some may feel that he perhaps should be two shots worse off heading into round three on Saturday.
Jon Rahm reacts to being handed a warning at The Open Championship
Rahm let his frustration get the better of him on the 15th hole, with the LIV Golf star throwing his club in anger after being left annoyed with how far left he sent his tee shot.
Of course, Joaquin Niemann received a two-shot penalty at the US Open after throwing his club. So it did appear that Rahm was in real danger of being penalised for his actions.
It turns out that Rahm was not concerned about a penalty coming his way, as he revealed to the media after his round.
“No, I forgot. I didn’t think about it until I saw [the official] on 17, and when he was walking up to me, I knew exactly what it was for, but I didn’t think about it in the moment,” he said.
“I didn’t think about it. I don’t always love the word “emotional.” I’m definitely more intense and passionate than a lot of the players out here, especially at work. But I wasn’t thinking about it.
“If I try to alter who I am too much, it might cost me a little bit on the course. But certainly shouldn’t have moments like the one on 15; I get it.”
Jon Rahm explains the reason for his reaction at Royal Birkdale
As Rahm admits himself, he is a fiery character. There were a couple of occasions on Friday when Rahm backed off a shot seemingly over noise being made by the crowd.
But it seems that his frustration on the 15th tee stemmed from just how good an opportunity he felt he passed up with his tee shot.
He explained that it felt like a completely needless error given how well he had been playing up until that point.
“It was just a bad shot. Actually on the tee it was beautiful, left-to-right wind, perfect distance for a six iron for me, aim at the left bunker and just make a driving range swing that I’ve made hundreds of thousands of times, and it was just such a bad miss, honestly,” he said.
“Trying to hit a fade and draw it. I had a few pulled missed left shots. 14, I played it almost like I did yesterday, right?
“I think the unexpected, how unexpected that shot was, and shouldn’t have reacted that way, but I did.”
It would have been interesting to see how supporters of LIV Golf would have reacted had Rahm been a PGA Tour player.
Many felt aggrieved for Niemann over what happened at Shinnecock Hills. But they may have refrained from calling for consistency because it was Rahm at the centre of the controversy on Friday.
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