Jon Rahm Jumps Out to Fast Start at Mexico Open

The highest-ranked player in the field played like it in the opening round of the PGA Tour's new event in Vallarta, Mexico.

If you follow betting odds on golf, you know a +450 price on a favorite is about as low as you'll ever find.

That equates to someone really, really good playing in an event that, well, doesn't have many others that compare. Jon Rahm is that guy this week at the Mexico Open at Vidanta, the No. 3-ranked player in the world in a field that doesn't have anyone else in the top 15.

For one round at least, Rahm is living up to the bill. The Spaniard shot a bogey-free 7-under 64 to tie for the lead in Thursday's early wave at Vidanta Vallarta, highlighted by an eagle at the drivable par-4 7th hole where he knocked his tee shot on the green and holed a 42-footer.

Taking advantage of the drivable 7th.

Nothing to it, @JonRahmPGA 🦅 pic.twitter.com/aFUQzYCtye

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 28, 2022

"It's a golf course that I like, it's great for ball-strikers," Rahm said after the round. "The longer you hit it off the tee, the easier this golf course is going to be."

Rahm is looking for his first win of the season, having finished second at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and T3 at the Farmers Insurance Open in January but nothing in the top 5 since. His last win was the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

This week's tournament is considered Mexico's national open, which dates to 1944. The PGA Tour played in Mexico City for the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship from 2017 through 2020, where Rahm finished T3 in 2017 and 2020.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event could not be played in Mexico last year, so the PGA Tour moved it to Bradenton, Florida, for one year, with Collin Morikawa the winner. Since, the WGC distinction has been dropped, meaning this is a regular event with a $7.3 million purse and $1,314,000 going to the winner.