Jon Rahm contending at 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship after shooting 7 under in Round 1 at Carnoustie

For the second consecutive week, Jon Rahm finds himself in position to win on the DP World Tour. Falling in a playoff at the Open de Espana, the two-time major champion seeks to make immediate amends after opening his 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship with a 7-under 65 at Carnoustie.

“I think it was a clear, clear aspect,” Rahm said. “My putting was really good today. I hit it well. Felt comfortable out there. But the amount of putts I made from 15 to 20 feet, it’s more than the average for sure today … that’s what it takes on a golf course like Carnoustie to post a score. Hopefully I can keep playing like this for the next few days.”

After claiming LIV Golf’s individual title in his first season on the 54-hole circuit, the Spaniard has since turned his attention to the DP World Tour. In order to be eligible to participate in the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, Rahm must play in at least four DP World Tour events to maintain his membership. With the Olympics counting towards this total, the 29-year-old will be just one tournament away following completion of play this week.

Rahm is not alone in this quest as a total of 14 LIV Golf members are in the field, including his Legion XIII and Ryder Cup teammate Tyrrell Hatton. Twice a winner of this event, the Englishman is ahead of Rahm in terms of DP World Tour events — this week marks his fourth this season — but behind him on the leaderboard after Hatton opened his tournament with a round of 6 under at Carnoustie. Ironically, Rahm credits Hatton’s success at this tournament for some of his on Thursday.

“I lean on the knowledge of a two-time Dunhill championship Champion, Tyrrell Hatton, and, in the words of Tyrrell, ‘Just hit driver over every bunker into the rough and lob wedge into the green,'” Rahm said. “I was like, okay, and that’s basically what I did. Missed it in all the right spots. My first fairway on the front nine was the 17th and I was 3-under, right. It’s a bit of what you can do when it’s not an Open Championship setup. The rough is a little bit lower, so you can be aggressive and have short irons into the greens, and that’s what I did today.”

Beginning on the second nine at Carnoustie, Rahm got off to a roaring start with a birdie and an eagle across his first three holes. Exchanging a bogey for a birdie ahead of the turn, the former Race to Dubai champion settled into his own in his back nine adding four circles to his card including three in his final four holes.

Rahm now transitions to the most accessible golf course of the three in Kingsbarn Golf Links for his second round alongside Brooks Koepka. The top two players on the leaderboard played Kingsbarn on Thursday with first-round lead Darren Fichardt carding an 11-under 61 to grab a two-stroke lead.