Padraig Harrington is likely breathing a sigh of relief.
As it turns out, the European Ryder Cup captain’s star player, world No. 1 Jon Rahm, is feeling better as he battles a stomach illness. Now, Rahm’s game just needs to follow suit, as the Spaniard returned to action Thursday at Silverado Resort with a first-round 72 to open the new season at the Fortinet Championship.
It wasn’t a particularly sharp ball-striking day, as Rahm found just six fairways and missed five greens in regulation, and his putter failed to cooperate. He holed less than 50 feet of putts and was losing about a shot and a half to the field on the greens when he wrapped up his morning round.