Rahm in the mix with 70 despite 'bad timing' on fan incident

Jon Rahm entered the Open Championship as one of the most backed golfers in the field, coming to Royal Portrush with four straight top-15 finishes in the majors.

The two-time major champion battled rain and wind early Thursday to put himself firmly in the mix with a solid 1-under 70, three back of the clubhouse lead.

That round included an incident with a fan on the 11th hole that could have derailed his performance had he handled things differently.

After Rahm hit an errant drive on the toughest hole in Round 1, the Spaniard accused a spectator of whistling during his backswing. Although he initially voiced his displeasure, Rahm managed to make a bogey before getting through the final seven holes in 1-under.

Rahm acknowledged the situation after the round but placed most of the blame on himself for hitting a poor shot.

"You have the hardest tee shot on the course, raining, into the wind off the left, it's enough. I know they're not doing it on purpose. It just seemed like somebody trying to get a hold of someone for whatever it is. It was bad timing," Rahm told reporters. "To be honest, it probably didn't affect as much as I made it sound like. It was a bad swing as well. Just a difficult hole."

Rahm initially struggled in major championships following his move to LIV Golf but has since regained his form. His resurgence began last year with a top-10 finish at the Open and has continued through this season's majors.

The fact that Rahm's thriving on the island of Ireland also comes as no surprise, with two Irish Open victories already under his belt.

Should Rahm put three more solid rounds on the board and finish the job, he would make history among the long list of successful Spanish golfers that have come before him.

"There's just a few things that would make this one so special," Rahm said. "Not only getting to three majors, being the second Spanish player after Seve (Ballesteros) to win an Open and being the only one to win three different majors, that would be - yeah, makes it very, very special, on top of everything that already is."

The 30-year-old heads out in the afternoon wave Friday for his second round alongside Xander Schauffele and J.J. Spaun.