Jon Rahm kind of knows his temper is a problem. But we did not expect to see a tantrum at the 2026 PGA Championship. That was true until hole 7 during the opening round tested his patience. But once he regained his senses, which was almost immediately, he knew what he had to do.

Playing his approach on hole 7, Rahm’s second shot flew long, a flier that left him in a difficult spot. Out of frustration, he took what he described as an air swing over the grass without looking, caught a divot, and the clump struck a nearby elderly volunteer. The volunteer was caught off guard, and rightfully so. No one would expect to get hit by a divot in their face while just minding their business. Even an elderly spectator standing nearby was shocked.

“It hit him in the shoulder and then the face,” Rahm explained after the round. “I couldn’t feel any worse. That’s why I was there apologizing. I need to somehow track him down to give him a present because that’s inexcusable, and for something that could be completely avoidable. Whether it was my intention or not, it was just not good.”

The incident was difficult to ignore, as it came at a kind of sensitive time. Rahm’s move to LIV Golf has put him outside the traditional PGA Tour structure, and winning a major remains the clearest way to silence the doubters.

His 2026 LIV season has been strong on paper, with wins in Hong Kong and Mexico City, plus runner-up finishes in Riyadh and Adelaide. His driving distance sits at 311.0 yards, his greens in regulation at 59.72%, and he averages 29.25 putts per round. The tools are there, but the major results have not been good. For instance, his 38th Masters finish.

Not so surprisingly, this is not the first time Rahm’s temper has created headlines. At the 2022 Memorial Tournament, he threw a club that came close to striking a woman holding a microphone. In 2025, he kicked a microphone on a LIV tee box after a poor drive. Even heading into this week, there was an edge to his preparation.

Rahm revealed after his Mexico City win that he nearly got into a heated argument with his caddie, Adam Hayes, during Masters week at Augusta.

“Adam and I nearly got in a heated argument on Saturday on the putting green at Augusta when he was trying to explain something, and I wasn’t fully understanding,” Rahm said.

The frustration behind that exchange, and what happened at hole 7 today, traces back further than just this season. Nine years ago, as a 22-year-old making his way on the PGA Tour, Rahm acknowledged the problem directly after missing the cut at the 2017 U.S. Open.

“You need to get mad, but maybe not externalize it as much,” he said then. “It’s just hard when I feel like I’m hitting good shots and I’m trying as hard as I can, and things aren’t happening.”

Notably, Jon Rahm’s temper was not the only talking point from his round at Aronimink.

Rules offer Jon Rahm a benefit on hole 10; he squanders it regardless

Jon Rahm’s troubles at Aronimink extended beyond the temper flare. On hole 10, his opening tee shot drifted left into the rough, but his ball landed near a sprinkler head, classified as an immovable obstruction under Rule 16.1. It earned him a free drop.

That drop moved his ball from the rough directly into the fairway, a generous outcome that immediately raised eyebrows. Four groups earlier, Rickie Fowler called a rules official for nearly the identical situation on the same hole but was denied relief because his ball was not close enough.

The USGA has actually defended this outcome publicly. Their rules department confirms that rough and fairway both fall under the general area of a course, meaning moving between them does not legally constitute improving your lie, though many golfers still find that difficult to accept.

Rahm took the drop, stood in the fairway, and still missed the green to the right. He walked away with a bogey anyway. Overall, he finished Round 1 at one under par, having carded 69. How his second day looks remains to be seen.