was urged to 'be careful' after failing to control his anger on the opening day of at Augusta National. He endured a frustrating round, carding a score of three-over-par to give himself a mountain to climb. The star ended up 10 shots adrift of the lead, with Justin Rose setting the pace on seven-under-par.

Rahm was visibly frustrated as he made his way around the course, with not much going his way. He was involved in a furious outburst on the ninth hole after losing his cool following an errant tee shot. The hot-headed Spaniard fired the ball deep into the woods on the right edge of the fairway and reacted angrily, dropping his club and kicking it.

He was already two-over for the day, having made three bogies and a birdie in the previous eight holes. It looked like his wild tee shot on the ninth would be the final straw as Rahm picked his club back up and almost snapped it in a fit of rage.

As he gripped the club between his hands, the commentator said: "Be careful, you might need that a little later on." He was right, with Rahm going on to make an impressive par in spite of his wayward effort from the tee.

It was followed by successive bogeys on the 10th and 11th holes before Rahm clawed a shot back with a birdie on the 13th. He sits tied for 63rd after the opening round and will be hoping for a much-improved display on Friday.

Rahm had composed himself by the time he finished his round and was surprisingly optimistic when reflecting on his performance.

"I'm confident," he said. "It's a very difficult golf course. It's going to get harder. If I can get off to a good start, post a round in the sixties tomorrow, then the weekend could be a new story."

Rahm has not won a major since his Masters triumph in 2023, shortly before he jumped ship to LIV Golf. He has struggled on the biggest stages ever since, finishing tied for 45th at Augusta last year before missing the cut at the PGA Championship.

He was then forced to withdraw from the US Open with a toe injury but bounced back at The Open, finishing tied for seventh.

Speaking ahead of this week's tournament, Rahm suggested his game had been unfairly judged in some quarters following his move to LIV Golf.

He said: "I think last year the state of my game was being unfairly judged based on how I played here and at the PGA compared to how I really played throughout the whole year. While I understand why, I don't think it was the most fair."