Jon Rahm lashed out at The Masters organizers for their refusal to suspend play as 40mph winds caused chaos during Friday’s second round.
The defending champions crept into the weekend, finishing one shot below the cutoff line after a four-over-par 76 on Friday.
Rahm is now 11 shots ahead of the leaders – Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and Max Homa – after a brutal second day that saw Augusta battered by the elements.
“It’s about as tough a golf course as I’ve seen in a very long timeRahm said.
‘A few times I asked myself why we were there. Especially when I turned 18 and saw the entire front of the green full of sand. It rolls a little differently.
Jon Rahm has hit out at The Masters organizers for their refusal to suspend play on Friday
“A few times I wondered why we were there,” said the Spaniard
‘I understand they want us to finish it. I imagine they were very close a few times, especially when we were on the 11th green and we were getting these huge gusts of wind every few minutes. It was extremely difficult.’
No one in the field shot lower than Ludvig Aberg’s three-under-par 69 on Friday, while only eight players shot under par.
Rahm’s hopes of retaining the green jacket are now all but over and the Spaniard was frustrated by the pace of play in such tough conditions.
“You just put the ball down and it almost starts moving,” he said. “Not only that, how long did it take before we played?
“Over six hours to play just because they had to blow on the greens between groups, and then when you get to a group, people are stepping back and back in.” It is, again, transgressive. It was very, very close.”
Rahm’s hopes of retaining the green jacket are all but over after the second round