Q. First round as reigning Masters champion; how did it go?
JON RAHM: It's a difficult golf course. That's all I can say. It's not easy. You're not really having the luxury out there of being able to miss shots, especially tee shots. Unfortunately on that back nine I missed a few too many shots.
Never really in a good position to give myself the best chance for birdies and ended up with what could have been a little bit better of a score. It's just too bad. Bad swings are bad swings, but I think 4 and 17 could have been avoided. Those two three-putts could have been a voided.
Q. Were you surprised the scores were so low?
JON RAHM: Yes and no. There's always somebody who seems to come out on Thursday and shoot 7-under no matter the conditions.
I remember my first ever Masters on 17, it was the type of day like this, windy, very difficult. As a group we struggled. I think I scratched something around even par, and then I looked up leaderboard and saw Charley Hoffman was 7-under. It happens. You can hit the good shots, but you need to play really good golf to shoot low here.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports