Rahm bemoans winds as he sits seven off first-round lead in Spain

Shane Lowry struggles on return to competition after Ryder Cup

RYDER REFLECTIONS: Jon Rahm and Shane Lowry chat during the first round of the Spanish Open presented by Madrid 2025 at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. Picture: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

A seething Jon Rahm bemoaned the vagaries of the winds whipping around Madrid's Club de Campo after a one-over-par 72 left him seven off the first-round lead at the Open de Espana.

Even holing a bunker shot for an eagle at the par-five 14th and knocking his approach to five feet for birdie at the next - on what was his front nine - failed to improve his mood as back-to-back bogeys immediately after the turn were followed by another dropped shot at the par-three ninth.

The Ryder Cup-winning Spaniard, seeking a record fourth success at his home event, could barely bring himself to speak in his post-round interview.

"Frustrating day. You couldn't ask a harder question right now. I'm so angry and I want to be so sarcastic," he told Sky Sports.

"I struggled with the wind to be honest. There were a lot of swings that came out the way I wanted to and the wind didn't affect it the way I wanted it to.

"I didn't feel like I played that badly and the score is not nearly where I wanted to be."

However, his playing partner and European team-mate Shane Lowry fared even worse on his return to action after holing the putt which retained the Ryder Cup.

The Irishman looked out of sorts in carding six bogeys and just two birdies in a round of 75.

England's Sam Bairstow, playing in one of the final groups of the day, birdied four of his last five holes to join Frenchman Ugo Coussaud in a share of the lead on six under par.

Bairstow said: "I think coming in, the focus was on getting finished because of the dark so to finish with a few birdies there was great."

"I love it here, I played here for the first time last year and I loved it so it's just a good week — obviously the city's good, course is good, the fans are good so yeah, I like coming back here.

Coussaud, the day before his 33rd birthday, had two eagles in his 65 with a brilliant birdie at the eighth - his penultimate hole - looking like separating him from the chasing pack until Bairstow's spectacular finish.

Marco Penge, third in the Race to Dubai rankings behind Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton, was a shot off the lead alongside Coussaud's compatriot Frederic Lacroix and Austria's Bernd Wiesberger.

Holywood's Tom McKibbin fared better than Lowry, carding a level par 71, albeit one that included five bogeys along with five birdies. 

However, it was a day to forget for Conor Purcell. The Portmarnock player, who needs a good finish to the season to retain his full playing rights on the DP World Tour, shot a 10-over-par round of 81 to find himself last of the 132 players in the field.