STOMACH BUG TAKES BITE AT RAHM’S RYDER CUP PREPS

SAN FRANCISCO—World No. 1 Jon Rahm’s Ryder Cup prep week hasn’t gone quite according to plan, but the Spaniard laid low by a stomach ailment said he was improving after an even par 72 in the first-round of the US Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Fortinet Championship.

Rahm withdrew from Wednesday’s pro-am with the bug, which he attributed to fatigue after battling to a runner-up finish to Patrick Cantlay in the US PGA Tour Championship last week.

“I didn’t have the mental clarity I usually have,” Rahm said, attributing that to the fact that he didn’t eat on the course as he usually does.

“It was a bit of a battle in that sense, that’s why probably on the greens it wasn’t my best day, but again, it is what it is. I’ve dealt with worse. I think a lot of people out there have played with worse.

“Tiger Woods won a US Open with a broken knee, so I’m OK.”

Rahm had two bogeys and two birdies in his even-par 72 at Silverado Resort in Napa, California.

American Chez Reavie was the first-round leader in the opening event of the US tour’s 2021-22 season with a seven-under par 65.

Reavie’s patience paid off as he bounced back from an early bogey at 14 with birdies at 16 and 17.