Jon Rahm reacts to missed cut in Dubai after losing tense battle with a bush

Former World No.1 Jon Rahm was among some of the bigger names that missed the cut at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. 

Rahm was making his debut here at the first Rolex Series event of 2025 on the DP World Tour. 

But he will head home after 36 holes having posted a disastrous second round of 5-over 77. 

Rahm was positioned nicely on day one having returned a card for 69 but made too many sloppy mistakes on Friday. 

His second round included two double bogeys, three bogeys and two birdies. 

The most entertaining part of his round arrived on the par-4 12th. 

Rahm flared his tee shot out right so he decided to hit a provisional. That found the middle of the fairway. 

He ultimately found his tee shot but then proceeded to hit his second straight into a bush. 

Rahm assessed his options and ultimately decided to take the shot on.

The former Masters champion caught a branch on his backswing and could only advance his golf ball 26 yards.

It led to a double bogey and meant he was up against it to try and reach the projected cut of 1-under. 

Watch the moment here:

This is the first time Rahm has missed a cut in a Rolex Series event and only the third time he has gone home early in more than four years. 

"Yesterday was good, I was quite happy with it," he told reporters. "Today, not really. I wouldn't say that there was anything that went well. 

"No part of the game today was even average to what I would like to feel."

He added: "I missed too many fairways. I had two penalty strokes on the same hole.

"It's a difficult day and I just couldn't take advantage of some of the opportunities I had."

Rahm said it wasn't the ideal way to start his year. 

But he struck an upbeat tone: "If there's any positive side of it is it is the beginning of the year. 

"There's a lot of golf and a lot of months to look forward to. 

"I have a pretty clear idea of what I need to work on. So these next two weeks, go home and try to get better."

Rahm's next event will be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where LIV Golf will kick off their third full season. 

The Spaniard is LIV's reigning individual champion. 

His team is yet to be finalised, but it is expected that Tom McKibbin will join his Legion XIII quartet. 

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