Swear words aside, world No. 1 Jon Rahm doesn't back off on criticism of PGA Tour setup last week

Jon Rahm stood his ground.

Last week en route to finishing in a tie for 14th in the American Express, the world No. 1 was caught on video voicing his extreme displeasure with the course setup in what is annually a birdie-fest at The American Express in La Quinta, a place where he won in 2018.

As he walked from a green to a tee at the Nicklaus Course at PGA West during the second round, Rahm, who wears his emotions on his golf sleeve and has improved his ability to rein in his temperament that has gotten the better of him a few times over the years, went off with an eight-word outburst with two expletives that made the video go viral.

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"Piece of (blank) (blank) setup. Putting-contest week," he said.

Ahead of Wednesday's start of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, Rahm didn't offer up a straight-out apology. Yes, he admitted Tuesday his language should have been different. But he's not apologizing for his take on the setup.

"If I knew somebody was recording, I wouldn't say it the way I did, but I was just thinking out loud and letting some frustration out because that's what I felt, right?" Rahm said. "I mean, the video's pretty self-explanatory. I mean, we're the PGA Tour, we're the best golfers on the planet and we're playing a golf course where missing the fairway means absolutely nothing.

"There were times where missing the fairway by an inch was worse than missing the fairway by 20 yards, that to me is a mistake. I also understand we're in the desert, you can't overseed the entire golf course and things like that can't happen, but yeah, we played a lot of golf with zero rough.

"No matter where you hit it, you're going to be able to hit it on the green and it becomes a putting contest, who can make the putts. That's about it, there's no premium for anything else.

"I can tell you right now with the way I struck the ball last week and the way I putted, if it was in, let's say, major championship conditions, I probably wouldn't have made the cut, let alone finish 14th, or I shouldn't have, I believe. I just think it was a bit too easy for the best players in the world. That's just my opinion."