Jon Rahm cruises to 2023 Masters victory, sealing Spaniard’s second profession main

CNN
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Jon Rahm gained the 2023 Masters on Sunday, clinching his first inexperienced jacket and second profession main with an unflappable exhibiting at Augusta National.

The Spaniard placed on a clinic in consistency to ease to a 4 shot victory forward of LIV Golf Collection duo Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson.

After two days of depressing climate had seen a number of suspensions of play on the 87th version of the historic main, it was becoming that blue skies and sunshine set the backdrop for the crowning of Rahm, whose victory sees him leapfrog reigning Masters champion Scottie Scheffler as world No. 1.

Having begun his event with a four-putt double bogey, Rahm recovered instantly and by no means appeared again, carding a remaining spherical three-under 69 to complete 12-under.

On the birthday of late Spanish golf icon Seve Ballesteros – champion in 1980 and 1983 – Rahm turned the fourth Spaniard to win the inexperienced jacket and the primary European golfer to win each The Masters and the US Open, following victory at Torrey Pines in 2021.

Ballesteros, José María Olazábal, and Sergio Garcia had been the one three of Rahm’s compatriots to have donned the inexperienced jacket beforehand, and Olazábal was one of many first to embrace the tearful new champion on the 18th inexperienced.

“Historical past of the sport is an enormous a part of why I play and one of many explanation why I play, Seve being certainly one of them,” Rahm stated.

“If it wasn’t for that Ryder Cup in ’97, my dad and I speak about it on a regular basis, we don’t know the place I’d be or the place as a household we’d be.

“For me to get it executed on the fortieth anniversary of his win, his birthday, on Easter Sunday, it’s extremely significant … I do know he was pulling for me right this moment.”

Rahm made brief work of the 2 shot lead taken into the ultimate spherical by Koepka, who slid to a irritating three-over 75 end. The American had held no less than a share of the lead from the tip of the primary spherical, however noticed his goals of a primary inexperienced jacket and fifth profession main fade rapidly amid Rahm’s relentless afternoon cost.

Mickelson rolled again the years with a remaining round-best 65 to develop into the oldest golfer ever to complete contained in the top-five on the main. A 3-time inexperienced jacket winner, the 52-year-old was all smiles as he eased spherical Augusta with eight birdies.

It marks the bottom spherical ever posted by a participant aged 50 or above, coming a day after Fred Couples turned the oldest participant to ever make the reduce on the main.

Jordan Spieth shot 9 birdies in a blistering closing 66 to complete on seven-under. The 2015 champion completed degree with Russell Henley and Patrick Reed, who made it three LIV Golf gamers inside the highest 4.

A protection of the title appeared unlikely from the second Scheffler endured a irritating second spherical 75, the American ending eight pictures adrift of Rahm, tied for tenth.

Main beginner Sam Bennett gained hearts and plaudits after an excellent week at Augusta. The 23-year-old Texan – who has a tattoo of his late father’s final piece of advice inscribed on his wrist – shot 76 to complete tied for sixteenth on his Masters debut.

After two days of depressing situations and stop-start motion, clear blue skies lastly broke above Augusta Nationwide on Sunday, prompting the inexperienced gentle for the race to flee a primary Monday end on the main since 1983.

A battle to beat the clock had already ensued Saturday after unhealthy climate Friday – featuring winds strong enough to fell three large pine trees – had suspended play in a single day and left a number of gamers needing to complete their second rounds.

That group included Rahm, who reduce Koepka’s result in two earlier than the duo paired with Bennett to trudge via six holes of a rain-soaked third spherical Saturday. By the point the horn sounded to droop play, Koepka’s 4 stroke cushion had been restored – the American weathering the storm expertly whereas his Spanish rival misplaced floor with back-to-back bogeys.

Sunday’s shiny climate introduced a extra acquainted really feel to the picturesque terrain of Augusta Nationwide, however there was no acquainted sight of Tiger Woods’ traditional Sunday pink. Regardless of visibly fighting motion all through the weekend, the 15-time main champion had battled to a record-equaling twenty third reduce, solely to announce his withdrawal due to injury hours earlier than play resumed on Sunday.

Having admitted to being in “constant” pain after his opening spherical, photos of the 47-year-old – rooted to the underside of the leaderboard – hobbling in direction of his golf bag throughout his remaining holes of the weekend will solely intensify questions of whether or not the five-time Masters champion will ever play the key once more.

Rahm had as soon as once more moved to inside two strokes of Koepka because the pair approached the primary tee for the ultimate time, after the duo each carded one-over 72’s within the third spherical hours earlier.

Koepka’s opening drive discovered the golf green: the ninth fairway. But the American recovered beautifully from his wild opening hook, planting his follow-up onto the inexperienced earlier than saving par.

His aid didn’t final lengthy. After Rahm sunk his first birdie of the day on the third, Koepka made bogeys at 4 and 6. For the primary time for the reason that second gap on Friday, there was a brand new outright chief on the summit.

Smelling blood, a steely-eyed Rahm accelerated, tapping house for birdie after knocking an excellent strategy to inside a number of ft on the eighth to maneuver two clear. Koepka, in the meantime, was fading, dropping two extra pictures by the twelfth gap.

To make issues worse for the LIV Golf star, these behind had gathered momentum. Although Mickelson and Spieth finally left their costs too late to grab victory, Koepka’s slide jumped Mickelson – already again within the clubhouse – up into solo second.

It was becoming encapsulation of the day that when a annoyed Koepka lastly transformed his first birdie of the afternoon on the thirteenth – snapping a 22 gap streak with out one – Rahm matched his effort mere seconds later.

Any hopes of Koepka’s increase sparking a dramatic comeback had been crushed on the following gap, as he bogeyed as soon as once more earlier than Rahm coolly rolled house for birdie.

What had appeared set to be an enthralling two-horse race had become a canter. Up forward, American duo Reed and Henley had been operating out of time to problem, and even back-to-back birdies for Koepka on the fifteenth and sixteenth solely reduce the hole to 3.

Carrying a 4 shot lead into the ultimate gap, there was a momentary scare for Rahm – maybe his first real fright of the day – as his tee drive went crusing in direction of the timber.

It made for scenes harking back to a 12 months in the past, when runaway chief Scheffler made a wobbly end, four-putting to shut. But, as soon as once more, the result was the identical – Rahm hit a provisional solely to later discover his unique ball had bounced again onto the golf green.

An exceptional strategy onto the inexperienced allowed Rahm to completely indulge in a champion’s ovation from the Augusta patrons. The ball had barely hit the underside of the cup earlier than Rahm had dropped his putter, elevating his arms and head to the sky to toast a dominant triumph.