Golf, feat Rahm, the Masters speaks Spanish

From our correspondent Matteo Dore

April 9th
– Milan

AUGUSTA (Georgia, Usa) – On the birthday of Severiano Ballesteros – who this Easter Sunday would have turned 66 if he hadn’t left us in 2011 – a Spaniard wins the Masters and wears that Green Jacket that the great Seve had elegantly sported on 2 occasions, 1980 and 1983. Celebrating is Jon Rahm, 28, from Barrika in the Basque Country, the fourth Spaniard to win here in Augusta after Ballesteros, the man who changed the destiny of golf throughout the Continental Europe, José Maria Olazabal (1994 and 1999) and Sergio Garcia (2017). And he is the second Spaniard, after the usual Seve, to win two different Majors. Rahm finished with 276 hits (65, 69, 73, 69; -12). He succeeds Scottie Scheffler, who had won the 2022 edition, who traditionally helped him wear the Green Jacket when the sun was already almost set.

A marathon

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Jon Rahm woke up on Sunday morning 4 strokes away from Brooks Koepka and still had 30 holes to play: 12 of the third round interrupted due to bad weather on Saturday afternoon and 6pm of the fourth. On the green of 7, where both he and his rival had left the mark to mark the position of the ball at the time of the stop, after just a couple of minutes the gap had already halved: Jon pocketed the putt for the birdie while the ‘American missed the par. And perhaps the fate of this Masters changed at that very moment. Rahm also birdied on the 8th hole and then defended himself by staying two strokes away from Koepka until the end of the third round. Without haste, waiting to strike the decisive blow, because 30 holes in a single day is a real marathon and you need firm hands and hearts of steel.

Fourth round

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The two returned to the field after a break of a couple of hours. Time for a bite to eat and a drink and a bit of work on the driving range. Rahm at this point entered a constant and increasingly triumphal march with 4 birdies and only one bogey, while Brooks Koepka literally collapsed: bogey at 4, at 6, at 9, at 12, at 14 and at 17 for a final score of 280 rounds (65, 67, 73, 75; – 8). A disaster that the 4-time Major champion (Us Open 2017 and 2018; Pga Championship 2018 and 2019) was unable to stop in any way, except a little in the final when the tournament was over. His avalanche benefited Phil Mickelson (71, 69, 75, 65) who at 52 thus became the oldest Top3 ever. Phil, 3 times champion in Augusta, finished in second place on equal points with Koepka achieving the best performance of the day (65 shots): he had missed the last edition because in the midst of the controversy over his decision to embrace the LIV, the Superleague financed with Saudi money. His return this year, the affection of the people and his extraordinary result will perhaps help to calm the waters and to reach an agreement among those in charge of golf: a character like him is too important for this sport, perhaps even the intransigent Pga Tour must think carefully before excluding it definitively.

Rich check

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During the fourth round, Rahm built up such a large lead that he played the last few holes – increasingly in the dark – in complete tranquillity.

His wife Kelley and their children Kepa and Eneko welcome him on the green at number 18. The embrace with Olazabal, Ballesteros’ best friend, was exciting. Rahm, former US Open 2021 champion, thus returned to number 1 in the world rankings and cashed a check for 3 million and 240 thousand dollars, i.e. just under 3 million euros. In recent months his performance has been impeccable: since last October he has won 6 tournaments out of the 12 in which he has participated. 50 percent, a percentage that in golf is beyond imaginable. Rahm is very attached to his homeland, but he has lived in the United States since he was 17, after accepting a scholarship from Arizona State. The varsity golf coach was Tim Mickelson, Phil’s brother, and Rahm has always been close to the Mickelson family. It is no coincidence that among the “loyal” to the PGA he has always been the least critical of those who had chosen to go to the LIV. At the Masters, his best result was a fourth place in 2018. But now it will be up to him to organize next year’s champions’ dinner: in 2024, the Augusta National will eat Spanish.