[ad_1]
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Jon Rahm stored listening to how he was destined to win this Masters as a result of so many Spanish stars have been aligned in his favor.
Sunday was the birthdate of Seve Ballesteros, his idol and inspiration for taking part in. This 12 months was the 40-year anniversary of the second Masters title Ballesteros received. If that wasn’t sufficient, caddie Adam Hayes was assigned white coveralls with No. 49 — April 9.
“I used to be instructed plenty of issues about why this could possibly be the 12 months,” Rahm stated, wanting good as ever in his new inexperienced jacket. “And I simply did not wish to purchase into it an excessive amount of.”
His golf was much more priceless than any historic coincidence.
Rahm turned the longest day into his sweetest victory Sunday. The 30-hole marathon end began with him trailing by 4 and ended with a stroll as much as the 18th inexperienced that almost lowered him to tears, and gave him one other main that affirmed him as No. 1 on the planet.
He closed with a 3-under 69 to drag away from mistake-prone Brooks Koepka. He received by 4 pictures over Koepka and 52-year-old Phil Mickelson, who matched the low rating of the event with a 65 and have become the oldest runner-up in Masters historical past.
“All of us dream of issues like this as gamers, and also you attempt to visualize what it’s going to be like and what it’s going to really feel like,” Rahm stated. “By no means thought I used to be going to cry by profitable a golf event, however I received very shut on that 18th gap.
“And plenty of it due to what it means to me, and to Spanish golf,” he stated. “It’s Spain’s tenth main, fourth participant to win the Masters. It is fairly unimaginable.”
It was Mickelson who declared Rahm could be amongst golf’s greatest stars even earlier than the Spaniard turned professional in 2016. Rahm now has a inexperienced jacket to go together with his U.S. Open title he received in 2021 at Torrey Pines.
“It was apparent to me at a really younger age that he was among the finest gamers on the planet even whereas he was in faculty,” stated Mickelson, whose youthful brother was Rahm’s faculty coach at Arizona State. “To see him on this stage is no surprise for anyone.”
Rahm made up two pictures on Koepka over the ultimate 12 holes of the rain-delayed third spherical and began the ultimate spherical two pictures behind. He seized on Koepka’s collapse after which surged up to now forward that Mickelson’s wonderful closing spherical — it matched the three-time Masters champion’s finest last spherical ever at Augusta Nationwide — was by no means going to be sufficient.
The end was classic Rahm. He pulled his drive into the pine bushes and it ricocheted out, in need of the place the green begins. No drawback. He hit 4-iron towards the inexperienced and lofted a pitch to three toes to finish his spherical with just one bogey.
“An uncommon par, very a lot a Seve par, a testomony to him, and I do know he was pulling for me in the present day,” stated Rahm, who completed at 12-under 276. “And it was an incredible Sunday.”
Rahm embraced his spouse and two youngsters, and as he walked towards the scoring room, there was two-time Masters champion José María Olazábal in his inexperienced jacket for the strongest hug of all and some phrases that included Ballesteros.
“He stated he hopes it’s the primary of many extra,” Rahm stated in Butler Cabin. “We each talked about one thing about Seve, and if he had given us 10 extra seconds, I believe we’d have each ended up crying.”
Sergio Garcia was the low novice in 1999 when Olazábal received his second inexperienced jacket, after which Garcia received in 2017, the 12 months Rahm made his Masters debut.
Stars aligned, and Rahm performed some world-class golf. And to suppose he started the event with a four-putt double bogey on the opening gap.
Rahm received for the fourth time this 12 months — simply as Scottie Scheffler did a 12 months in the past when he received the Masters — and reclaimed the No. 1 world rating from Scheffler.
This Masters had somewhat little bit of every little thing — sizzling and humid firstly, a chilly entrance with wind that toppled three bushes on Friday, placing surfaces saturated from rain on Saturday and a marathon end Sunday as Rahm and Koepka went 30 holes.
Koepka had one miscue after one other, dropping the lead for the primary time since Thursday afternoon when he chipped 20 toes previous the outlet from behind the par-3 sixth and made his second bogey. Extra would observe.
“Just a few days you’ve it, some days you don’t, and in the present day wasn’t a kind of,” Koepka stated. “However I really feel good, and I count on to be there the opposite three (majors).”
Koepka went 22 consecutive holes Sunday and not using a birdie — from the par-5 eighth gap within the morning of the third spherical till the par-5 thirteenth in last spherical. By then, he was three pictures behind and Rahm all however sealed it together with his subsequent shot.
He hit a low reduce with an 8-iron from 141 yards round a tree from proper of the 14th fairway, and it caught a slope on the inexperienced at simply the fitting spot to feed down to three toes for birdie. When Koepka three-putted for bogey, it was a matter of ending.
The leaderboard was affected by main champions and a tinge of Saudi-funded LIV Golf. Mickelson and Koepka each are a part of the rival circuit. Former Masters champion Patrick Reed, one other participant who defected to LIV, closed with a 68 and tied for fourth with Jordan Spieth (66) and Russell Henley.
Tiger Woods wasn’t round for the end. He withdrew Sunday morning earlier than the third spherical resumed, saying plantar fasciitis in his foot was aggravating him. Woods additionally withdrew after three rounds of the PGA Championship final 12 months in equally chilly, windy circumstances at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Mickelson barely contends over 54 holes within the 48-man LIV Golf league. After which he performed just like the six-time main champion who two years in the past grew to become the oldest main champion at age 50 when he received the PGA Championship.
He stuffed his tee shot on the par-3 sixth, birdied the seventh after which completed in model. His strategy to the seventeenth got here inside inches of stepping into for an eagle, and he pumped his fist when his 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th dropped for a 65.
It matched his lowest rating ever at Augusta Nationwide — he shot 65 within the opening spherical within the 1996 Masters and was at his Sunday finest.
“Sadly it wasn’t sufficient, however it was actually plenty of enjoyable for me to play at this degree once more, and it’s encouraging for me going ahead the remainder of the 12 months,” Mickelson stated.
Rahm referred to as it an unimaginable day, particularly together with his father coming over from Spain. He concluded his remarks on the trophy presentation on the 18th inexperienced by saying, “Glad Easter. And relaxation in peace, Seve.”
He then made the signal of the cross, kissed his finger and pointed to the sky, the clearest it had been all week.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
[ad_2]
Source link