Good morning to everyone but especially to…
JON RAHM, MASTERS CHAMPION
There was a time — not that long ago, in fact — that a four-putt double-bogey on the opening hole could have sent Jon Rahm‘s entire tournament off the rails.
This week, it led him to his first green jacket.
The Spanish star powered through a loaded leaderboard and adverse conditions to cruise to a four-stroke win over Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson.
Koepka led by four shots entering the day — which began with the end of the third round after weather postponements — and led by two entering the fourth round. But Rahm caught him by the fourth hole of the final round and moved into the solo lead after the sixth hole — a lead he would not relinquish.
It’s already Rahm’s fourth win this calendar year. Since 1960, the only other players to get their fourth win of a calendar year at the Masters are Arnold Palmer (1960) and Scottie Scheffler (2022). Rahm also joins Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia as the only Spaniards to win the Masters.Rahm and Ballesteros — one of Rahm’s heroes — are also the only Spaniards to win two different majors. Sunday would have been Ballesteros’ 66th birthday.Rahm joined Sam Snead (1952) as the only players to win the Masters after making double-bogey or worse on the first hole.
Rahm rarely made mistakes, and when he did, he recovered in solid — and sometimes spectacular — fashion. That was especially true on 14, when Rahm faded his approach shot around a tree to just four feet and made birdie. Koepka three-putted for bogey, and Rahm cruised from there.
Rahm, quite simply, is an all-time great, writes our Kyle Porter from Augusta.
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