On the day Severiano Ballesteros would have turned 66, another Spaniard wins the Augusta Masters. Jon Rahm he triumphed at the Augusta National at the end of a fourth lap where he did nothing wrong. Mercy is in the second Major of his career (after the US Open 2021) and returns to number one in the world. The Basque, born in 1994, is the fourth Spaniard to wear the Green Jacket (before him also Olazabal and Garcia).
On Sunday at Augusta National Jon Rahm started two strokes down by Bruce Koepka, a colleague from four Majors won in two years before many physical problems and the transition to the Arab Super League. The American perhaps felt too much pressure and already on the 6th hole he had two bogeys on the score. The bogeys became four at the 12th hole. Only at the 13th hole was Bruce’s first birdie of the day. Rahm could not let such an opportunity slip away and with a regularity to be taken as an example he first reached the leader (at 8 the second birdie) and then overtook him in the back nine (the turning point with birdies 13 and birdies 14). Koepka felt the pinch and as the day went on he was more and more in crisis. In the end the Basque scored an overall -12 (-3 for the day).
There are many beautiful things about this The Masters 2023, an edition marked by bad weather and a return to the past, that is, with the competition open to all the best players in the world regardless of which circuit they belong to. Phil Mickelson wowed with a fourth round in 65 at 52, with the last nine holes in full golfing furor. Lefty, former absolute idol of American sportsmen, finished in second position (-8).
We were talking about the players of LIV Golf, i.e. the Arab Super League. We had forgotten how strong they were. Of the 18 at the start, 10 passed the cut. Of these ten, two (Mickelson and Koepka) came close to the feat and finished in second place. Patrick Reed finished in fourth position (-7). Not received Dustin Johnson (former world number one, 48th at +8).
The first Major is never forgotten: he is convinced of it Sam Bennett23-year-old amateur capable not only of passing the cut at the Augusta Masters 2023 but also of finishing in 16th position (-2) on a par with people of the caliber of Rose, Lowry and Matsuyama.
It deserves a separate chapter Tiger Woods who after hitting the record of 23 consecutive cuts passed, threw in the towel at the end of the seventh hole of the third round. It’s the second time in the past year that Woods has been forced to withdraw from a major tournament due to injury (again plantar fasciitis). The 15-time Major by Choice winner plays a limited number of events on the PGA Tour while aiming for the Majors instead. Tiger is still physically suffering from the consequences of the serious leg injuries sustained in his car crash in 2021.
Nothing to do for Francis Molinari: the only blue in the race did not pass the cut for a single shot.