Double blow for Jon Rahm. The Spaniard won, on Sunday April 9, the first Grand Slam golf tournament of the year, the Augusta Masters in the United States, which allows him to once again become number 1 in the world rankings at the expense of the defending champion. , Scottie Scheffler. Rahm thus won his eleventh PGA trophy and his first Masters, he who opened his Grand Slam counter in 2021 with the US Open.
“I’m really proud of myself”rejoiced Rahm, who did not believe his eyes when he learned that he became the first European to win the Masters and the US Open.
The 28-year-old Spaniard returned a card of 69 (3 under par) on Sunday, with four birdies and a bogey, and finished the tournament at 12 under par, four strokes ahead of his two pursuers, the Americans Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson (−8), both representatives of the dissident circuit LIV. Koepka, who led the race throughout the tournament, collapsed at 4e lap, with six bogeys, while Mickelson made an impressive comeback, with no less than eight birdies on the last lap.
Tribute to Severiano Ballesteros
Jon Rahm, who has already won three other PGA titles in 2023, becomes the fourth Spaniard to sport the winner’s famous green blazer, following Severiano Ballesteros, Sergio Garcia and Jose Maria Olazabal, who congratulated his compatriot on the 18e hole.
“For me, it’s incredibly meaningful to win on the day of the 40e anniversary of his victory, his birthday and Easter Sunday”said Rahm, speaking of his idol Ballesteros, who would have celebrated his 66e birthday Sunday.
“I can’t find the words”, added Rahm, almost in tears. The Spaniard will begin his 47e week at the top of the world rankings, thus equaling Koepka.
Rahm started his round with a birdie at 3e hole which allowed him to return to a unit of the leader, Koepka, who conceded a bogey at 4e hole, putting the two opponents in a tie. A bogey from Koepka at 6e hole then gave the lead to Rahm, who birdied the decisive 8e hole, taking two strokes ahead.
Despite a bogey at 9e hole, Rahm kept calm and quietly chased with birdies at 13e and 14e holes, at the end of a marathon day for the golfers who had to finish early Sunday morning their 3e tower, suspended the day before due to rain.
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“I never panickedsaid Jon Rahm. I felt comfortable and that’s all I can do. » Koepka, for his part, conceded having “just had an average game”. “I didn’t feel like I was playing too badly”but that was not enough against Jon Rahm, continued the American, who did not fail to warmly congratulate his competitor on the last hole.
Duel between the PGA circuit and the dissident LIV
This duel between Rahm and Koepka, to which Mickelson was added, is also the one between the dissident circuit LIV, of which Koepka and Mickelson are part, and the PGA circuit (for “Professional Golfers’ Association”), to which Rahm remained faithful.
The PGA is indeed waging a tough legal battle at LIV (54, in Roman numerals), a competing circuit created last summer and financed by Saudi Arabia, which has attracted many golf stars by offering record prize money of 25 million dollars per event.
On this, Koepka said that while the rift is real, Masters week proved that personal relationships remain intact. “It’s nice to see everyone. There is no grudge. I think that’s how everyone should see it.”did he declare.
The defending champion, the American Scottie Scheffler, slightly missed out on his Masters, finishing in 10e up, with a record of -4.
His compatriot, legend Tiger Woods, retired before Sunday’s restart due to a foot injury. “I am disappointed to have to withdraw this morning due to further deterioration of my plantar fascia”, he explained on Twitter.
The player with fifteen Majors, five-time winner of the Masters, had a terrible car accident in February 2021 in California, from which he came out with multiple fractures in his leg.