Jon Rahm wins the 2023 Masters with ease, giving the Spanish his second major triumph.

With an unflappable performance at Augusta National, Jon Rahm won the 2023 Masters on Sunday, earning his first green jacket and second major of his career.

The Spaniard put on a consistency masterclass to win by four shots over Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson of the LIV Golf Series.

Rahm’s victory saw him overtake reigning Masters champion Scottie Scheffler as the number one player in the world, moving him up the rankings after two days of bad weather forced repeated play interruptions at the 87th iteration of the legendary major.

Rahm started his event with a four-putt double bogey, but he quickly rallied and never looked back, shooting a three-under 69 in the final round to finish 12-under.

With his victory at Torrey Pines in 2021, Rahm became the fourth Spaniard to wear the green jacket and the first golfer from Europe to win both The Masters and the US Open on the birthday of the late Seve Ballesteros, who won the tournament in 1980 and 1983.

Jon Rahm wins the 2023 Masters with ease

The only three of Rahm’s countrymen to have previously worn the green jacket were Ballesteros, José Mara Olazábal, and Sergio Garcia. Olazábal was among the first to greet the emotional new champion at the 18th green.

Rahm stated that Seve was one of the reasons he played, adding that “history of the game is a huge part of why I play.”

“My dad and I frequently discuss the 1997 Ryder Cup because, without it, we are unsure of where I or our family would be now.

“It’s tremendously significant for me to finish it on the 40th anniversary of his victory, his birthday, and on Easter Sunday. I am aware that he supported me today.

Rahm quickly erased Koepka’s two-shot advantage going into the fourth round. Koepka eventually finished with a discouraging score of three over par. The American enjoyed at least a share of the lead since the end of the first round, but Rahm’s persistent afternoon push swiftly dashed his hopes of earning his first green jacket and fifth major of his career.

With a final round-best 65, Masters Mickelson turned back the clock and became the oldest player to ever place within the top-five at a major. The three-time green jacket champion, 52, was beaming as he breezed through Augusta National with eight birdies.

A day after Fred Couples became the oldest player to ever make the major cut, it represents the worst round ever recorded by a player 50 or older.

Jordan Spieth finished on seven-under after making nine birdies in a furious final round of 66. The 2015 winner tied Russell Henley and Patrick Reed for fourth place, giving LIV Golf three players in the top four.

From the moment Scheffler had a discouraging second round 75, the American finished eight strokes behind Rahm, tied for 10th, making a championship defence appear implausible.

Also Read : Tiger Woods experiences “continuous” agony during the tumultuous opening round at the Masters.

After a stellar week at Augusta, leading amateur Sam Bennett garnered accolades and admiration. The 23-year-old Texan shot 76 to tie for 16th place on his Masters debut. His wrist has a tattoo of his late father’s parting words of wisdom.

Clear blue skies finally appeared over Augusta National on Sunday after two days of bad weather and inconclusive play, giving the event the all-clear to avoid the first Monday finish at the major since 1983.

As terrible weather Friday, which included gusts strong enough to topple three enormous pine trees, forced play to be halted overnight and left some players needing to complete their second rounds, a race against the clock had already started on Saturday.

Rahm was a member of that group, and he reduced Koepka’s advantage to two before the trio teamed up with Bennett to slog through the final six holes of a wet third round on Saturday. As the horn to stop play rang, Koepka had recovered a four stroke lead. The American had handled the storm admirably, while his Spanish opponent had fallen behind with back-to-back bogeys.

The magnificent scenery of Augusta National felt more familiar thanks to Sunday’s sunny weather, but Tiger Woods’ iconic Sunday red was nowhere to be seen. The 15-time major winner battled to a record-tying 23rd cut despite clearly having mobility issues the whole weekend, only to announce his retirement due to injury hours before play started on Sunday.

Pictures of the 47-year-old, who is ranked last on the leaderboard, hobbling towards his golf bag during his final holes of the weekend will only fuel speculation about whether the five-time Masters champion will ever again compete in the major after he admitted to being in “constant” pain after his first round.

After both players shot one-over 72s in the third round hours earlier, Rahm had once more closed the gap on Koepka to just two shots when the two players walked up to the first tee for the last time.

Source : Jon Rahm cruises to 2023 Masters victory, sealing Spaniard’s second career major