The Masters 2023 LIVE: Leaderboard and reaction as Jon Rahm wins first green jacket
Rahm outduelled Brooks Koepka and honoured the late Seve Ballesteros to triumph in style at Augusta
Jon Rahm produced a nerveless Sunday performance to claim his first Masters green jacket in dominant but emotional style at Augusta National, in the perfect tribute to the late Seve Ballesteros.
Forty years after golfing icon Ballesteros claimed his second green jacket, and on what would have been his 66th birthday, Rahm became the fourth Spanish winner after Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia.
“This one is for Seve,” Rahm said after winning his second major crown. “I knew he would be up there helping and help he did.”
The fourth and final round of a wild week at Augusta looked set to be a shootout between Rahm and four-time major winner Brooks Koepka.
But as the American faded in the fourth round, his Spanish foe relentlessly marched on, adding to his 2021 US Open crown by carding a 69 to end on 12-under. Rahm secured a four-shot triumph over Koepka and a rejuvenated Phil Mickelson, who shot a magical Sunday 65 at the age of 52 to end in a tie for second at eight-under.
Follow the reaction to the final round below:
Jon Rahm dedicates Masters success to Seve Ballesteros
Jon Rahm dedicated his Masters triumph victory to Seve Ballesteros after claiming his second major title on the 40th anniversary of his late idol’s second win at Augusta National.
Rahm’s four-shot win over Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson also came on what would have been Ballesteros’s 66th birthday and was rounded off with a par on the 18th of which the mercurial Spaniard would have been proud.
“History of the game is a big part of why I play and one of the reasons why I play, and Seve being one of them,” said Rahm, whose father took up golf after watching Ballesteros captain Europe to victory in the 1997 Ryder Cup at Valderrama.
Jon Rahm dedicates Masters success to Seve Ballesteros
Spanish star completes four-shot victory as history repeats itself at Augusta.
Brooks Koepka hits out after ‘brutally slow’ final round
Brooks Koepka hit out at the pace of play after finishing runner-up to Jon Rahm in the 87th Masters.
Koepka took a two-shot lead into the final round at Augusta National, but could only card a closing 75 to finish joint second with Phil Mickelson, four shots behind Rahm.
The final pair took close to five hours to complete their rounds, although they waited on almost every hole and Patrick Cantlay – in the group ahead with Viktor Hovland – was widely held to be responsible for the slow going.
“The group in front of us was brutally slow,” Koepka said. “Jon went to the bathroom like seven times during the round, and we were still waiting.”
Hovland also appeared frustrated with Cantlay’s slow pace, playing his third shot to the par-five 13th while the American was still walking towards the green.
Brooks Koepka aims thinly veiled attack at ‘brutally slow’ Masters rival
American kept waiting for another major triumph as Jon Rahm comes from behind
Shane Lowry vows to ‘try again’ after being ‘close to doing something special'
A final round 73 left Shane Lowry down in a tie for 16th come the final accounting on Sunday evening at Augusta, but the Irishman felt he wasn’t far away at all from mounting a proper challenge. Already an Open winner, of course, Lowry has made clear how much he covets a Masters crown and is
“The hardest part for me to take is that I was very close,” said Lowry, who finished third last year. “It might not look like that with the result or the finish, but I felt like it and that is hard.
“It’s extremely disappointing when you’re out there and feeling it. I put a lot into this this week and, when I birdied 11, I thought, ‘you never know here’. Great putt on 12, then 14 and 15 just killed me.
“I had to go for it on 15. I felt like if I made eagle there, and you go back to thinking of lads like Charl Schwartzel birdieing the last four to win and you feel like maybe you can do something special.
“I tried and I failed. I’ll definitely try again. I’ve probably only got another six or seven years at my peak. I love these weeks. I hate having to wait another year for this to come around.
“I’ve come here the last two years with a good game plan and I’ve executed it very well. I’ve had two decent weeks; I play good golf. My putter let me down this week.”
Phil Mickelson hopes second place at Masters will be a ‘stepping stone’
Phil Mickelson hopes he can use his surprise second place in the Masters as a “stepping stone” for the rest of his career.
Mickelson began the final round 10 shots off the lead held by Brooks Koepka, but as Koepka faded it was the 52-year-old American who put the most pressure on eventual winner Jon Rahm.
Five birdies in the last seven holes gave Mickelson a superb final round of 65, equalling his lowest score at Augusta from the first round 27 years ago.
Phil Mickelson hopes second place at Masters will be a ‘stepping stone’
Five birdies in the last seven holes gave the American a superb final round of 65.
Jon Rahm blames NFL player for opening hole four putt
Things worked out rather well, in the end, for Jon Rahm, but the Masters champion got off to the worst possible start on Thursday, four-putting at the first hole to record a double bogey. It says plenty about the Spaniard that he rebounded so impressively to eventually pull on the green jacket, and Rahm couldn’t resist a prod at NFL tight end Zach Ertz for ‘jinxing’ him before he teed off.
Rahm explained: ““For those people who believe in jinxing other players, people, whatever it may be, Thursday morning, when I was getting on the golf cart to get to this putting green 10 minutes before my tee time, I saw a text from a good friend of mine, and I’m going to name him because he’s a Super Bowl winning champion, Zach Ertz.
“He sent the text, and I’m going to paraphrase here, but he said, ‘That first green looking like a walk in the park, or something like that, right now.’ Ten minutes before I four-putted to start the tournament. So thank you, Zach. Don’t ever do that again, please.”
Sam Bennett earns Low Amateur gong
Sam Bennett may have been unable to sustain the level that saw him threatening the leaders across the first two rounds, but there was no doubt this was a potentially star-making performance from the young amateur. The Texas A&M student became the first amateur to finish in the top 20 for almost 20 years and in the process showed the sort of game that suggests he may well find himself in major contention in the future.
“From growing up as a kid watching this tournament, to losing my dad, to the struggles I’ve faced and still face, to be able to walk up that green on 18 on a Sunday, Easter Sunday, and just be appreciative of everything,” Bennett said. “If you had told me I was going to be here when I was a kid, I would have thought you were crazy.
“I’m going to need some time when I get back to decompress and really look back and enjoy it. I haven’t had kids yet, so that walk up 18 was definitely the coolest experience of my life.”
Bennett was the only amateur to make the cut this year, earning him the Silver Cup.
Jordan Spieth rues ‘mental mistakes’ despite final-day charge
It wasn’t quite to be for Jordan Spieth, left to rue his errors across the first three rounds as a final day 66 was not quite enough to thrust him into true contention. The Texan’s short game and scrambling ability always keep him in the mix at Augusta, but Spieth felt that his finish in a tie for fourth could, and perhaps should, have been more.
“When you’re that far back, you have to have everything go right. It was close, but I should have done a lot better in those first three rounds,” Spieth said.
“I made a tremendous amount of mental mistakes. To be this close now, it’s nice, but it also almost frustrates me more because I made some mistakes I don’t normally make out here.”
Lucky escape as trees collapse at the Masters
Of course, it is worth reflecting on how different the weekend might have been. A number of spectators had a very lucky escape as trees toppled in the wind on Friday afternoon, with somehow no injuries reported from a worrying incident on a weekend of wild weather.
‘Lucky no one was killed’: Masters suspended as trees collapse near spectators
It was confirmed no one was injured as three towering trees fell on the course, with round two of the Masters suspended for the day due to the weather
Sandy Lyle bids emotional farewell to Augusta
Tiger Woods’s future would appear uncertain given how hobbled he was by that foot issue over Masters weekend, but one man who certainly will not be returning to Augusta is Sandy Lyle. The 1988 green jacket winner had announced ahead of competition that this would be his final participation at the event, saying goodbye after two rounds at +20.
Though the Scot did, technically, make the weekend...
The emotions are pretty high – Sandy Lyle heads into retirement
Lyle returned on Saturday to compete his second round at the Masters.
Tiger Woods withdraws from Masters due to injury
Five-time winner Tiger Woods withdrew from the 87th Masters ahead of the resumption of the third round on Sunday.
Woods made a record-equalling 23rd consecutive halfway cut at Augusta National on Saturday when the delayed second round was completed.
However, the 47-year-old then covered the first seven holes of his third round in six over par to drop to last place of the 54 players to qualify for the last 36 holes.
A brief statement from tournament officials on Sunday read: “Due to injury, Tiger Woods has officially withdrawn from the Masters after completing seven holes of his third round.”
Tiger Woods withdraws from Masters due to injury
The 47-year-old was due to complete his third round on Sunday
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