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:
Magic from Rahm
Koepka -9 (7), Rahm -10 (7)
Koepka gets under the trees and is forced to hack out onto the fairway. He fires in a long-range iron and he is on the green in regulation - impressive stuff.
Rahm drills his second down the middle and it ends up just short of the green. But then it is pure magic from the Spaniard with the wedge in hand. He takes the spin of it and just lets it feed down to the hole. That’s a tap-in birdie for the leader.
Eagle for Young, double bogey for Scheffler
Young -6 (13), Scheffler -4 (12)
Cam Young has been bubbling under the surface but springs into life with a monster putt on the par-five 13th. As mentioned earlier, Scheffler got in all sorts of bother on the 12th after a wild tee shot - he misses his bogey effort and any chances of a miraculous comeback are off with that double bogey.
Birdie misses at 8 for Hovland and Cantlay
Hovland -6 (8), Cantlay -6 (8)
Everywhere on the course, people are making birdies but the penultimate pair miss out on the par-five eights. Two birdie putts go missing and they remain at six under.
Birdies for Spieth and Mickelson
Spieth -7 (15), Mickelson -6 (15)
Can everyone just calm down - everything is kicking off out there. Spieth and Mickelson find the green in two and both come away with birdies after leaving their eagle efforts short. Spieth into solo third, Mickelson into a tie for fourth.
More trouble for Brooks
Koepka -9 (7), Rahm -10 (7)
We’re only on the eighth hole but this is fast getting away from Koepka. As he did on the first, the American double crosses and sends it way left into the patrons on the par-five eighth. Rahm sends his drive down the middle in response, meanwhile. Pressure on.
Magic on 16 from Theegala
Theegala -6 (16)
Oh my word! That’s is simply majestic from Thegala on the par-three 16th...Tiger Woods 2005-esque! He’s beyond the green, but uses the slopes to perfection to guide it down and into the hole - now he’s also in a tie for fourth.
Any description would fail to do it justice, so take a look:
Scottie’s on a run...or is he?
Scheffler -6 (10)
Where has this Scheffler been all week - a huge 40 feet putt across the hole at the 11th and he makes a massive birdie to move to six under. But straight away on the tee shot at 12, he flies the green and is in the hedges - he could well give one back straight away.
Back-to-back birdies for Cantlay
Hovland -6 (7), Cantlay -6 (7)
Hovland can't do anything with his tricky downhill putt as it comes up short of the hole. Cantlay, though, responds to his dropped shots earlier in emphatic style with another superb approach shot and his second successive birdie. Back into a tie for third for him.
Missed opportunity for Rahm
Koepka -9 (7), Rahm -10 (7)
Koepka gives his putt a good look for birdie but it flies by. The door is open for Rahm to extend his lead to two...but it’s a poor putt. Full of nerves from the Spaniard and you rarely can say that about him.
Koepka knocks in for par, as does Rahm, and we stay as we were.
Birdie chance for Rahm at 7
Koepka -9 (6), Rahm -10 (6)
Rahm is beginning to exert all kinds of pressure on Koepka right now. The American’s second shot into the seventh is good, nothing special and he’ll have just under 30 feet for a birdie. Rahm senses his chance and flies a beauty of a wedge to just eight feet - huge chance for a birdie.
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