AUGUSTA NATIONAL – John Rahm started the final day of the Masters with four overhand throws and ended it on the green, four for good. How could it be otherwise if Sev Ballesteros was his spirit guide?
On the 66th birthday of the eternal hero of Spanish and European golf, Ram paid tribute to his ancestor with a typically decisive performance, including an unlikely final par due to a botched tee shot.
In terms of looks and golf aesthetics, Ram is not the obvious heir to Ballesteros. Rambo or Bilbao Ox, if you will, are cut from a completely different template.
But in the way he sees the punch, in the artistry required to execute it, and in the courage required to land it, Ram is in every way a worthy heir to the legend of Ballesteros, and with him he won another Major.
The only shock of a four-stroke victory was that it would be for both Phil Mickelson and Brooks Kepka, who were in the lead by four points as the third round resumed in the early morning chill.
The first strikes were threatened by the thought that Kepka was working her way to the first green jacket. The pair rallied on the seventh green, with Kepka missing a 12-foot shot on the pair and Ram hitting a 9-foot birdie. Two shots right there, as our American brothers like to say.
Ranking of masters 2023
- 1: John Ram (-12)
- T2: Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka (-8)
- T4: Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Russell Henley (-7)
- T7: Cameron Young, Victor Hovland (-6)
- 9: Sahit Tigala (-5)
- T10: Scotty Scheffler, Scott Fitzpatrick, Xander Schauffele, Colleen Morikawa, Hideki Matsuyama (-4)
Check out the full leaderboard on Masters.com
Although Kepka regained enough balance to maintain a two-stroke lead over the remaining 11 holes, the negative momentum soon flared up again and completely engulfed him. This game can be brutal. Ram had the lead from the sixth hole thanks to Koepka’s second terror of the round. He never came close to losing it.
Carried by the fresh breeze and warming sun, the course changed its character every hour, forcing golfers to adapt accordingly, cementing the challenge. At least it was warm enough to put on polo shirts, even 20 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than six and a half hours ago when the players left. The creamy juice rose as the temperature reached seven levels of faith and eagerness to seize the moment.
The birds on 13 and 14 took advantage of the four and marched through the closing holes. The road to 18th Street was just as he imagined it, with a crowd standing in the dappled sunlight to welcome him home. After his wife and children, compatriot and former champion José María Olazábal was one of the first to meet him in the tunnel of love that led straight to the scorer’s hut.
As always with the Masters, the stories began to pile up on the final day. Mickelson lived up to the adage that the tournament wouldn’t start until Sunday in the bottom nine, and by this point he was seven shots behind, three under par.
Enter the golden bell. Par 3 12 can be a graveyard or give life. It was Mickelson’s last shot, his 25-footer hit right in the middle of the cup. Generous par-5s of 13 and 15 were followed by more traditional birdies that led him to a six. He wasn’t ready yet. Mickelson was using his best Top Gun Maverick at 52, and at 17 he was shooting from pens with a 6-inch laser attachment.
Now he could hold the tractor until the 18th, the adrenaline was so high. His 15 foot approach left him out of a job. Or it would be if he were mortal. The shot was helped by the triumphant tip of the stick as the ball approached the hole as it left the face.
Without a draw on the last court, Jordan Spieth would have joined his teammate at the club at the age of eight. With six birds on 10 holes from eighth, Spit actually led faster than Mickelson and without killer points. The 18th hit was too big, his pulled T-shirt hitting the trees, leading to inevitable horror.
While the LIV golf celebration around the 18th green, which CEO Greg Norman was selling tickets for, was cancelled, perhaps a more significant achievement was the placing of three LIV players in the top five. If there was a reason in golf to be included rather than split, the last day of the Masters did it.
Source: I News
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.