An unforgettable date: April 9, 2023, the day on which Seve Ballesteros I would have turned 66 years old. The whims of fate wanted the celebration to be in style, with Jon Rahm dressed in green at Augusta National. The sensations and atmosphere were already different from the beginning of the week. Rahm appeared very focused on the meadows of the major more special. But the Barrika player did not know the almost paranormal twists and turns of the history of Spanish golf. The last time the end of the Augusta Masters coincided with the birthday of the Pedreña genius was 2017, the year in which Sergio Garcia won his only major. “Don’t put any more pressure on me,” Rahm responded when he found out about the coincidence.
In one of the practice rounds, José María Olazábal y Sergio Garcia (teachers with jackets in the champions’ locker room) escorted Rahm in the hours before the Masters. On the 12th hole there was a proposal for her hand from a couple of spectators who had the trident of Spanish golf as luxurious godfathers.
“I have never reached the last nine holes on Sunday with any real chance of victory,” the Basque recalled in his meeting with the press before starting the tournament. In 2018 he was fourth. But if something motivates the Barrika golfer, it is precisely that, the pressure, the records, the history. After those doubts, Rahm achieved his second at Augusta National major, his first Augusta Masters. He won with four strokes ahead of Phil Mickelsondespite starting the tournament with a double bogey.
“I have not been someone who has come close to crying, but when Chema hugged me I almost lost everything,” he admitted minutes after winning. Olazabal He only whispered one phrase in the new champion’s ear: “It had to be this day.”
This Masters was probably the most serene, calm victory for the Barrika player, who added victory number 20 of his career and the second major behind the US Open of 2021. To crown his dance of records, it was his eleventh victory on the PGA Tour, surpassing Seve Ballesteros (nine) and equaling Sergio García as the most successful Spaniard on the American Circuit.