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The green jacket is draped over Jon Rahm’s shoulders. Scottie Scheffler with the ceremonial task. It looks good. And that, dear patrons, is that. Ewan Murray’s report has landed, and here it is. Thanks for reading this hole-by-hole report. Hope to see you again for the PGA Championship next month at Oak Hill. Nighty night!
-12: Rahm
-8: Mickelson, Koepka
-7: Spieth, Reed, Henley
-6: Young, Hovland
-5: Theegala
-4: Scheffler, Fitzpatrick, Schauffele, Morikawa
-3: Woodland, Cantlay
-2: T Kim, Im, Niemann, Rose, Lowry, Bennett (a), Matsuyama
-1: Bradley, Kirk, KH Lee
E: Finau, Stallings, Fox
What did Jose Maria Olazabal say to him? “He said he hopes it is the first of many more … he mentioned something about Seve … if we had ten more seconds I think we both would have ended up crying … I guess Spaniards like winning on Easter Sunday and Seve’s birthday!”
As for the round … “I thought 8 was a key birdie … I didn’t expect that bogey on 9 … I had to go through Amen Corner even par … Phil and Jordan were making birdies and finishing strong … not putting myself in a difficult spot on 10, 11 and 12 was the key … then 13 was when I could turn and get on the attack … it’s not really one moment … but if I had to pick one, it was hitting that draw perfectly on 13 was the start of it.”
Jon Rahm’s turn to speak. “I wasn’t sure how it would come to me until my third shot onto the green on 18 … history of the game is a big part of why I play … Seve [who would have been 66 today] being one of them … if it wasn’t for that Ryder Cup [at Valderrama, when Seve was European captain] in 97, me and my dad talk about it all the time, we don’t know where I would be … for me to get it done on the 40th anniversary of his win, his birthday, on Easter Sunday, it’s incredibly meaningful … to finish it off with an unusual par, very much a Seve par (!) … in a non-purposeful way it was testament to him … I know he was pulling for me today … it was a great Sunday!”
The Butler Cabin. First up, the low amateur Sam Bennett. “It was an incredible week … just getting an opportunity to play Augusta was a dream come true … getting to see it on Sunday coming down the back nine … walking up 18 was by far the coolest experience of my life … the Masterts and Augusta was everything I’ve ever dreamed of … I definitely need some time to decompress!”
Bennett also reveals he’s going to play a 36-hole amateur tournament tomorrow, and will be carrying his own bag. What a guy! Congratulations to Sam, who provided us with one of the great Masters stories.
An extremely disappointed Brooks Koepka puts on a brave smile and speaks to Sky. “I guess I didn’t play that great … I hit some good shots but ended up in terrible spots … I’m still baffled at 9 how it stays there … it was tough to catch him when he was playing that good … I’ve known I’ve been healthy, it was just showing everybody else … I feel good, I’ve been playing good, I’ll keep doing what I’ve been doing and I’ll be just fine … second’s not very fun, so that’s motivation in itself!”
That opening four-putt on Thursday, though! You really did fear for Rahm, who notoriously runs hot every now and then, after that. But he repaired the damage by the 3rd hole, and went on to shoot 65, a performance of grit and maturity. He becomes only the second player to win the Masters after starting out with a double bogey, after Sam Snead did it in 1952. This is not bad company to be keeping.
This is a really popular victory. The Augusta gallery whoop and holler plenty. As Rahm makes his way to the scorer’s hut, Jordan Spieth pops up to offer his warm congratulations for a stellar final round. Rahm simply had too much in reserve for his nearest competitor Koepka. It proved a round too far for the LIV man, and yes, the joke inherent in that observation is obvious. But it’d be crass to make it, given how well Koepka played all week … and in any case, LIV players have made up 50 percent of the top six. Let’s spread the love around, all the world’s top players coming together for a great spectacle, with a special nod to Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth, who both made outstanding, if ultimately futile, late tilts at the title. As we seem to say so often after this great tournament: what a Masters Sunday that was!
-12: Rahm
-8: Mickelson, Koepka
-7: Spieth, Reed, Henley
-6: Young, Hovland
-5: Theegala
-4: Scheffler, Fitzpatrick, Schauffele, Morikawa
-3: Woodland, Cantlay
Having made his par putt … not bad going after that drive, too, eh? … he raises both arms in the air in triumph! Warm congratulations from Brooks Koepka, who played so well for most of the week before coming up short today. Then on come the family! Parents, partner and progeny. A beautiful moment. Jose Maria Olazabal – now one of four Spaniards to win a green jacket – is greenside to celebrate too! Congratulations to Jon Rahm … and happy 66th birthday to the much-missed Seve. Not a bad way to mark it!
Jon Rahm wins the 2023 Masters!Not bad going after four-putting the 1st green on Thursday, huh?!
Brooks Koepka is on the green in two. He can’t quite drain his birdie putt, and smiles ruefully as he taps home for par. A final round of 75, and he finishes tied for second, just as he did in 2019.
Jon Rahm of Spain reacts as he approaches the 18th green. Photograph: Andrew Redington/Getty ImagesThe gallery rises to applaud the arrival of the champion elect. Rahm isn’t allowing himself to get lost in the moment yet. He double and triple checks his yardages. Out comes the wedge, and he bumps his ball up to four feet! It’s in the bag! Finally, a huge smile plays across his face, and he grasps his caddie’s hand in delight. Off comes the cap as he strides towards the green. Jon Rahm is about to win the Masters!
Rahm didn’t realise his first tee shot had twanged back out of the trees and into the second cut just before the fairway. So he just sends a careful iron further up the hole, from where he’ll wedge in without, you would have thought, any further fuss. But that was slightly farcical. Not quite up there with Scottie Scheffler’s four-putt on the 72nd, but daft enough. Imagine the nerves, though, to be fair. A green jacket within reach. A green jacket!
… so Rahm then hits his worst tee shot of the week. A hysterical pull into the trees down the right! He’s not sure where it’s gone, so prepares to hit a provisional! Koepka splits the fairway, then Rahm hits his second down the middle, where he should have hit his first! Up on the green, par for Viktor Hovland and a final round of 74. He wears a wry grin, but receives a warm ovation. Par too for Patrick Cantlay, who cards 75 today. They end the week at -6 and -3 respectively.
Spain’s Jon Rahm hits his tee shot on the 18th hole. Photograph: Mike Segar/ReutersKoepka bounces his chip up the swale. It sails 15 feet past. Rahm hits a very tentative birdie putt, leaving it six short. Koepka’s par effort slides by. Rahm carefully steers in his par putt, and barring a meltdown of epic proportions, he’s about to win the Masters!
-12: Rahm (17)
-8: Mickelson (F), Koepka (17)
-7: Spieth (F), Reed (F), Henley (F)
-6: Young (F), Hovland (17)
-5: Theegala (F)
Koepka tries to whip a Hail Mary around the trees and towards the green. He gives it everything he can, but can’t draw it enough. The ball clatters into the gallery to the right of the green. Rahm finds the middle of the putting surface. Up on 18, the 2021 champ Hideki Matsuyama misses a short putt. A bogey at the last and a 75; he’s -2. His playing partner Russell Henley pars and signs for a 70. He’ll finish in the top five at -7.
If Brooks Koepka’s birdie on 16 has rattled Jon Rahm at all, the leader isn’t showing it. He splits the 17th fairway, while in fact its Koepka whose nerves betray him, as he sends another wild drive into the gallery down the left. He’s pulled just about everything today. Meanwhile up the hole, Viktor Hovland drains a monster across the green for a birdie that takes him back to -6. It’s not quite happened for the 25-year-old Norwegian this afternoon, but he’s going to follow up a top-five finish at last year’s Open with another strong showing at a major. His trajectory is locked in.
Sam Bennett wins the silver medal!A huge ovation for the amateur Sam Bennett as he makes his way up 18. He’s earned every single second of the love that’s pouring down from the gallery! Two rounds of 68 followed by a very solid weekend’s work: 76-74. He ends the week at -2, the only amateur still standing. The brightest of bright futures awaits: could he one day join Cary Middlecoff, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, and Hideki Matsuyama in winning low amateur then going on to win the Masters as a pro? Stay tuned!
… so having said that, Koepka rolls his birdie putt straight into the middle of the cup. That was so confidently struck, Koepka has clearly gone into Carefree Mode. Two putts for par for Rahm, and the lead is down to three with just two to play.
-12: Rahm (16)
-9: Koepka (16)
-8: Mickelson (F)
Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka have had to wait for the match ahead quite a few times today. I wonder if Cantlay’s, eh, methodical style has been a factor in Koepka’s poor performance? He’s notoriously intolerant of slow play (and good on him for that). Perhaps it’s knocked him off his stride. Any road, he whistles his tee shot at 16 straight at the flag. It ends 20 feet past. Rahm also sends a fine iron in, his ball stopping a few yards inside Koepka’s. This, barring a collapse for the ages, is surely over now.
Patrick Reed ends with birdie at 18. A fine 68 today that briefly threatened more. He ends the week at -7. Back on 16, a three-putt bogey for Patrick Cantaly, who has failed to bring his A-game this afternoon. It’s not scintillating to watch him struggle with his B-game at the glacial pace he travels at. He drops to -3, while his playing partner Viktor Hovland pars to remain at -5.
Koepka’s eagle putt stops three feet short. His head drops as he trudges towards his ball. Rahm hits a poor birdie putt, though, letting his ball slide away to the left, never likely to drop. Just the par, and Koepka makes his birdie to close the gap. But it’s still a four-shot gap with three holes to play. Meanwhile bogey for Reed on 17, the result of his being unable to get up and down from sand guarding the front of the green, puts an end to his outside dream of a second green jacket.
-12: Rahm (15)
-8: Mickelson (F), Koepka (15)
-7: Spieth (F), Henley (16)
Rahm bounces his wedge into the middle of the 15th green. He’ll have a look at birdie from ten feet. He smiles broadly, perhaps the last serious opportunity for trouble behind him. What Koepka would give to drain this eagle effort.
Koepka’s clearly of a mind to take a shy at the green with his second. He waits for Viktor Hovland to make par – a fine effort after his second found the drink – then sends his ball into the heart of the green. Meanwhile up on 16, Henley gives his long right-to-left birdie putt a good go, but it loses energy just before it reaches the hole and turns away. Par, and he remains at -7.
Jon Rahm hits a short, careful drive down the 15th. He’ll probably lay up from there. As he wanders down to his ball, he munches on a sarnie. “How many sandwiches does Jon Rahm eat?” wonders Simon Farnaby. “He’s like a Pez dispenser in reverse. But with sandwiches.” Rahm finishes his reverse sandwich dispensing, and lays up.
Spain’s Jon Rahm hits his tee shot on the 15th hole. Photograph: Mike Blake/ReutersA birdie for Justin Rose at 18. The 2017 runner-up finishes at -2 after his second 73 of the weekend. Shane Lowry pars and also finishes at -2. The European Ryder Cup pals walk off smiling, arm in arm. Back on 15, Russell Henley lays up but can’t get up and down and is forced to settle for par. Opportunities running out for Henley, who remains at -7. His tee shot at 16, safe on the green but not particularly close, doesn’t really help him.
Koepka pulls his short putt wide left, and that’s an awful time to make bogey. All of the grief can be traced back to that wild drive; he was always out of position after that. Rahm then tickles in his birdie effort … only just, mind, the left lip grabbing a ball that for a millisecond threatened to stay out. A huge swing there, and Rahm is in the box seat now. With four holes left, he’s got a four-shot lead over the clubhouse leader, and five shots on the man he’s going around with!
-12: Rahm (14)
-8: Mickelson (F)
-7: Spieth (F), Reed (16), Henley (14), Koepka (14)
-6: Young (F)
-5: Theegala (F), Morikawa (16), Hovland (14)
Koepka kind of has to go for the birdie putt, and he gives it a proper whack. His ball rolls five feet past and he retains the honour. He’ll also give Rahm a read. Whatever, he has to make this par putt, or he’ll be running out of road.
Reed manages to get up and down from the bunker at 16. A little fist-pump of the air; he’s still in this at -7. Hovland’s par putt at 14 lips out, and his race may be run; he’s -5. Once he vacates the green, Koepka, who had sliced his drive into the trees down the right, punches a low scuttler into the heart of the green … but the camber takes his ball a good 40 feet away to the right. The door’s ajar for Rahm, and the big Spaniard barrels through it, easing his approach to the left of the pin, the bowl of the green gathering his ball to the right, stopping it four feet from the flag. A couple of potentially decisive putts coming up!
Koepka rolls in his birdie chance! That could be a huge momentum shifter … though we said that after his up-and-down for par at 10, and look what happened after that. Rahm rolls in his birdie putt, too, and three strokes still separate the final pair. Meanwhile Reed dumps his tee shot at 16 into the bunker front left.
-11: Rahm (13)
-8: Mickelson (F), Koepka (13)
-7: Spieth (F), Reed (15), Henley (14)
-6: Young (F), Hovland (13)
Koepka has just enough room to plant his feet, but he’s chipping down from a severe slope. His chip comes out hot and thin, racing past the hole and for a second threatening to head for the creek. But it stops on the green, albeit a good 20 feet past the hole. Rahm then nearly delivers a body-blow, coming very close to rolling in his chip from the fringe. His ball rolls four feet past, and he’ll have a much better look at birdie than Brooks.
Brooks Koepka’s mojo has completely deserted him. He sends yet another pull wide left of the 13th green, and his ball sticks awkwardly in the second cut, right next to a deep bunker that will seriously compromise his stance. Rahm’s approach isn’t all that either, but his gentle tug finishes in a much friendlier position, in the fringe back-left of the green. Meanwhile up on 15, Patrick Reed’s second only just squeaks over the water, and though his eagle putt never looks like dropping, he makes the five-footer he leaves himself to get back to -7 in short order. The 2018 champion seriously in the mix here!
A huge ovation for Scottie Scheffler as the outgoing champion walks up 18. Par, a 70, and he finishes the week at -4. A fine defence. Meanwhile back on 13, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka are forced to wait as Viktor Hovland gets up and down from the back of the green for a birdie that keeps his hopes alive. Just. He’s -6.
Scottie Scheffler of the United States reacts on the 18th green. Photograph: Patrick Smith/Getty ImagesRahm and Koepka take turns to belt their drives down 13. Both are in position to go for the green in two. Will they hunt down the eagle that could make all the difference? Or will they play it safe and lay up? Big decisions ahoy!
Koepka putts from the fringe this time. His effort never looks like dropping to save his par, and dies apologetically to the right. Bogey, and Rahm is in control of this Masters right now. But history teaches us that there’s a long, long, long way to go yet. Meanwhile up on 18, a disastrous end to Cameron Young’s round. His bid for the birdie that would tie Mickelson’s clubhouse lead falls apart as, from the centre of the fairway, he pulls his approach down the swale to the left of the green, then fails to bump his chip up onto the putting surface. Young takes a putter to what’s left anyway, rolling up from the fringe to a couple of inches. Bogey to finish, and he ends the week at -6 after an otherwise fine final round of 68.
-10: Rahm (12)
-8: Mickelson (F)
-7: Spieth (F), Henley (13), Koepka (12)
-6: Young (F), Reed (14)
-5: Theegala (F), Matsuyama (13), Hovland (13), Cantlay (12)
Patrick Reed sends his second at 14 over the back of the green. He bundles his chip eight feet past the hole, and can’t make the one coming back. He slips back to -6. Mistakes are becoming much more costly now … and from the fringe at the back of 12, Brooks Koepka flubs a chip, his ball briefly threatening to squirt out of the longer grass and onto the green, but stubbornly staying in it and off it. Rahm lags his long putt up for a par, and the pressure is once again cranked up on Koepka.
Jon Rahm hits his tee shot at 12 into the heart of the green. Pin high, but a good 40 feet to the left of the flag. Brooks Koepka pulls to the back-left of the green. Neither ideal, but the watery grave of Rae’s Creek has been given the big bodyswerve.
Jon Rahm of Spain and his caddie Adam Hayes cross the Hogan Bridge on the 12th hole as Brooks Koepka of the United States and his caddie Ricky Elliott follow. Photograph: Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesSky Sports talk to Phil the Thrill. “This is as much fun as I could possibly have playing golf … this has been a lot of fun … regardless of the outcome it’s been a really fun day for me … I’m grateful we get to play here and compete and be part of this great championship … to play like I did today was extra special … we’re all really appreciative to be part of this … it’s great for the championship to have all of the best players here and competing.”
Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm both find the 11th in regulation. Rahm very nearly guides in a right-to-left curler from 30 feet for birdie. His ball stops one turn short before it’s tapped in for par. Koepka, from similar distance, misreads and leaves his birdie effort wide left. He doesn’t miss the tiddler he leaves himself, though, and the pair stride towards the 12th tee, and their destiny. Phil Mickelson, though, eh? “The Nutbag cometh,” writes Simon Farnaby, channelling his inner Eugene O’Neill / Freddie Couples.
Here’s another! Patrick Reed lays up at the par-five 13th, wedges to seven feet, and rolls in the birdie putt. Russell Henley meanwhile makes a two-putt par from distance at 12. And on 17, a birdie for Cameron Young. Three down the last and he’ll have a share of Lefty’s clubhouse lead. Plenty of folk in with a shout here.
-10: Rahm (10)
-8: Mickelson (F), Koepka (10)
-7: Spieth (F), Young (17), Reed (13), Henley (12)
-5: Theegala (F), Scheffler (15), Matsuyama (12), Hovland (11), Cantlay (11)
Astonishing scenes of a different stripe over at 10, where Koepka gets up and down from the awful position he found himself on the bank to the side of the green. After chipping down to ten feet, then ramming home the putt, he quietly pumps a fist with determination. Could that be the big momentum shift he needs? The wake-up call? Rahm can’t make his birdie putt then both pump big drives down 11. Many stories yet to be told this afternoon.
If there was a roof over Augusta National, it would currently be sailing over Florida. The patrons loved that moment all right … and have started to dream their dreamy dreams. The old fellow is engulfed by well-wishers as he leaves the arena. There’s a slight bittersweet tang as another fan favourite, Jordan Spieth, ends with bogey, the result of hooking his drive into trees down the left. Spieth signs for a 66 and slips back to -7. What scenes on 18, though. The odds are that Mickelson’s total won’t be enough … but it’s Sunday at the Masters, where we’ve long learned to rule nothing out.