At the 2023 Masters final, Jon Rahm from Spain stood out as the leader while Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka from US took second and third place respectively. Other players like Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth, Russell Henley and Viktor Hovland also made it to the top. Finally, talented amateurs like Scott Scheffler, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose and Shane Lowry came in fourth to sixth position. Even though England’s Tommy Fleetwood did not make it until the very end, Tyrrell Hatton of England ended in fourteenth spot!
Koepka and Phil Mickelson both ended with a score of eight under par. Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed were one shot behind them. Scottie Scheffler, the defending champion, and Matt Fitzpatrick from Great Britain and Northern Ireland both played at four-under for the Masters tournament.
Jon Rahm became the fourth Spanish player to win the Masters golf tournament. His victory was extra special because it was on what would have been the 66th birthday of Seve Ballesteros, a really famous golfer who had won the Masters twice before.
Rahm said he wasn’t sure how emotional he would be until he hit his third shot on the 18th hole and realized it was for Seve’s legacy. He also explained that learning about golf history is why he even plays in events like this!
“I was able to complete it on the day that marked the 40th anniversary of him winning his second Masters tournament and it was also his birthday – which made this accomplishment even more special.”
Jon Rahm Wins His First Green Jacket at the Masters and Reaches Number One in the World!
Rahm was a strong contender in the tournament, along with Rory McIlroy from Northern Ireland and the world number one golfer Scheffler. This was due to all his successes leading up to this major event.
He had earned three wins and four top 10 finishes out of six Masters starts he entered. Rahm managed to show off what he can really do at Augusta – and he succeeded!
On Thursday, Jon Rahm started off with a double bogey when he took four putts on the first hole. But after that, he didn’t make any more mistakes. He demonstrated all his incredible skills from driving powerfully to putting without nerves, and had an impressive opening score of 65 followed by 69, 73 and 69. As a result of this great performance, Rahm not only won the famous Green Jacket for the first time, but he also went back up to being the world’s number one golfer again.
He had a good lead of four shots with just four more holes left to play. Even though his final drive ended up in the trees and he had to hit it from 150 yards away, he stayed calm and was able to chip a really good shot close to the hole for an unusual par!
“The par was special, it was like Seve had something to do with it. I felt his support – it was a fantastic Sunday,” said Rahm after finishing his final putt. He raised his fists to the sky and celebrated with his family; wife Kelley and two sons Kepa and Eneko. Other friends and family were there to congratulate him too.
One of the people who attended was Jose Maria Olazabal, someone who is from the same country and was also a two-time Masters champion. He was a mentor to Rahm too.
“Koepka’s Switch to LIV Golf Tour & Erratic Performance Lead to Unexpected Defeat for Fifth Major Victory”
At the end, what looked like it was going to be a close match between Rahm and Koepka turned out to be an outstanding victory for Rahm. This wasn’t only down to his excellent play, but also because of the weak performance by Koepka in the last round.
Koepka was trying to win his fifth major championship since 2019 and thought it would be easier if he switched over to the LIV Golf tour funded by Saudi Arabia – unfortunately, this didn’t seem to help him as much as he had hoped.
The LIV tournaments typically lasts for 54 holes. Before the Masters, Koepka did well in a tournament in Miami where he won $4 million as prize money – even more than Rahm received after winning the first major of the year. However, he started hitting erratically early during the final round, which caused him to lose momentum towards Rahm and hence, he couldn’t recover back again.
When Sky Sports asked him about coming in second place after leading early on, Koepka said that he wasn’t playing his best and found himself in bad places. He added that trying to make birdies when you know the other person is ahead can be really hard. Lastly, he said it’s not very fun to finish second which is why it will be a big motivation for him going forward.
Phil Mickelson Shocks Everyone at Final Tournament!
Despite only doing really well in two out of ten golf tournaments that had 48 players each, Phil Mickelson caused a stir at the final tournament. As several former champions competed for the win, brilliant Mickelson, who’s 52 years old, shocked everyone when he made five birdies within seven holes!
Last year, Phil Mickelson took some time away from golf after he said something not-so-nice about a project backed by Saudi Arabia. But when he returned to the Masters tournament this year, Mickelson was back in top form! The final birdie put him right at the front of the pack, just behind his fellow LIV teammate Brooks Koepka. And if he stays there all the way through, Mickelson will become the oldest person ever to finish in fifth place or higher for the competition.
“Having fun golfing doesn’t get better than this,” he said.
“It was so cool that I got to play in the final round of the Masters and ended with a couple of birdies, no matter what the score was.
“I’m really lucky to be able to take part in such an awesome Championship, and playing like I did makes it extra special.”
Mickelson ended up one shot ahead than his playing partner Spieth after starting with two birdies and three more by the end of the turn.
Reed, who won the competition in 2018 and moved to LIV, made a double-bogey seven on the second hole but followed it up with eight birdies for a 68, which put him in fourth place along with another American Russell Henley at seven under par.
