Jon Rahm comfortably won his first Masters on Sunday and, if screenshots are to be believed, Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz is the reason it wasn’t a more lopsided victory.
Ertz texted Rahm Thursday morning saying the first-hole green looked like “a walk in the park.” Rahm four-putted No. 1 for a double bogey shortly afterward, which would’ve sunk most people’s rounds. Who among us hasn’t four-putted for double bogey? Maybe you too can win the Masters. Maybe not, actually.
Rahm’s victory yesterday was seminal, on multiple levels:
For Rahm, it is a confirmation that he’s the best player on the planet right now. He’s just 28 and is halfway to a major grand slam. He’s spent most of the year at No. 1 in the World Golf Rankings or, at worst, in third. He started the day two shots back of Brooks Koepka, passed him on the sixth hole and never faltered. It was career-defining stuff, as Brendan Quinn writes.
For the PGA, it’s a huge win for a couple reasons. Most simply, Koepka did not win, meaning the LIV tour cannot claim to have produced a major winner. More deeply, there was an unmistakable air about the LIV players — Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Patrick Reed — who finished in the top five. They were energized by a tournament with stakes, which the LIV tour can’t really produce at the moment. Mickelson was incredible yesterday, shooting a 7-under 65. I thought Brody Miller captured Mickelson’s electric round (and the surrounding politics of it) well. These guys were back in the real game.
You have to wonder if we actually see some LIV movement/contract amendments. It’s also just a little sad to see how many really good players defected to LIV and now play week to week in relative anonymity. The big stage misses them.
Rahm thrived on it Sunday, even after that four-putt double bogey on the first hole of the tournament.