Jon Rahm has held off LIV Golf heavyweights Brooks Koepka and ageless marvel Phil Mickelson to publish a poignant and well-liked victory on the 87th Masters.
Rahm overturned a four-shot last-day deficit to reel in Koepka, then resisted an impressed cost from 52-year-old Mickelson to document a not-entirely-comfortable four-stroke triumph at Augusta Nationwide.
The Spanish celebrity’s success fittingly got here on the 40th anniversary of his idol Seve Ballesteros’s second Masters win in 1983 and on what would have been the late Ballesteros’s 66th birthday.
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With a final-round 69, Rahm completed with a 72-hole complete of 12-under-par 276.
It was the 28-year-old world No.3’s sixth win in his previous 13 worldwide begins and a victory of types additionally for the PGA Tour in its ongoing civil battle with the Greg Norman-led, Saudi-backed LIV Golf breakaway league.
Mickelson and Koepka, the joint runners-up, would have given LIV its first main championship had they received.
As an alternative, Rahm earned his second after including the inexperienced jacket to his 2021 US Open trophy.
In a sometimes riveting end to the 12 months’s first main, Mickelson closed with a rousing seven-under 65 to grab the clubhouse lead and apply the blow torch to the ultimate pairing.
Mickelson reeled off eight birdies, together with 5 in his final seven holes, to threaten one of many nice steals in golf.
However the three-time champion needed to accept a second runner-up exhibiting at Augusta – and an unbelievable 10th top-three end total.
However whereas Rahm held agency within the face of Michelson’s fierce problem, Koepka, who pale with a final-round 75, was unable to reply.
Koepka had seemingly been on monitor to turn into LIV Golf’s first main winner after surging 4 pictures clear earlier than Saturday’s third spherical was suspended resulting from relentless rain.
However he could not purchase a birdie upon Sunday’s resumption of play.
Koepka went 22 consecutive holes with out a birdie earlier than lastly touchdown three in 4 holes from the 13th to 16th.
However it was too little too late as Koepka got here up quick in his quest for a fifth profession main – 4 years and knee surgical procedure after his fourth.
The 32-year-old needed to accept a share of second with a disappointing last-round 75.
In addition to Mickelson, a number of heavyweights made final-round costs.
Jordan Spieth, the 2015 champion, received to eight below solely to drop a shot on the final to overlook his probability at becoming a member of Mickelson as clubhouse chief.
Augusta native Patrick Reed, the 2018 winner, completed equal fourth with Spieth at seven below following a stirring Sunday 68.
After beginning the ultimate spherical 9 pictures off the tempo, world No.1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler moved to 6 below by means of 11 holes earlier than a double-bogey 5 on the well-known 12th ended his problem.
Scheffler finally completed tied for 10th at 4 below.
It was a horror day for Australian massive weapons Jason Day, Cameron Smith and Adam Scott.
Day had been nicely within the combine to safe a top-12 end and computerized ticket again subsequent 12 months earlier than crashing from three below to 5 over in 45 spectacular minutes.
The previous world No.1 racked up 4 double-bogeys in 5 holes.
The primary got here by way of a surprising four-putt on the ninth earlier than he crashed and burned on Amen Nook with additional doubles on the 10th, 12th and 13th holes.
The meltdown allowed Smith to climb above Day because the main Australian in a share of 34th spot at 4 over with closing rounds of 75-75.
Scott completed at 5 over with Day in a tie for 39th after weekend rounds of 74 and 77.
