The 87th edition of the Masters Golf Tournament is now in the record books. On what would have been the 66th birthday of the godfather of Spanish golf, the late Seve Ballesteros, fellow countryman Jon Rahm ran down Brooks Koepka to capture the second major championship of his relatively young career. Rahm took home the green jacket and became the fourth Spaniard to do so, joining Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia.
While inclement weather was a factor in the playing of the 2023 Masters, it will be remembered best for the precision golf played by the 28-year-old Rahm who also won the 2021 United States Open at Torrey Pines. During Sunday afternoon’s play, it was a two-man race between four-time major champion Brooks Koepka, who held a four-stroke lead Saturday when weather forced the culmination of play, and Rahm, his closest pursuer.
The Masters began on Thursday, contested on a beautiful Georgia spring day. Temperatures hovered in the mid-70s and the scores were indicative of the pleasantness of the day. Koepka and Rahm both shot 7-under-par and were joined by Denmark’s Viktor Hovland atop the leader board. Former PGA champion Jason Day and the 2022 PGA Tour rookie of the year, Cameron Young, were two strokes back at 67 while seven golfers posted scores of 68. Among that seven-some were past major champs Adam Scott, Gary Woodland and Shane Lowry as well as amateur phenom Sam Bennett of Texas A&M University. Thursday marked a day of great scoring even though it would be the last day of pleasant spring weather at Augusta.
On Friday, the day started off nicely but that was short-lived as half the field was unable to complete play with two separate suspensions of play. Just prior to the second set of thunderstorms, a gigantic pine tree crashed across the 17th tee. Luckily no one was hurt. Koepka was one of those golfers who got in his round on Friday morning and he posted a 67 to find himself all alone atop the leader board at 12-under-par 132. Rahm was trailing the leader by two shots after carding a 69 while Bennett was four shots back after shooting a second consecutive 68. After second-round play was concluded Saturday morning, the 36-hole cut came in at 3-over-par 147. Among the notables missing the cut were Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau, Sergio Garcia and most surprisingly, Rory McIlroy. Tiger Woods made the cut on the button. It was the 23rd consecutive made cut for Tiger at the Masters.
The third round began Saturday afternoon but it was cut short by heavy rain. Playing in threesomes, Koepka, Rahm and Bennett only completed six holes. As the day concluded Saturday it looked like a Koepka runaway as he led Rahm by four shots and Bennett by seven. His game was on overdrive as he was hitting fairways and greens and putting brilliantly. He was 13-under-par. Yet when the third round commenced Sunday morning, it was a different story for the leaders. Koepka lost two strokes to par, Rahm held serve, Hovland climbed back into contention at 8-under-par, and Tiger had to withdraw because of a nagging case of plantar fasciitis. Both Koepka and Rahm had posted third-round scores of 73.
Sunday’s final round was a tale of two golfers. Rahm made a birdie on the third hole to get within one and was tied for the lead when Koepka bogeyed the fourth. By the time the final twosome made the turn, Rahm had seized the lead and led by two strokes. A costly bogey on the par-3 12th hole put Koepka three strokes back and there was an additional two-stroke swing in Rahm’s favor when he birdied the par-4 14th hole while Koepka made bogey. For all intents and purposes, the 2023 Masters was over. Koepka would birdie the 17th hole to get within four strokes but it was too little too late. There was a six-shot swing between the two leaders as Rahm carded a final-round 69 while Koepka posted a 75.
Jon Rahm finished the ’23 Masters with a 12-under-par score of 276. Koepka and 52-year-old Phil Mickelson tied for second place at 8-under-par 280. Mickelson continued to show his ability to mess with Father Time as he had the low round of the day on Sunday, a 7-under-par 65. Past Masters champs Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth moved up the leader board and finished tied for fourth place alongside Russell Henley at 7-under-par. Viktor Hovland and Cam Young finished one stroke farther back at 6-under-par. Masters rookie and second-year pro Sahith Theegala charged into the top 10 with a final-round 67 to finish in ninth place 5-under-par 283. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler alongside past major titlists Matt Fitzpatrick and Collin Morikawa rounded out the top 10 at 4-under-par.
It isn’t always a sure thing when one tries to read the body language of top-flight golfers, but Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka put on radically different faces during Sunday’s final round. Koepka seemed annoyed by the slow pace of play in front of the historically fast final twosome. Meanwhile Rahm seemed nonplused by the situation and the environment. Rahm might have been churning inside but he definitely didn’t show it while Koepka appeared angry throughout much of the back nine. A major championship such as the Masters can naturally lead to frayed nerves, but the changes in weather, the weather delays, and the 30 holes that the leaders played on Sunday definitely made the 2023 Masters a difficult tournament experience. Nonetheless Jon Rahm not only mastered his nerves and the circumstances, but mastered Augusta National to win the first major championship of the 2023 season.
Among the six amateur golfers in the Masters field, Sam Bennett was the only one of the group to make the cut, earning him a place at the green jacket ceremony in Butler Cabin. He finished in 16th place. One day later he was carrying his bag and playing 36 holes in the Texas A&M Invitational Tournament. Regardless of how his college golf season concludes, he definitely has memories of a lifetime from his 2023 Masters experience.
The 87th Masters is now in the record books. Jon Rahm won his second major title and returned to the No. 1 world ranking. Brooks Koepka showed he has recovered from a myriad of injuries and that his game is back to major championship ready. Finally, whether you live in Augusta, Georgia or in Northern California, it is apparent that spring is here. We’re one month away from the PGA Championship and the golf season keeps rolling along.
