Jon Rahm 'Masters' Augusta

The late Seve Ballesteros, who inspired not just his nation, Spain, but the entire European continent, would be a proud man up there today. On his birthday, Jon Rahm, who grew up idolising the magician, won the 87^thMasters in a rather imperious fashion.

Starting his final round two shots behind American Brooks Koepka, Rahm did not need any miracle shots like Seve was prone to pull off in his wins. Instead, he was rock-solid in his three-under-par 69. And with Koepka finally proving he is human with an error-filled 75, it was a four-shot winning margin over two LIV Golf stars – the ageless Phil Mickelson being the other one.

Belying his age and current form, the 52-year-old Mickelson showed his love for the golf course where he has won three times and shot a sublime seven-under par 65. It catapulted him to tied second place at eight-under par 280, but the charge that included two birdies in his last two holes, could not prevent Rahm from getting his first Green Jacket.

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The win also takes the 28-year-old back to No. 1 position in the Official World Golf Ranking. “This one is for Seve,” said a composed Rahm, who was hugged by an emotional Jose Maria Olazabal – the other two-time Masters champion from Spain – after the win.

“Hard to put it into words. Obviously, we all dream of things like this as players, and you try to visualise what it's going to feel like. And when I hit that third shot on the green, and I could tell it was close from the crowd’s reaction, the wave of emotion of so many things just overtook me. Never thought I was going to cry after winning a golf tournament, but I got very close on that 18th hole.

“And a lot of it is because of what it means to me, and to Spanish golf. And to play the way I did on Sunday, only one bogey in difficult conditions, it’s hard to explain. I am really proud of myself.”

It was a long day for Rahm, as he had to first complete 12 holes from the third round. He was four adrift when play resumed, but quickly reduced the margin on the seventh hole where he converted his nine-footer for birdie and Koepka missed a 10-footer for par.

Rahm said the only time he felt frustrated was when he missed a shot birdie putt on the 16^thhole after making three-putt pars on the 13^thand 15^thholes.

“What is going on the outside is not always a reflection of the inside,” said Rahm. “I was calm. I never got frustrated, except for that stretch of holes in the morning. I never felt like anything was out of control. But obviously, you’re nervous, there is tension out there. “That’s what you strive for, right? You don’t want to panic, and I never panicked. I felt comfortable with my game, and I had a plan to execute, and that’s all I can do.”

Also Read:'This one was for Seve Ballesteros,' says Jon Rahm after Masters triumph

While Rahm was solid, Koepka found an inopportune moment to lose his touch. He made bogeys on the first three par-3 holes, and missed several putts from inside 6-10 feet range.

“Obviously, it’s super disappointing. Didn’t play good enough to win. Hit some shots where I also feel like I didn’t get some good breaks, the ball on ninth; on fourth and sixth…I hit some good shots and just ended up in terrible spots, from where it was quite difficult,” said Koepka, who improved his world ranking from 118 to No39.

Mickelson, who jumped 353 spots to inside top-100 of the world rankings at No72, was delighted with his efforts. “It was evident to me that I was hitting a lot of good shots, but I wasn’t getting the score out of it. Today was a great day for me to stay present and just keep hitting good shots,” said the three-time Masters champion.

“And I’m hopeful that this kind of catapults me into playing the rest of the year the way I believe I’m playing. I really worked hard in the off-season to get ready. Today, I kind of let it happen rather than trying to force it, and I had a really good day and made some noise. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, but it was really a lot of fun for me to play at this level again.”

American-Indian Sahith Reddy Theegala hit the shot of the day when he chipped in from the spot from where Tiger Woods hit his magic shot on the 16^thhole in the 2005 edition. The 25-year-old, whose parents went to the US from Hyderabad, shot a five-under par 67 in the final round and was in ninth place at five-under par.

Jordan Spieth (66), Patrick Reed (68) and Russell Henley (70) were tied fourth at seven-under par.

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