Jon Rahm Runs Away From Brooks Koepka, Other LIV Golfers to Win a Magical First Masters

Rahm withstood an early battle with Brooks Koepka and a late surge from Phil Mickelson to win at Augusta National.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — You can believe in magic or not. It’s up to you.

It seemed like magic when Jon Rahm won the U.S. Open three years ago at Torrey Pines, the place where he proposed to his wife. The slick, curving putts he poured in on the final two holes to clinch the victory? Definitely magical.

Sunday, Rahm won the biggest tournament of them all, the Masters, and he won it on the birthday of Seve Ballesteros, the greatest player Spain—and Europe—ever saw. At least until now, maybe. Seve would have turned 66 if brain cancer hadn’t taken him too soon 12 years ago.

You can believe in magic a second time … or not. But two major titles and two magical events? Jose Maria Olazabal, Seve’s favorite Ryder Cup partner and a two-time Masters champion himself, played a practice round Tuesday at Augusta National with Rahm and fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia, also a Masters champ.

Olazabal, wearing his green jacket and sporting a distinguished salt-and-pepper beard, was among those who greeted the emotional Rahm as he came off the 18th green in early evening amber light.

“Funny enough, we mentioned it during the round Tuesday, how Sunday was Seve’s birthday and it would be nice to win,” Olazabal said. “Today was something special. Sometimes, you know, the stars align for a wonderful script.”

The Spanish torch has been passed, clearly, from Ballesteros to Olazabal to Garcia to Rahm. As Olazabal hugged Rahm behind the green, he congratulated him and tearfully said there would be many more such moments.

“I never thought I was going to cry about winning a golf tournament,” Rahm admitted later, “but I got pretty close on the 18th hole.”

While he is the latest in a line of heirs to Ballesteros, Rahm played mostly un-Seve-like golf. Fairways and greens. Controlled shots. Approaches left below the hole. And maybe a little Seve-esque around the greens, where his short game and his putting were the difference in winning a 30-hole Sunday duel with Brooks Koepka.

Rahm shot a solid 69 with only one bogey. Koepka shot 75 with five bogeys and shared second place, four strokes back, with a surprisingly resurgent Phil Mickelson, who made eight birdies and post a 65.

“Jon played extraordinary golf,” Olazabal said. “But we’re used to seeing that from him. What impressed me the most was how calm and collected he was. There was never a bad gesture, he never rushed a shot.”

Rahm struggled on the back nine of the third round, which was part of the 30-hole marathon duel that he survived against Koepka, who had opened with a sizzling 65-67 start. Rain halted the third round Saturday after six holes with Koepka two ahead. Sunday, Rahm was in command of his shots. Koepka wasn’t. on the back nine of the final round, when he needed it most, Rahm shot 34 playing conservatively because he owned a two-shot lead when he made the turn.

When he birdied the par-5 13th hole with a deft chip from the swale behind the green and holed a clutch putt after Koepka sank his own birdie putt, he was ahead by three. Then he birdied the 14th with what may have been the shot of the day, an 8-iron approach that landed left of the pin, caught the slope and trickled down close for another easy birdie. Suddenly, he was four strokes ahead with four to play and Koepka couldn’t catch up.

“Jon plays so hard when he’s behind, I knew he’d hunt him (Koepka) down,” said Steve Loy, the longtime agent for Phil Mickelson and also part of Rahm’s management team. “It just happened faster than I thought it would.”

It was a good day to be Loy. He had the winner and the runner-up. “I was loving how it played out,” Loy said. “It couldn’t have been any better. Jon is a driving energy, he’s relentless.”

Loy pointed to Olazabal, who was standing nearby talking to a few media members. “That man is Jon’s inspiration, just like Seve,” he said. “Knowing how things happen on the back nine, though, I didn’t relax until Jon got it on the 16th green and kept it out of the water. I knew when he got past 16, he would get it home.”

It was a unique kind of victory. It began when Rahm four-putted the opening hole of the tournament for a double bogey. Sure, there were 71 holes left but the outcome was epic. Only Sam Snead made double bogey on the first hole and went on to win the Masters. That was in 1952, 71 years ago. So, not an everyday happening.

You win a U.S. Open, you’re on the level of a hero. You win a U.S. Open AND a Masters, you’re pretty much a legend. Especially if you’re the first European player to accomplish that feat. Rahm had no idea about that record that until he was told in Sunday’s post-round press conference.

“I can’t believe I’m the first,” said Rahm, smiling in disbelief. “It is a pretty good duo of majors. I was starting to think I was never going to win a major again unless it was at Torrey Pines. If there’s anything better than making history … it’s hard to explain. Out of all the accomplishments of the many great players before me, it’s hard to believe I’m the first one. It’s a very humbling feeling. I can’t help but feel thankful.”

The scoreboard said that Rahm finished the last two rounds, mostly squeezed into Sunday, with 73-69 to Koepka’s 73-75 and Mickelson’s 75-65. Koepka was particularly gracious in defeat.

“The way Jon played today was pretty impressive,” said Koepka, who was gunning for his fifth major championship and first since 2019. “I think I proved I can win majors again. I’ve known for a while but it was just about going out and doing it. I didn’t do it on the last day, plain and simple.”

The final round may have begun with a bad omen for Koepka. He used 3-wood off the first tee, a conservative play, and hooked it into the 9th fairway. “I toed it on No. 1,” he said. “That’s never good.”

Koepka made par with a superb recovery shot onto the left side of the green and a long two-putt for par. But he gave away bogeys at the par-3 holes, hitting into the front bunker and No. 4 and not holing the par putt, and sending a tee shot over the green at No. 6 and then watching his bump-and-run chip run well past the pin. Rahm took the lead at the hole and never gave it back.

At 18, he hit an errant drive but a great pitch near the green left him a five-footer for par and a four-shot margin of victory. He rammed it home.

The victory will vault Rahm back into the No. 1 spot in the world rankings (and Sports Illustrated World Golf Rankings). He and defending Masters champ Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy have been passing it around like a tray of appetizers.

“I can see Jon winning for a bunch of years if there is no injury or anything like that,” Olazabal said but cautioned that Rahm may not pull away from the other top players by a significant margin. “You have a young generation for players playing extremely well and the difference is virtually nothing. You’ll see a group of players battling each other to win majors. Nowadays, the competition level is so high, the differences are very, very thin.”

Olazabal knew there was something different about Rahm the first time they met, which he said was at a competition for Spanish youngsters hosted by Lacoste. Rahm, 14, made the final.

“He didn’t look much like a 14-year-old kid,” Olazabal said, chuckling. “He was so strong. He was massive. He was taller than me, much wider than me and hit the ball—bloody hell!—so long.”

He knew Rahm was destined for big things, he just didn’t know how big back then.

Now he knows. And so does Rahm.

“My second major win—it’s pretty incredible,” Rahm said. “To play the way I did on Sunday, only one bogey in difficult conditions the final round—I have a lot of pride in what I did.

“This one’s for Seve. He was up there helping and help he did.”

You can believe in the magic, or not. But Rahm’s new green jacket is real.