Jon Rahm makes history with dominating Masters victory

AUGUSTA, GA. – In LIV golf, tournaments last three rounds. At the Masters, so did LIV star Brooks Koepka.

That might be giving him too much credit. He didn't exactly finish off his third round like a four-time major champion.

On Sunday morning, the Masters resumed the third round after weather delays, with Koepka and Jon Rahm putting on the seventh green. Koepka led by four shots over Rahm.

By the time they had putted out and played the final 29 holes of the tournament, Rahm had surged to his first Masters victory and second major championship while making Koepka look like a hacker.

Rahm shot a calculating, final-round 69 to beat Koepka by eight shots on the day and four shots for the tournament, with three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson finishing in a tie with Koepka for second place after shooting 65.

"It wasn't match play, but early on it kind of felt like it was," Rahm said. "I wasn't expecting Brooks to play bad. I can't expect that, right? So I wanted to bring the fight to him. For him to feel the pressure more than me. I felt like I did that really well."

The final pairing of Rahm and Koepka featured a Spaniard who has championed the PGA Tour and an American who left for LIV Golf and its guaranteed money (provided by the Saudi Arabian government guilty of human rights abuses), three-round tournaments and easier competition. On Sunday, Rahm looked far better prepared to handle major championship pressure.

The world's top-ranked golfer turned the back nine into the Spanish Steps, marching up the hill toward the 18th green and Butler Cabin on the 40th anniversary of fellow Spaniard Seve Ballesteros' last Masters victory and what would have been his 66th birthday.

Rahm's caddie, Adam Hayes, was wearing white coveralls bearing the number 49. Ballesteros' birthday was April 9, as was Rahm's Masters' title.

One of the many people waiting for Rahm behind the 18th green was José María Olazábal, another Masters champion from Spain, and when Rahm began pulling away on Sunday, he heard chants of "Seve! Seve!"

"That might have been the hardest thing today," Rahm said. "Controlling the emotions, knowing what it would mean if I won."

Rahm became the first European player to win the U.S. Open and the Masters. The victory will likely vault him into first place in the world golf rankings, ahead of Scottie Scheffler, the defending Masters champion who put the green jacket on Rahm.

Runner-up Mickelson expressed no surprise that Rahm finished first. Mickelson's brother, Tim, caddies for him, and coached Rahm at Arizona State.

"First time I played with him, we played Whisper Rock, and he shot 62," Phil Mickelson said. "And I thought I played pretty good, and he gave me a pretty good beat-down.

"So I am not surprised at his success. I mean, it was obvious to me at a very young age that he was one of the best players in the world even while he was in college. To see him on this stage is not surprising for anybody.

"It's hard not to pull for Jon, too. He's such a good guy. He has such a great heart and treats people so well. I think the world of him as a person."

The golf world has picked sides, with the likes of Mickelson and Koepka choosing LIV Golf, and the likes of Rahm, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy defending the PGA Tour.

Praise of Rahm, whatever the source, always feels genuine. He, McIlroy and Scheffler are the three top-ranked players in the world, and they are PGA Tour stars, and it's hard to imagine a more likable threesome of great golfers.

Rahm proved Sunday that you can be a nice guy and a principled athlete, and display ruthlessness in the arena.

"When I'm out there, I have a job to do," he said. "Maybe that level of intensity and that determination is what you see and that's why I'm characterized as a fighter."