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In the movie Happy Gilmore, it took the former hockey player several weeks to finally conquer his intensity and temper in order to excel at professional golf. With timely help from his golf instructor, Chubbs, Happy Gilmore slowly transformed from a hockey-stick swinging long-driving freak into a tour champion.
Growing up in Spain, Jon Rahm grew to admire other Spaniards who were able to channel their personal intensity on the golf course into victory and a green jacket at The Masters.
On what would have been the 66th birthday of the late Seve Ballesteros, Jon Rahm became the fourth Spaniard to don the famed Green jacket on Sunday evening. He also joined two time Masters winner Jose Maria Olazabal and the 2017 champion, Sergio Garcia, with a place in Masters history.
Seve Ballesteros won the second of his two Masters Green jackets at Augusta National Golf Club exactly 40 years earlier on April 9, 1983. Jon Rahm was quite aware of that fact on Sunday afternoon. He patiently crafted a final round 3-under par 69 to slowly pull away from a fading Brooks Koepka in the final twosome.
Jon Rahm left his family in Spain to play college golf in the US at Arizona State University. He racked-up an impressive eleven college golf titles at ASU. He finished his Sun Devil golf career as runner-up to Phil Mickelson’s 17 career wins at the school.
Sunday turned out to be a simply marvelous day for Arizona State University at The Masters.
The 28-year old Jon Rahm turned the tables on his Arizona State golf mentor by finishing in first place at The Masters. Phil Mickelson rallied from ten shots down during the final round to post a career low 7-under par 65 at Augusta National Golf Club. Lefty climbed the leaderboard to finish in a tie for second place.
With the one-two ASU finish at The Masters in 2023, perhaps Arizona State University should consider changing the school colors from maroon and gold to Masters Green and Yellow. Well, at least for the remainder of the spring semester.
Much like the movie character Happy Gilmore, Jon Rahm has gradually learned how to master (get it?) both his intensity and golf game. As a reward for his newfound patience on the golf course, he collected the second major championship of his young career.
Winner of the 2021 US Open, the 6’2” Jon Rahm is still known for his incredible power off the tee and on the golf course. To win at the famed Augusta National Golf Club, Rahm also displayed some incredible touch around the lightning fast greens, too.
Jon Rahm (whose full name is Jon Rahm Rodriguez) was near the top of the leaderboard all week along with four-time major winner Brooks Koepka. They were the only two golfers to climb to -10 or better last week.
Rahmbo (that’s what his yardage book has printed the back cover) will be one of the favorites in May’s PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York.
Fellow Arizona State alumni Phil Mickelson’s runner-up finish at The Masters was the 12th in a major championship to go along with his six major titles. Lefty trails only Jack Nicklaus. Big Jack posted an incredible 19 second place finishes to go along with his record 18 major championship victories.
PGA Tour vs LIV Golf – Chapter 1
With Jon Rahm’s win at Augusta, the PGA Tour has taken a 1-0 lead in the four major championships of 2023 featuring players from both professional tours.
However, LIV Golf’s Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka tied for second place. Patrick Reed tied for fourth place, too. LIV Golf took three of the top six positions in The Masters.
All in all, it was a surprisingly good showing from that trio from LIV Golf. Brooks Koepka was feeling better after dealing with knee problems. He recently won the LIV Golf event in Orlando with Patrick Reed finishing in fourth place.
It was 52-year old Phil Mickelson who surprised nearly everyone except himself at The Masters.
One of the most beloved golfers of all time on the PGA Tour, Phil Mickelson flipped to a heel after accepting $200 million in bonus money in moving to LIV Golf in 2022. Though he had shocked the golf world by becoming the oldest winner of a major championship (the PGA) at age 50, Mickelson’s golf game has disappeared after signing with LIV Golf.
Coming into The Masters, Phil Mickelson had finished 27th, 32nd, and 41st (out of 48 players) in his three LIV Golf starts in 2023. Winless Phil remains “0 for LIV Golf” though his investment account seems quite happy with the move.
On Sunday at The Masters, Phil Mickelson began play at -1 and ten shots behind third round leader Brooks Koepka.
In the final round, Phil Mickelson rediscovered the golf skills of his youth. Masters magic happened. Mickelson hit an incredible 16 of 18 greens in regulation Sunday. He birdied five of final seven holes to shoot a 31 on final nine and 7-under par 65 for the day as he finished at -8 and in a tie for second place.
Afterwards, Phil Mickelson finally addressed the assembled media:
“I had so much fun today,” he said. “To come out today and play the way I did and hit the shots when I needed, it’s so much fun.
“I knew I was close. I’ve been hitting quality shots. This doesn’t feel like a fluke. I stayed very present and didn’t make any loose swings or those bad swings at an inopportune time. I stayed … calm throughout and then executed and had a blast.
“I’m grateful to be a part of this Tournament. And to be here competing and then to play well, it means a lot.”
Phil Mickelson’s final round 65 set a new Masters record for the lowest score by a competitor age 50 years and older. With the second place finish, Mickelson also became the oldest player ever to finish in the top five at The Masters.
It’s time to call-out the Augusta National patrons. The thousands assembled at the 18th green on Sunday gave three-time Masters winner Phil Mickelson a lukewarm round of applause after he rolled in a birdie on the final hole to post the lowest score of the day. Shame on you!
To Phil Mickelson, it’s time to ditch the all black outfits and SMILE a little bit more, too!
Slow Play Must be Swiftly Enforced and Penalties Assessed
Two of the most decisive and fastest players in golf were paired together in the final group on Sunday. Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka are not going to be the cause of slow play on the golf course.
However, the group ahead of them caused the two leaders to wait on nearly every shot – all day long. Patrick “The Turtle” Cantlay was paired with normally-paced Victor Hovland in the next-to-last twosome on Sunday at The Masters.
Despite nearly perfect playing conditions in the final round, Patrick Cantlay was seen creeping a significant distance behind playing partner Victor Hovland on several holes. Cantlay shot a three over par 75 on Sunday to slothfully and mercifully finish in 14th place. This twosome took nearly five hours to play the final round as the sun began to set.
After the round, Brooks Koepka was asked about the slow play ahead of him:
“Yeah, the group in front of us was brutally slow. Jon went to the bathroom like seven times during the round, and we were still waiting.”
This isn’t a new issue for Patrick Cantlay. Five years ago in 2018, his pokey play on the golf course elicited a rather barbed comment from then-CBS analyst Nick Faldo:
“You’ll have time to go make a coffee or double espresso before he hits the ball.”
This year, Major League Baseball instituted a pitch clock to force pitchers and hitters to speed up the action. Thus far, MLB games are being played 20 minutes quicker. It is working!
It’s time for golf to get with the program, too! USGA Rule 5.6b states:
“When it is your turn to play, it is recommended that you make the stroke in no more than 40 seconds after you are able to play without interference or distraction. You should usually be able to play more quickly than that and are encouraged to do so.”
Unfortunately, your first “bad time” in golf comes as only a warning but no penalty. However, your second bad time means a one stroke penalty will be added to your scorecard. A third comes with a two stroke penalty. If you receive a fourth bad time in one round, you are disqualified.
If Average Joe Golfer is expected to play 18 holes of golf at the local municipal golf course in four hours or less (usually taking 100 or more strokes to do so), then any professional golfer (including Patrick Cantlay) should be expected to do the same.
Tiger Woods’ bad foot caused him to withdraw from Sunday’s final round. Since he may be sidelined for awhile, perhaps the PGA should provide Tiger with a golf cart at next month’s PGA Championship to help dole out some penalties for slow play.
The idea of seeing “Marshal Woods” handing out penalties to pro golfers would be delightful!