‘Thank you for winning, Ram. You saved us.’
John Rahm (Spain)’s first Masters victory was not his only joy. It was a victory for the American Professional Golf (PGA) Tour, which did not want to lose its major title to rival tour LIV Golf, and it was also the happiness of Augusta National GC, which did not want LIV Golf to shadow it. Greg Norman (Australia), the head of LIV before the giant slalom event, raised tensions by foretelling revenge against the organizers who did not send him an invitation, saying, “If our players win, we will all gather and pop champagne on the 18th hole.”
USA Today, a daily newspaper, said, “All the leaders and players of men’s golf, especially Augusta National, must be saying ‘thank you for saving us’ to Ram right now.”
In the final round of the 87th Masters Tournament (total prize money of 18 million dollars) held at Augusta National GC (par 72, 7545 yards), Georgia, USA on the 10th, Ram hit 3 under par 69 with 4 birdies and 1 bogey for a total of 12 under par 276 He recorded strokes and won the prize money of 3.24 million dollars (approximately 4.27 billion won), beating Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson (above 8 under par, 280 strokes, USA), who were tied for second place and belonged to LIV Golf, by 4 strokes.
Rahm, who won his 7th challenge since 2017, has 4 wins this year and 11 on the PGA Tour, his second major title following the 2021 US Open. Rahm became the first European player to win the US Open and Masters, surpassing Scotty Scheffler (USA) to become world number one again. 스포츠토토
It was a thrilling victory overturning a 4 stroke inferiority to a 4 stroke victory in the forced march of 30 holes a day, including the remainder of the 3rd round. Ram, who narrowed the gap with the leader Koepka by two strokes in the remaining 12 holes, rose to the lead by one stroke in the sixth hole while Koepka was in trouble at the beginning of the final round. Ram, who was widened by 2 strokes with a birdie on the 8th hole (par 5), grabbed consecutive birdies on the 13th (par 5) and 14th holes (par 4) and ran away with a 4 stroke difference and hit a wedge.
Koepka, who wanted to add his first Masters win to his 4 major wins, suffered a bitter defeat by losing 5 strokes that day due to a difficult tee shot, unlike the solid 1st and 2nd rounds.
Ram was like a lone general facing the rebels alone. Even when Koepka once went down to a total of 7 under par, Mickelson, who finished the game first with 8 under par, was in second place. Patrick Reed (USA) of LIV Golf also pursued fiercely with a 7 under par.
Ram, who defended his victory under breathtaking pressure, became the fourth Spanish Masters champion after Seve Ballesteros (1980/1983), Jose Maria Olasabal (1994/1999), and Sergio Garcia (2017).
In his winning speech wearing a green jacket, Ram said, “When Sevega led Europe to victory in the 1997 Ryder Cup, my father took me to the golf course.” I dedicate this win to him.” In 2011, the 40th anniversary of Bayesteros’ second victory, who died of a brain tumor at the age of 54, and on his birthday, Ram, who won a significant victory, wished “Happy Easter and rest in peace in heaven.”
Tiger Woods (USA), the emperor of golf, withdrew before the remainder of the third round due to an injury after passing the cut 23 times in a row. Mickelson, born in 1970, became the oldest player ever to finish in the top 5 of the Masters.