The proper names of 2023 (II)
Updated Monday, December 25, 2023 – 12:23
The Spaniard won the Augusta Masters on the same day that Severiano Ballesteros, his idol, would have turned 66 years old. A colossal triumph adorned with emotional coincidences
Rahm, after winning at Augusta. JUSTIN LANEEFE
An unforgettable date: April 9, 2023, the day on which Seve Ballesteros I would have turned 66 years old. The whims of fate wanted the celebration to be in style, with Jon Rahm dressed in green at Augusta National. The sensations and atmosphere were already different from the beginning of the week. Rahm appeared very focused on the meadows of the most special major. But the Barrika player did not know the almost paranormal twists and turns of the history of Spanish golf. The last time the end of the Augusta Masters coincided with the birth of the Pedrea genius was 2017, the year in which Sergio Garcia He won his only major. “Don’t put any more pressure on me,” Rahm responded when he learned of the coincidence.
In one of the practice rounds, Jos Mara Olazbal y Sergio Garcia (teachers with jackets in the champions’ locker room) escorted Rahm in the hours before the Masters. On the 12th hole there was a request for a hand from a couple of spectators who had the trident of Spanish golf as luxurious godfathers.
“I have never reached the last nine holes on Sunday with any real chance of victory,” the Basque recalled in his meeting with the press before starting the tournament. In 2018 he was fourth. But if something motivates the Barrika golfer, it is precisely that, the pressure, the records, the history. After those doubts, Rahm He achieved his second major at Augusta National, his first Augusta Masters. He won with four strokes ahead of Phil Mickelsondespite starting the tournament with a double bogey.
“I have not been someone who has come close to crying, but when Chema hugged me I almost lost everything,” he admitted minutes after winning. Olazabal He only whispered a phrase in the new champion’s ear: “It had to be this day.”
This Masters was probably the most serene, calm victory for the Barrika player, who added victory number 20 of his career and the second major after the US Open of 2021. To crown his record-breaking dance, it was his eleventh victory on the PGA Tour, surpassing Seve Ballesteros (nine) and equaling Sergio García as the most successful Spaniard on the American Circuit.
Party and exhaustion
Around midnight, an exhausted Rahm made his way back along Magnolia Lane, already crowned in green after just over two hours of formal events: interviews, meeting with club members… Tradition continues to rule the club. most elite in the world, there was barely time or energy left for a celebration worthy of the feat. “I came home exhausted, I left the jacket in the closet and got into bed.. I couldn’t take it anymore. That Sunday began shortly before five in the morning… Mentally and physically, my body couldn’t take it anymore. I slept terribly because of the adrenaline. The next morning everything arrived. I was in the room, in bed with Kelley, it was 8:30 or 9:00 in the morning and I saw a photo from Golf Digest. It was a montage on the green of the 18th hole, where Seve and I were shaking hands. When I saw that photo, everything came to me at once.. I started to cry. I looked at Kelley, at the photo again. And when she looked back at me, her face was already full of tears. There was so much emotion for what had happened… That’s when I realized what I had achieved and what it meant,” the champion recalled in a conversation with EL MUNDO.
It is the sixth green jacket for Spanish golf. Seve Ballesteros he conquered it in 1980 and 1983; Jos Mara Olazbalin 1994 and 1999, and Sergio García, in 2017. The eleventh Grand Slam tournament in Spanish golf history.
What pointed to a peak year turned out to be exceptional, Rahm achieved four titles in the first four months of the year without including, of course, the one he won with Europe in the Ryder Cup in Rome.
The end of the story, known to everyone, has led to the unexpected departure of Jon Rahm to LIV Golf with an irrefutable contract. A signing that has meant the suspension of the Spaniard from the PGA Tour and one of its consequences has been that the Barrika player could not fulfill one of his dreams for which he had been waiting all season.
After his triumph in Augusta Rahm was clear about where he wanted to wear the Green Jacket: “You have to ask permission. They set their rules… Although it would be incredible to wear it in San Mams“. That was his intention in the last soccer league game that pitted his Athletic against Atlético de Madrid. However, permission never came from Augusta National and the Spaniard could not take the kickoff dressed in green, as s did at the time Sergio Garcia at the Santiago Bernabu stadium. And Augusta National flees from any source of controversy or situation that could affect the most exclusive club in golf.
2023-12-25 11:23:05
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