The China Mail - Spain's Rahm follows Ballesteros with Masters glory

Rahm overcame a four-stroke deficit at the start of a marathon 40-hole final day at Augusta National to defeat Americans Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson by four shots for his second major title, a victory that returns him to world number one.

"I never panicked," Rahm said. "I felt comfortable out there and that's all I can do."

The 28-year-old Spaniard said he felt bolstered by the spirit of the late Ballesteros, who won his second Masters title 40 years ago.

"For me to get it done on the 40th anniversary of his win, his birthday, on Easter Sunday, it's incredibly meaningful," Rahm said.

Rahm achieved what he called a "true honor" in becoming the fourth Spaniard to grab the green jacket after Sergio Garcia, Jose Maria Olazabal and Ballesteros, who died of brain cancer in 2011 at age 54.

"Rest in peace Seve," Rahm said to close his green jacket ceremony.

Rahm, also the 2021 US Open champion, won the green jacket and took a record top prize of $3.24 million from a record $18 million purse.

Olazabal greeted Rahm with an emotional embrace just off the 18th green moments after the triumph was complete.

"He said he hopes it's the first of many more," Rahm said. "We both mentioned something about Seve, and if he had given us 10 more seconds, I think we would have both ended up crying."

Rahm's methodical precision shotmaking down the bogey-free back nine delivered the victory, a contrast to his emotional mood after the victory.

Rahm rescued a poor shot off the 18th tee for a closing par in much the same manner Ballesteros was known for doing.

"To finish it off the way I did -- an unusual par, very much a Seve par -- it was in a non-purposeful way a testament to him," Rahm said.

"And I know he was pulling for me today and it was a great Sunday."

Rahm said before the final round that "I'd like to think he's up there watching" and added, "If there's somebody who would have enough charisma to give me any help, it would be him."

Rahm held firm with a final-round three-under par 69 to finish on 12-under par 276 with Koepka and Mickelson sharing second on 280, one stroke in front of their fellow Americans Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed and Russell Henley.

Koepka, whose lead was trimmed from four shots to two seconds after the third-round restart Sunday morning, fired a closing 75, 10 shots worse than Mickelson. He surrendered the lead to Rahm with a bogey at the sixth -- part of a 6-over 19-hole stretch -- and never recovered.

"Some days you have it, some days you don't, and today wasn't one of those," Koepka said. "Tried to give it a run there at the end, but just wasn't good enough."

Rahm chipped to five feet to set up a birdie at the par-5 13th and landed his approach to four feet ahead of a birdie at 14 then parred his way in to foil 52-year-old Mickelson's bid to take a seventh major title and break his own mark as the oldest major champion.

Rahm, who won three prior PGA Tour titles this year, overtook 2022 Masters champion Scottie Scheffler as world number one with the triumph after the American shared 10th on 284.

- Mickelson encouraged -

The greatest last-round Masters comeback to win was eight strokes by Jack Burke in 1956, but Mickelson started 10 behind Koepka.

Six-time major winner and three-time Masters champion Mickelson birdied five of the last seven holes to shoot 65 -- the lowest Masters round ever for a player over 50.

"Unfortunately it wasn't enough, but it was really a lot of fun for me to play at this level again," said Mickelson. "It's encouraging for me going forward the rest of the year."

He had a chance to match the greatest last-round comeback in major history -- Paul Lawrie's 1999 British Open rally from 10 adrift.

But the US left-hander settled for being the oldest player to finish in the top-five at a Masters, beating a mark set by Jimmy Demaret at age 51.

L.Kwan--ThChM