Rahm wins and LIV golf shines: A look back at the 2023 masters tournament
A week dominated by weather delays ended with Jon Rahm continuing his historic stretch and ascending back to Number 1 in the world.
Sunday, April 9th was destined to be a special day in Augusta, Georgia, the final day of the first major championship in over eight months. To start the day, two men at the top represented their respective divisions.
Four-time major champion and LIV (the Saudi-backed league that has rivaled the PGA tour for the last year) golfer, Brooks Koepka, would start four shots ahead of PGA Tour Superstar and 2021 US Open Champion Jon Rahm. Through this performance, Koepka would look to reestablish himself as a top player in the world after years of injury and turmoil. On the other hand, Rahm expected to continue his recent dominance of the sport, with three wins on the season prior to the Masters.
After a 28 hole marathon of a Sunday, Rahm proved victorious over Koepka and numerous chasers who made their own runs at the title, most notably Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson. Koepka’s bid to return to the top of the sport was tainted by his all around poor play Sunday, going his first 22 holes of the day without a birdie. His final round three over par, 75 would be good enough to tie for second place, four strokes behind Rahm.
The results of this Masters Tournament says a ton about the history and the future of the game. With his win, Rahm becomes the only European player to ever win a Masters Tournament and a United States Open Championship, putting him right in the conversation as one of the greatest Europeans the sport has ever seen at only 28 years old. Him already having held World Number 1 for 48 weeks, the 10th longest of all time, also supports this notion. For some who didn’t win the green jacket on Sunday, this is still a huge victory. The top five of this event included three LIV players. Included in those three is 52 year old Phil Mickelson, who, with his final round 65, sent roars throughout Augusta for the first time since 2021, as he skipped the event for personal reasons in 2022. Phil seems to be playing as well as he was when he was 32 right now, which could lead to some historic moments still to come for him, given his age.
The Masters never fails to entertain. For golf fans around the world, it set the stage for what should be a thrilling few months of golf as the major championship season wears on through the month of July.
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