Masters 2023 recap: Jon Rahm defeats Brooks Koepka to win at Augusta National

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Masters 2023 recap: Jon Rahm defeats Brooks Koepka to win at Augusta National

Steve Gardner, Lorenzo Reyes and Richard Morin, USA TODAY · USA TODAY Sports

Mon, Apr 10, 2023 ·

19 min read

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Spain has another Masters champion.

Jon Rahm, who entered the final round trailing Brooks Koepka by two strokes, shot a 3-under 69 in the final round to finish 12-under for the tournament and claim his green jacket. It is Rahm's first Masters win and second major tournament victory, the first coming at the 2021 U.S. Open.

He became just the second Spanish player to win two different majors, joining Seve Ballesteros.

After two days of bad weather, the 87th Masters began Sunday under sunny and dry — but still chilly — conditions with golfers completing the third round in the morning before starting the fourth and final round in the afternoon.

The Masters suspended play Saturday after golfers endured 45 minutes of rain to wash out the rest of third round.

Koepka, who left the PGA Tour for the Saudi-backed LIV tour , began the day as the leader at 13 under par, but had a pair of bogeys as he completed his third round to fall to 11 under, two strokes ahead of Rahm. Koepka's shaky play on the front nine, however, allowed Rahm to overtake him atop the leaderboard.

Tiger Woods, who was in last place, withdrew before play resumed on Sunday due to injury.

Here's how the action unfolded Sunday:

Jon Rahm took the lead from Brooks Koepka early in Sunday's final round of the Masters. The improved weather allowed players to shoot better scores in Round 4.

After shooting 65, Mickelson cuts off reporter's LIV Golf question

Phil Mickelson became one of the Masters' best stories when the three-time winner shot a 7-under 65 to finish 8-under for the tournament. His Sunday resurgence is the best final-round score for a player 50 years or older in tournament history.

But there was still a prevailing focus on his affiliations during a post-tournament press conference at Augusta National.

Mickelson left the PGA Tour for the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour, a decision that alienated a significant part of his fanbase. Mickelson was asked whether he felt his Masters performance won back some of those fans but didn't show an interest in answering the question. In fact, Mickelson cut off the reporter before the question was finished.

"They are separate issues," Mickelson said. "Golf and the professional golf ecosystem and how that's been handled throughout my career. Two totally separate things."

LIV Golf sent 18 players to the Masters and three registered high finishes. Mickelson and Brooks Koepka finished tied for second at 8-under and Patrick Reed was one stroke behind at 7-under.

Jon Rahm motivated by Spanish history, golfers Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal

By his own admission, Jon Rahm might not be playing golf had it not been for the rich history of Spanish golfers — especially Seve Ballesteros, who died in 2011.

Rahm, who with his Masters victory joined Ballesteros as the only golfers representing Spain to win two different majors, took home the green jacket Sunday — on the 40th anniversary of Ballesteros' second Masters win in 1983. Sunday also would have been Ballesteros' 66th birthday.

"History of the game is a big part of why I play," Rahm told Jim Nantz on the CBS broadcast. "Seve is one of them. If it hadn't been for that Ryder Cup win in 1997 ... I don't know where I'd be so for me to get it done on the 40th anniversary of his win, his birthday on Easter Sunday, it's incredibly meaningful."

Rahm was also congratulated on the 18th green Sunday by Jose Maria Olazabal, who won Masters titles while representing Spain in 1994 and 1999.

Jon Rahm celebrates with wife, kids and receives green jacket

After sinking his par putt on the 18th hole, Jon Rahm shared a special moment with his wife, Kelley, and two young sons just seconds after becoming a Masters champion.

Rahm and his family made the walk back to the clubhouse where he received his green jacket from Scottie Scheffler, the 2022 champion.

Rahm said it wasn't one moment that turned his way during Sunday's final round but said late charges by Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth lit a fire under him.

"Phil and Jordan were making birdies and finishing strong," Rahm told Jim Nantz on the CBS broadcast. "They were finishing the round as we were finishing 10. So making sure I didn't put myself in difficult sports was key.

"It's not really one moment, but I would say hitting that draw perfectly on 13 was the start of it."

Brooks Koepka: 'I was just average'

Brooks Koepka said he "was just average today" after finishing in a tie for second place at the Masters, behind winner Jon Rahm.

Koepka held a two-stroke lead to start the final round but stumbled through the front nine Sunday and allowed Rahm to overtake him.

"I didn't get any good breaks," Koepka said on the CBS broadcast after the final round. "On the par threes, I hit some good shots but they ended up in bad spots, and that's how it goes sometimes. But I don't feel like I played too bad and obviously wasn't good enough. Congrats to Jon."

Koepka finished 8-under for the tournament, tied with three-time Masters winner Phil Mickelson. Both Koepka and Mickelson left the PGA Tour for the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour.

Jon Rahm rallies to win green jacket

Jon Rahm shot a 3-under 69 in the final round to win his first Masters championship, erasing a two-stroke lead held by Brooks Koepka to start the final round.

Rahm finished the tournament 12-under to win the second major tournament of his career. The Arizona State product also won the 2021 U.S. Open.

Koepka's score was as low as 13-under before losing momentum at the end of the third round. He then faltered on the front nine in Sunday's final round to finish 8-under for the tournament. Rahm, who was consistently near the top of the leaderboard all week, took advantage to claim his green jacket at Augusta National.

Koepka birdies No. 16, Rahm leads by three with two holes left

Brooks Koepka made a clutch birdie putt on the par-3 16th to move into solo second place at 9-under with two holes to play. Jon Rahm led by three strokes after making par at No. 16.

Koepka had a two-stroke lead on Rahm earlier in the day but faltered in the front nine, allowing Rahm to take control. Koepka did overtake Mickelson (-8) with his birdie on No. 16.

Meanwhile, amateur Sam Bennett finished at 2-under for the tournament, the lowest for an amateur this week. He was in the final grouping Saturday and was 8-under after Friday's second round.

Rahm looks dominant, extends lead on No. 14

Jon Rahm extended his lead with a birdie on No. 14 to take a four-stroke lead with four holes remaining. Rahm's birdie was just the fifth one all day on the par-4 hole.

Rahm (-12) hit a magnificent second shot from the right of the fairway that drifted along a ridge and wound up in prime position for the Arizona State product to make a steady birdie putt.

Brooks Koepka, meanwhile, made a bogey after three-putting No. 14. He sits at 7-under through 14 holes. Koepka was 13-under when third-round play resumed Friday.

Phil Mickelson holds second place solo at 8-under with a round of 65 Friday.

Koepka makes a mess of No. 12; Rahm stays steady

Brooks Koepka's erratic play in the final round at Augusta National continued on the par-3 No. 12, when his tee shot sailed well left of the landing target on the green past Rae's Creek. He then tried to chip onto the putting surface but left it short on the fringe. He then two-putted to drop a stroke to 7-under par. More importantly, with Phil Mickelson's aggressive charge up the leaderboard earlier in the afternoon, the bogey dropped Koepka into a tie for third place, with Mickelson in sole possession of second at 8-under.

Jon Rahm, though, continued his clean round, landing the tee shot at No. 12 on the green. He then hit a confident putt that put his par attempt well within reach. He retained his two-stoke lead, at 10-under par.

Koepka drops another stroke and Rahm does, too; Mickelson charges up the leaderboard

Not only is Brooks Koepka still searching for his first birdie since No. 8 in the third round, he's simply trying to stop the bleeding. Kopeka posted his third bogey of the front nine after he had to three-putt at No. 9, to move 8-under par and fall into a tie for second place.

It could've been worse for Koepka, as Jon Rahm dropped his first stroke of the day at No. 9 when he misread the speed on his par putt. Rahm still has a two-stroke lead at 10-under as the final pairing makes the turn.

At No. 10, both Rahm and Koepka saved pars, though Koepka had to work harder for his after he misfired on his first two shots of the hole.

Elsewhere, Phil Mickelson started the day 1-under par and fired up the leaderboard, shooting a 65 in the final round, his lowest Masters final round ever, to finish 8-under par. Mickelson birdied five of his last seven holes.

That shot him up into a tie with Koepka for second.

Rahm extends lead on Koepka with 10 holes to go

Brooks Kopeka (-9) is still searching for his first birdie since No. 8 in the third round, which took place earlier on Sunday because of a weather delay Saturday. And after Koepka's tee shot on No. 8 went into the pine straw, he had to punch out and scramble just to save par.

The problem for Koepka is that Jon Rahm is gaining more and more momentum, playing cleanly and finding greens. After he had parred four consecutive holes, Rahm posted his second birdie of the day at No. 8 to move to 11-under par and gain a two-stroke lead on Koepka.

Spieth makes move; logjam of players tied for fourth

If not for two bogeys on the front nine, Jordan Spieth would be in contention for the lead. Still, he converted his seventh birdie of the day at No. 15 to move into sole possession of third place at 7-under par.

Just below him on the leaderboard, defending champion Scottie Scheffler posted his fourth birdie of the final round, thanks to a resurgent putter, after he sunk a 40-footer at No. 11.

There are now seven players currently tied for fourth at 6-under par. Phil Mickelson has played aggressively, landing on the green in two shots on two different par-5s on the back-9.

Sahith Theegala is another one of those seven, after he chipped in his second shot on No. 16 to notch his seventh birdie of the day. In fact, the chip in looked eerily similar in terms of location and roll to Tiger Woods' iconic chip in from nearlthe same spot back in 2005.

Scheffler, though, may be in trouble after he sailed his tee shot on No. 12.

A change atop the leaderboard; Hovland melts down on No. 6

Jon Rahm watches his shot on the fourth hole during the final round of The Masters.

Jon Rahm has now overtaken Brooks Koepka atop the leaderboard at Augusta National. As Koepka continues to struggle in locating his approach shots and misread his putts, Rahm has been steady, converting three consecutive pars to stay at 10-under par.

Koepka, however, has bogeyed two of his last three holes, including No. 6, to drop to 9-under. As weather conditions have warmed, the green surfaces are drying and Koepka is failing to read the breaks. Overhead winds have also contributed to his iron shots missing the greens.

Interestingly enough, there's a sudden logjam in a tie for third place, with four players staying four strokes off the lead. Among them, Viktor Hovland three-putted on No. 6 to double bogey and Jordan Spieth converted his seventh birdie of the day at No. 14.

Koepka's lead gone after shaky putt on No. 4

Brooks Koepka, who started the final round with a two-stroke lead, has seen that edge evaporate after a shaky start. He has been unsteady with his putter, pulled his tee shot on No. 1 well left and has missed with his irons.

At No. 4, Koepka's tee shot with a 5-iron found the bunker in front of the green, forcing him to spend a second shot to get it on the green. His playing partner, Jon Rahm, landed his tee shot on the green and missed a birdie putt that would've given him a co-lead. He settled for par to stay at 10-under par, but ended up in a tie atop the leaderboard anyway. Koepka, muffed his par putt and dropped a stroke with a bogey, his first of the final round.

Kopeka's putter lets him down and Rahm capitalizes

Leader Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm both found the greenside bunker on No. 2 and both saw their putters let them down for a gettable birdie. Rahm misread the speed and left his short, while Koepka aimed just a touch left, seeing the ball curve around the cup. Both settled for par, which marked the 12 consecutive hole that neither player had shaved a stroke off his score.

On No. 3, however, Rahm (-10) secured a birdie to cut Koepka's lead (-11) to one. Minutes before Rahm sank his short left-to-right birdie putt, Koepka was facing a downhill putt and thought it would roll faster than it did; he left it short and had to settle for par.

One player just outside to watch is Russell Henley, who birdied two of his first four holes to drop his score to 7-under par, which places him fourth and four strokes off the lead. In particular, Henley has made the charge with his putter

Koepka's drive on No. 1 finds fairway ... on No. 9

Perhaps it was jitters, but current leader Brooks Koepka (-11) hooked his drive off of the first tee so far left that it landed on the fairway of the ninth hole, setting up a blind second shot over the tree line. Koepka recovered well, however, and took advantage of rain-soaked greens, with his second shot landing softly on the putting surface. Koepka's lengthy birdie putt set up an easy par tap-in, which is a fortuitous conclusion, all things considered.

Jon Rahm, in second at 9-under, misfired on his approach shot at No. 1, having it trickle right of the green. He nearly holed his chip, though eventually saved par.

Viktor Hovland, who also pushed his first drive well left, saved par on No. 1 and remains third at 8-under par.

Second-to-last pairing tees off, Hovland starts round in rough

In the second-to-last pairing to tee off in the final round, Viktor Hovland -- starting at 8-under par and needing to make a charge to catch leader Brooks Koepka (-11) and Jon Rahm (-9) -- blasted his driver on No. 1 left into the tree line where the patrons were gathered.

Jordan Spieth's final round has been marked by inconsistency. Through seven, he has posted three birdies, two bogeys and two pars. He is currently 2-under par, tied for 21st in the field.

Elsewhere, Sahith Theegala almost certainly won't be able to charge up to the top of the leaderboard, but he's finishing his round strong; Theegala has three birdies on the front nine to lower his score to 4-under par, tied for 8th place.

Tiger Woods withdraws from Masters due to injury

Tiger Woods said he was in "constant" pain during the 2023 Masters, but the pain became too much to bear. The five-time Masters champion withdrew from Augusta National before third-round play resumed on Sunday due to injury.

Woods finished the first 36 holes at 3-over on Saturday to make the cut for the 23rd consecutive time, tying the record shared by Gary Player and Fred Couples.

But he got off to a slow start to the third round on Saturday and was visibly in pain, laboring to walk in the cold and wet conditions. He recorded two bogeys and two double bogeys through seven holes, before play was suspended for the day at 3:15 p.m. ET due to a torrential downpour. He dropped to last place on Saturday at 6-over in the third round and 9-over for the tournament.

-- Cydney Henderson

Tee times set for Sunday's final round of the Masters at Augusta National

Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm will tee off in final grouping at 2:33 p.m. as the fourth round of the 87th Masters has begun .

Golfers returned to Augusta National early Sunday morning to complete the rain-delayed third round. Following a brief stoppage of play to reset the pin positions, the fourth round is now underway with players starting on the first and 10th tees.

Tee times for the third-round leaders:

Group 11, 2:05 p.m.: Collin Morikawa (-4), a-Sam Bennett (-4)
Group 12, 2:14 p.m.: Hideki Matsuyama (-5), Russell Henley (-5)
Group 13, 2:24 p.m.: Viktor Hovland (-8), Patrick Cantlay (-6)
Group 14, 2:33 p.m.: Brooks Koepka (-11), Jon Rahm (-9)

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Brooks Koepka begins Masters' final round with 2-shot lead

Brooks Koepka walks off the 15th green after making his par putt during Sunday's completion of the third round of the Masters.

A bogey on the par-4 17th hole cut Brooks Koepka's lead to just two shots heading into the final 18 holes at the 87th Masters. Koepka had just saved par from the sand on 16 as Jon Rahm bogeyed to see his advantage grow to three shots.

But he gave the stroke back on 17 by three-putting as the field completed the rain-delayed third round early Sunday.

Koepka finished his 1-over round of 73 with a routine par on 18. Rahm also shot 73 as the two maintained their positioning from Round 2.

Viktor Hovland shot a 2-under 70 to finish three strokes off the lead. He'll be paired with Patrick Cantlay, who shot 4-under 68 to get to 6 under.

Koepka has had the 54-hole lead in three career major tournaments. He's won all three.

Viktor Hovland making morning charge

Viktor Hovland of Norway reacts to holing his chip shot on the 12th hole during the weather-delayed third round of the 2023 Masters.

First-round co-leader Viktor Hovland of Norway struggled out of the gate in the third round, bogeying four of his first 10 holes. But he's making up for it in a big way with the round resuming Sunday morning.

Beginning on hole No. 11, Hovland strung together five consecutive birdies -- including a chip-in at the par-3 12th -- to move into sole possession of third place at 8 under for the tournament, four strokes behind leader Brooks Koepka.

Leaders hit Amen Corner in Round 3

A bogey on the par-3 12th hole dropped leader Brooks Koepka's lead to one stroke as the Masters leaders headed into Augusta National's most famous holes Sunday morning.

However, on the very next hole -- the par-5 13th -- Jon Rahm hit his layup shot in the far front of the green and three-putted for a bogey to drop him to 10 under. Koepka's two-putt par extended his lead back to two strokes.

Brooks Koepka's lead over Jon Rahm shrinks

Brooks Koepka opened the resumption of third-round play Sunday with a bogey on the par-4 seventh hole, but then went birdie, par and saved par on No. 10. Jon Rahm opened with birdies on No. 7 and the par-5 eighth and then parred the next two holes to trail Koepka by two through 10 on Sunday.

When will play resume on Sunday at the Masters?

Third round action resumed at Augusta National on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. ET. No player had completed their third round when play was called on Saturday. The fourth round is expected to begin later in the afternoon, around 12:30 p.m. ET.

How to watch the Masters on Sunday

Live coverage of the Masters will resume on CBS from 2-7 p.m. ET.

Featured groups and holes can be streamed via Masters.com and ESPN+. Streaming is also available via CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports app, as well as through Paramount+.

Will weather be an issue on Sunday?

Weather has been a big story at the Masters, but there appears be a break on Sunday. The Weather Channel forecast calls for mostly cloudy or partly cloudy skies with only a 2% chance of precipitation. The temperatures were to be 45 as play resumed, with a high of 63 at 6 p.m. ET.

Play was called early on Friday and Saturday because of rain, and three trees came down on Friday, but no one was hurt. No precipitation is in the forecast for Monday, if play has to be extended to a fifth day.

A Brooks Koepka win could be nightmare for Augusta National's leaders

LIV Golf's Brooks Koepka is having himself quite a tournament at the Masters.

All this focusing on crashing trees, sodden grass and ominous skies seems to be prolonging the inevitable: what could be a day of great angst for the powers that be in men's golf, the day when a man who was kicked off the PGA Tour last year for taking Saudi blood money dons a green jacket as the winner of the first major of the year.

Koepka, 32, still has 12 holes to play in the third round before a full 18 in the fourth round Sunday, but he certainly was in command Saturday with a four-stroke lead over Spain's Jon Rahm. Koepka managed one birdie and five pars during the miserable cold and rain over his first six holes of the third round to reach 13-under-par for the tournament, four better than Rahm, who had a birdie, two bogeys and three pars.

-- Christine Brennan

Brooks Koepka is the leader as play resumes Sunday at the Masters.

Masters payout for winner

This year, the total purse of the 2023 Masters is $18 million, up $3 million from last year.

The winner will take home $3.24 million. Last year's winner Scottie Scheffler collected $2.7 million for his three-shot win over Rory McIlroy.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Masters Sunday leaderboard: Jon Rahm wins, Tiger Woods withdraws

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