"Don't ever do that again" - Masters champion Jon Rahm has a special request to Super Bowl winner Zach Ertz
Jon Rahm rallied to win the 2023 Masters in dramatic fashion, beating Brooks Koepka by a four-stroke difference. However, the start of the week wasn't ideal for Rahm as he started with a four-putt on the first hole of the tournament.
Rahm blamed his good friend and Arizona Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz for jinxing him ahead of The Masters. The Spaniard said during the Masters trophy presentation speech that Ertz had texted him before the first hole that the first green looked like a 'walk in the park'.
Rahm said:
"For those people who believe in jinxing, Thursday morning when I was getting on the golf cart to get to this putting green 10 minutes before my tee time, I saw a text from a good friend of mine, and I’m going to name him because he’s a Super Bowl winning champion, Zach Ertz.
"He sent the text, and I’m going to paraphrase here, but he said, 'That first green looking like a walk in the park — or something like that — right now.' Ten minutes before I four-putted to start the tournament. So thank you, Zach. Don't ever do that again."
A lighthearted story and request from the Green Jacket winner. #themasters https://t.co/fqSMUu0nmk
Former NFL edge rusher J.J. Watt confirmed Rahm's 'allegations' by posting screenshots on Twitter. He wrote:
"can confirm. I think this means you deserve a green jacket @ZERTZ_86"
can confirm.
I think this means you deserve a green jacket @ZERTZ_86
#TheMasters twitter.com/pointsbetusa/s… https://t.co/3ZJVAHtSMN
Ertz congratulated Rahm and warned him to expect these texts prior to every major from now onwards.
"I apologize for absolutely nothing! You can expect these texts every major going forward my friend! Congratulations!"
I apologize for absolutely nothing!
You can expect these texts every major going forward my friend!
Congratulations! twitter.com/pgatour/status…
Earlier, Jon Rahm claimed the second major of his career by winning the 2023 Masters, where he was trailing until Sunday. He beat Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson by a four-shot margin.
Koepka lost the lead in dramatic fashion on Sunday as he went for a birdie-less streak of 22 holes on the final day.
There was too much drama to handle at Augusta National on Sunday. We saw Rahm posting a 3-under 69 with a steady approach, but on the other hand, we had Koepka lose his focus and eventually carded a 3 over 75 on the final day to lose the lead for the first time since Thursday.
The most impressive performance on Sunday was by Phil Mickelson, who jumped 14 places to finish in tied second alongside Koepka. He posted a score of 7-under 65 to become the oldest runner-up at the Masters.
Amateur Sam Bennett first slipped to 9th after the completion of the third round and then went on to drop further to 14th in the final round. Contrary to the two scores of 68 in the first two rounds, his last two rounds were 76 and 74.
Final leaderboard at 2023 Masters
Here's the final leaderboard for the 2023 Masters:
- 1 Jon Rahm: -12
- T2 Brooks Koepka: -8
- T2 Phil Mickelson: -8
- T4 Jordan Spieth: -7
- T4 Patrick Reed: -7
- T4 Russell Henley: -7
- T7 Cameron Young: -6
- T7 Viktor Hovland: -6
- 9 Sahith Theegala: -5
- T10 Collin Morikawa: -4
- T10 Matt Fitzpatrick: -4
- T10 Scottie Scheffler: -4
- T10 Xander Schauffele: -4