Jon Rahm He brought out the magic on the 14th hole of the last day of the Augusta Masters, hitting the tournament, obtaining the iconic image of the first Augusta Masters that he conquered in his still short career, his second “Major” after the 2021 US Open “He has downplayed it, as if it were not so brilliant, as if it were more comfortable than it seemed. It was not an impossible shot, but it is the moment in which he did it, because he needed one more birdie to play calmly the last holes, and that it was necessary to interpret how the green has the outline and in which way the ball had to enter so that it could stay close. plasticity and that from there the Masters had won it, and it becomes a beautiful story”, explains nacho gervastechnical director of the Spanish Golf Federation and commentator on Movistar.
The ball seemed to obey the Spanish golfer, as if he were handling it with a remote control to take it to the side of the hole and then shoot off. But Jon’s face barely changed. The concentration was absolute. In his head there was still work to do, four holes, no matter how much his numbers already gave him victory unless he collapsed. “If you look, his game hasn’t changed much, he’s still a player who relies on his natural shot; indeed, he’s more and more capable of moving the ball from right to left, but in this tournament and on this course he doesn’t have merit because the streets are very wide. What he has improved and given a twist is the mental issue”, analyzes Gervás. Rahm has gone one step further. As a child, young Jon was a stick-breaking, angry riot at the world. Has he ever asked for forgiveness and has thanked those who were patient with him. That stage is over, but the volcano still erupted from time to time, at other levels. “From hole 1, in which he made four putts [doble bogey, el único en todo el torneo], until 72, a hurricane, a storm, everything, has passed, and at no time is he seen to complain or get angry. On the contrary, he has kept a face as if he were looking at the camera but looking through it, his gesture has not changed, he looked not only concentrated, but at ease with the way he was facing the tournament”, adds Nacho. The game was slow Koepka, who started leading, the demons were eating him inside, the nerves, no matter how much he has four “Majors” on his resume, while Rahm continued with that tiger look. As we had to wait, Barrika’s man went to the bathroom up to seven times. Nothing disturbed him. “He managed everything from ten. It is an advanced course on how one has to be in competition,” continues Gervás.
“Everything has happened to him: four putts on the first hole, a storm… And he hasn’t put on a bad face”
Just on the way to closing his performance on the 18th hole, a smile lit up his face, and after the last ball slipped into the hole, the party began, the celebration, this time, with the fans, to whom he shook hands. , with his family and with Chema Olazábal, two-time winner of the Augusta Masters. “It had to be today,” Rahm was right to say. Because just on April 9, 1957, he was born Severiano Ballesteros, the legend, the man who inspired Jon (and so many, in Spain and abroad) even though he didn’t see him play live. And on April 9, 2017, Sergio García won his green jacket, and it was also 40 years since Seve won his second Masters on April 11, 1983. There they are, Seve, Chema, Sergio and Jon, the four golfers who add up to the six Spanish victories in Augusta.
“I know it encouraged me [desde el cielo]”, Rahm said of Seve. “The first of many,” Chema whispered to Rahm. “If the mental part is able to control it like this week, it will undoubtedly be there and I would not be surprised if it wins one more Major this year”, says Nacho Gervás. Concentration has been a constant throughout 2023, the year in which he had already won three tournaments. When things went wrong, in the “The Players“, where he withdrew due to physical problems, he assumed it naturally, saying that when things go well “the gods of golf hit you to humiliate you a bit.” Turn the page and continue. “He knows that he cannot always win, but that determination and that confidence that he can win regardless of the stroke difference with the leader is something only the greatest have. The victories are not as impressive as the fact that he is there every week. Even playing poorly, he is fifth”, Gervás recounts.
The balance between family and golf
The family, being a father, has not made him change. “There are statistics that say that players with families have a slight downturn, which is normal, golf is no longer one hundred percent of your life, the family obviously occupies a very important part and you relativize everything. But he, at least At the moment, he has that balance between the person you want to be and the insatiable player on the pitch,” he continues. Jon has said since he was a child that he wants to leave his mark on his sport and make history. Be one of the best ever. “He is already truly differential because of the claw with which he plays, the belief he has in himself, but within that there was something that was calm, that quick rush that came immediately, and this week it has not appeared at no time. A sign that he is one step away from doing truly important things”, concludes Gervás.