Jon Rahm wins Masters Tournament

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Jon Rahm four-putted his first hole of the tournament, got the bad end of the draw, played through weather that required a tricky conjugation of the word squeegee, and had ample justification to look to the sky and scream (bilingually) at the golf gods.

But Rahm, who shot 69 to come from behind and win the 87th Masters Tournament by four over Brooks Koepka (75) and Phil Mickelson (65), had an inner-game ally, someone who simply wouldn’t let him go to the dark side. A better angel who was in Rahm’s ear come a spasm of hellish putting or the high water of unrelenting rain – all the way until he wiped away tears walking up the 18th green, saved par, and hugged his caddie, wife and two young children.

“If you’re going to make a double or four-putt or anything,” this ally said Thursday, after Rahm had collected himself to shoot 65, “it might as well be the first hole.”

When play was called Saturday with 11-plus holes remaining in Rahm’s third round, and he trailed Koepka by two, Professor Positive said: “A lot of holes. But feeling good, feeling strong, and keep it going.” And after Rahm finished his third round Sunday morning, still two back: “Feeling good, playing good, swinging well …”

This mental-game Svengali in Rahm’s corner was, of course, Rahm himself, which is to say that this Masters, like life, was in how you looked at it. Half of it was a discombobulated, disjointed mess, with rounds no longer ending when days did, making it hard to establish a narrative.