Four-time Major winner Brooks Koepka coughed up his Masters lead while the Australians struggled and Jon Rahm stole the green jacket at Augusta National.
Rahm shot 69 to overnight leader Koepka’s 75 and at 12 under par he beat Koepka and Phil Mickelson by four shots. Mickelson, the 52-year-old who plays with Koepka on the LIV Golf tour, shot an incredible 65 to turn back the clock.
“Probably not… not today,” Koepka said when asked if he could see any positives from his fourth runner-up at a Major. “Probably not for the next few days. Right now, it’s kind of tough to see, if I’m honest, probably for the next few hours and the next few days.”
Meanwhile, Jason Day tumbled down the leaderboard during a tough final day for Australians at the Masters.
One of the form players on the PGA Tour leading into the first major of the year, with five top-10s in 2023 so far, Day was in contention through two rounds when he was nine under par standing on the 15th tee on Friday at nine under par.
But he took double on that par 5 in the second round and never recovered. On Sunday, the former world No.1 crashed out of contention with a final-round 80. He signed off with four double-bogeys in his last 10 holes to sink to finish at five-over par 293.
Day’s fellow Australians also struggled. Cameron Smith signing for a 75 and a four-over total, while 2013 Masters winner Adam Scott and Day finished a shot behind him after weekend rounds of 77 and 74.
The 12-time PGA Tour winer Day’s first double was at the par-4 ninth, when he was three-under for the tournament but four-putted to fall outside the top 10 on the leaderboard. The top 12 and ties are invited back to the next year’s Masters.
Day then hooked his drive on the 10th into the trees, with a reload and a penalty stroke for the second double bogey. He putted into the water at the iconic par-3 12th and then one more double at the par-5 13th.
Reigning Open champion Smith finished as the leading Australian despite two 75s on the weekend. He finished tied 34th at Augusta having finished tied for third last year behind winner Scottie Scheffler. Smith was also tied second at the 2020 Masters.
“I guess I was on the back foot all week with the weather and I wasn’t particularly striking it all that well,” Smith said. “There were lots of momentum par saves and it was a bit of a rough week with the longer [clubs’.”
Smith will have just two days off before flying to Australia for LIV Golf’s sold-out Adelaide tournament at The Grange. Smith said he would sneak in some downtime in his native Brisbane before travelling to LIV’s Australian debut.
“I’m looking forward to getting back to Australia,” he said. “I’m heading back there on Tuesday to spend four or five days in Brissie before I head down to Adelaide. I’ve got a little bit of work to do and I wouldn’t mind getting to a Broncos [NRL] game.”
But it won’t be all recreation.
“There’s some work because I wasn’t really happy with how this week went,” he said. “It usually makes you work harder and hopefully there’s some good stuff to come.”
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