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After three days featuring weather delays, rain, cold temperatures and high winds, Sunday at Augusta provided sunshine and clear temperatures setting up a thrilling day of golf.
Jon Rahm captured the 87th Masters title for his first Green Jacket and second major championship win. The Spaniard shot a 3-under 69 Sunday to hold off Brooks Koepka (-8) and Phil Mickelson (-8).
Aside from Mickelson’s historic day, other past winners, Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed, charged up the leaderboard to make it an exciting finish.
Masters 2023 final leaderboard
Contents
| Pos. | Player | Score | To par | Prize money |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jon Rahm | 65-69-73-69=276 | –12 | $3,240,000 |
| T2 |  Brooks Koepka | 65-67-73-75=280 | –8 | $1,944,000 |
| Phil Mickelson | 71-69-75-65=280 | |||
| T4 | Russell Henley | 73-67-71-70=281 | –7 | $864,000 |
| Patrick Reed | 71-70-72-68=281 | |||
| Jordan Spieth | 69-70-76-66=281 | |||
| T7 |  Viktor Hovland | 65-73-70-74=282 | –6 | $603,000 |
| Cameron Young | 67-72-75-68=282 | |||
| 9 | Sahith Theegala | 73-70-73-67=283 | –5 | $522,000 |
| T10 |  Matt Fitzpatrick | 70-72-72-70=284 | –4 | $486,000 |
| Collin Morikawa | 69-69-74-72=284 | |||
| Xander Schauffele | 68-74-71-71=284 | |||
| Scottie Scheffler | 68-75-71-70=284 |
Key moments on Sunday
Rahm wins
The 28-year-old posted rounds of 65, 69, 73 and 69 en route to victory. In his final round, Rahm carded four birdies compared to just one bogey as well as a bogey-free back nine to preserve the lead.
It was an impressive display after starting his tournament with a four-putt double bogey on Thursday’s first hole.
Rahm became the fourth Spanish golfer to win at Augusta National. He joined an elite list including his hero, Seve Ballesteros (1980, 1983), Jose Maria Olazabal (1994, 1999) and Sergio Garcia (2017).
The 11-time winner on the PGA Tour also became the second player from Spain (Ballesteros) to win different majors. Rahm won the 2021 U.S. Open for his first major title.
Jon Rahm wins the Green Jacket. #themasters pic.twitter.com/WZ2P2ehDP7
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 9, 2023
The Arizona State product continued his remarkable run of play at Augusta. In his prior six appearances, he finished T27, 4th, T9, T7, T5 and T27. With the win, Rahm returns to World No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings and has four wins in 2023.
Koepka falters
The four-time major champion held the 54-hole lead (two strokes over Rahm) entering the final round and had been 3-for-3 when presented with the scenario.
It wasn’t to be for Koepka as he recorded six bogeys compared to just two birdies resulting in a Sunday score of 75 and a tie for second.
Mickelson breaks record
The three-time Masters winner said on Saturday he was “going to go on a tear pretty soon.” Mickelson did exactly that less than 24 hours later and caught blazing fire as he closed out his final round with a 7-under 65 to put him in a T2 for the tournament.
The 52-year-old’s 65 represents the lowest score by a golfer 50 years or older in any Masters final round.
The 7-under round tied his career-best at Augusta and was his lowest final round ever (30 appearances). Mickelson went 9,860 days between his two 65s and was a 25-year-old at the 1996 tournament (first round) when he previously went that low.
Phil Mickelson has entered the chat. pic.twitter.com/BdWHOYOdye
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) April 9, 2023
Mickelson entered the Masters with astronomical 250-1 odds to win.
It was an exceptional display for the LIV member whose last win came at the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course, which made him the oldest golfer to win a major.
Bennett surprises as an amateur
Texas A&M’s Sam Bennett finished as the Low Amateur at 2-under (T16) and captured the Silver Cup award. The Madisonville, Texas native was the only amateur (seven in the field) to make the cut.
After 36 holes, Bennett held a score of eight under, which was the lowest score for an amateur through two rounds at the Masters since Ken Venturi (-9) in 1956.
The 23-year-old also shot a bogey-free opening round making him the first amateur in 30 years to achieve the feat.
Spieth and Reed make a charge
The 2015 (Spieth) and 2018 (Reed) Masters champions surged up the leaderboard with rounds of 66 and 68. Both finished in a tie for fourth.
Spieth became the only player in the last 30 years (2018 and 2023) to record two rounds of nine or more birdies in the final round of a Masters.
A look back at the first three days
McIlroy’s letdown
The tournament co-favorite (7/1) and World No. 2 struggled during the first two days and shot 5-over par resulting in a missed cut. McIlroy will have to try again next year to complete the career grand slam.
Woods’ record and withdraw
The 15-time major winner made the cut on the number (3-over par) and tied Gary Player and Fred Couples for the most consecutive cuts (23) in history.
Woods withdrew prior to the third round resuming on Saturday morning due to aggravating a plantar fasciitis injury.
Weather issues
Play was suspended four times during the tournament due to inclement weather. Winds became so high that multiple trees collapsed on Friday. Fortunately, the Masters Tournament Committee released a statement noting no patrons were injured.
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