Finau fades, Rahm surges to capture 2nd major title by 4 strokes at the Masters

SALT LAKE CITY — Compared to the wind and rain that poured down on players at Augusta National over the weekend, Sunday's sun-soaked final round of 2023 Masters felt like a walk in the park.

Or in the case of the final pairing, a whole two step.

And for Utah's Tony Finau, the final round was little more than a casual jaunt.

Finau strolled to even-par 72 Sunday, finishing with a four-day total of even-par 288 and tied for 26th in his sixth appearance at The Masters. He finished 12 shots back of Jon Rahm, who won his first green jacket and second major title by overtaking Brooks Koepka in the final pairing.

Phil Mickelson carded five of his eight birdies on the back nine to shoot 8-under 65 and finish tied for second with Koepka.

Mickelson, the 52-year-old star of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit who resides in Florida, posted the lowest final round by a player age 50 or older in Masters history.

Jordan Spieth, who carded nine birdies with three bogeys en route to 7-under 66, finished tied for fourth with Patrick Reed and Russell Henley. Reigning champion Scottie Scheffler carded five birdies and an eagle in the final round to finished tied for 10th, the best finish by a defending champion at the Masters since 2016.

But Rahm, who has four victories on the PGA Tour since the turn of the calendar year, has always been described as "a fighter." And on Sunday, he fought.

"Maybe it's a little bit related to determination," he told the media after slipping on the green jacket. "When I'm out there, I have a job to do. And hopefully, it's to be here.

"We put in a lot of effort to try to be the best guys in the world. Maybe that leave of intensity and determination is what characterizes me as a fighter. I'm never going to give up ... I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't give my all in every shot."

Finau was 1-over Saturday before play was suspended due to inclement weather with him stranded on the back nine. He arose Sunday morning to finish his round, firing two birdies to get back to even-par before a bogey on the par-4, 440-yard 17th hole carded him a 1-over 73 and a tie for 25th place to start the final 18.

The native Utahn who maintains homes in Lehi and Scottsdale, Arizona, played the front nine on Sunday with little fanfare, balancing a birdie on the par-5 second hole with a bogey on the par-3 fourth.

Finau carded the same third-round score as Koepka and Rahm — except the duo stood atop the leaderboard at 11-under and 9-under after 54 holes.

Koepka's two-shot lead was the sixth-straight year the Masters' 54-hole leader held a multi-shot advantage entering the final round — the longest streak in Masters history, according to ESPN Stats and Information.

Four of the previous five leaders had gone on to win the event, with the lone exception being Tiger Woods' comeback over Francesco Molinari in 2019. And it happened again.

For a final round that should have been Koepka's coronation, a surprising number of golfers took advantage of the green weather to chase the jacket — none closer than Rahm.

The 2021 U.S. Open champion pulled within one with a birdie at No. 3, then forced a tie at the top when Koepka notched bogey at No. 4.

Two holes later, Koepka slipped again, gifting Rahm a one-shot lead with 12 holes to play en route to the 28-year-old Spaniard's two-shot lead with his frontside 30.

He never trailed again.

"I just kind of played average, and I didn't get any breaks, either," Koepka told CBS after the tournament. "I didn't feel like I played too bad. ... I had a good run there at the end, but it just wasn't good enough."

Woods withdrew just before finishing his third round early on Sunday, citing plantar fasciitis in his foot and a previous leg injury that has made walking 72 holes difficult for the 47-year-old global golf superstar. Woods finished 9-over through 43 holes before his withdrawal.

With the win, Rahm took $3.24 million in prize money. Michelson and Koepka took home $1.59 million apiece from the tournament-record $18 million prize pool, according to CBS Sports. Finau received $138,600 for tying for 26th with Scott Stallings and Ryan Fox.

At just 28, Rahm is also halfway to a career grand slam, a four-major title run that has only been accomplished by four players: Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods.

Not that he's thinking about joining those ranks.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Rahm said drily when asked about the possibility of the feat. "I mean, it would be amazing. It would be great. Not many people would be able to do it, and to be able to close out a grand slam would be absolutely amazing.

"It's something that would be amazing, but it's also a long ways ahead to be able to do it."

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