Dustin Johnson (-20), with a portentous performance, was the brilliant winner of the 2020 Masters, which will be remembered as the one that had to be moved to November due to the pandemic caused by the Covid-19. For Spanish golf, it will also remain in the memory as one of the editions in which Jon Rahm (-10), finally seventh, harbored options of victory until well into the tournament.
The Basque golfer was within the pomada until Saturday night. Or more specifically until the 8th hole of the third day, a turning point in which a trajectory that was pointing to the top was slightly twisted. An imperfect second shot and a tree led the hole to a double bogey, and in the process, separated the path of the Spaniard from that of his party mate Dustin Johnson, who took advantage of his difficulties to deliver a blow of authority that seemed to be definitive by then.
But Augusta is Augusta, and you can never turn your face away from it. The American, who longed for his first green jacket, did not make any mistakes this Sunday that could jeopardize his triumph. At the slightest moment of difficulty, bogeys at holes 4 and 5, he pulled himself together with firmness and haste, almost consecutive birdies to get back on track. His final -20, a record at Augusta, speaks clearly of how he has performed this week.
For his part, Jon Rahm went out on the final day seven strokes behind the American and with the sour feeling left by the bogey at the 18th in the previous round. Too much of a disadvantage to think of a feat, especially against Dustin Johnson, and even more so when the first hole ends with a bogey.
But Jon Rahm is an ambitious player, and in his last holes at Augusta, with some positive feelings back, he looked for the flag and scored three birdies and an eagle. Not all was joy; a couple of bogeys and a double bogey, this time at the 12th, prevented him from repeating the fourth place of two years ago. In any case, third Top 10 in four years for Rahm who, as he acknowledged at the end of the day, sees himself winning in this temple of golf. Time to time.
Rafael Cabrera, the second of the three Spaniards in the Masters -the third, José María Olazábal, was far from the cut- has also finished with a good taste in his mouth; the Canary Islander has finished in 51st place with +2 to the total and has said goodbye with his usual regularity (rounds of 73, 71, 74 and 72 strokes) and with the pleasure of having led the event during the first day.
As expected after the logical postponement of the competition to November, the inclement weather has partially accompanied the test. So much so that persistent and torrential rains forced suspensions on Thursday that were dragging on until Saturday itself. Against this backdrop, the 92 golfers had to deal with the conditions and with a course that was very different on the first day compared to the subsequent ones.
Jon Rahm came out of the first round more than alive (69 strokes), and strengthened his good feelings in the second (66), which divided between Friday, twelve holes, and Saturday morning, six. Thus, the third round began from the top of the standings, shared, yes, with players like Dustin Johnson himself.
In the two final rounds, the result has not been in Barrika’s favor, but the conclusions must be enormously positive for him: another Top 10, ten of the last eleven rounds under par on a course like Augusta National, lots of birdie,… Next year he will bring out his repertoire again on the most illustrious course in the United States, and he will do it, hopefully, accompanied by Rafa, Chema, a Sergio who has been missed this year, and why not, by some other compatriot. And hopefully in April and with an audience.
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