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[ad_1] CNN  —  Jon Rahm won the 2023 Masters on Sunday, clinching his first green jacket and second career major with an unflappable showing at Augusta National. The Spaniard put on a clinic in consistency to ease to a four shot victory ahead of LIV Golf Series duo Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson. After two days of miserable weather had seen multiple suspensions of play at the 87th edition of the historic major, it was fitting that blue skies and sunshine set the backdrop for the crowning of Rahm, whose victory sees him leapfrog reigning Masters champion Scottie Scheffler as world No. 1. Having begun his tournament with a four-putt double bogey, Rahm recovered immediately and never looked back, carding a final round three-under 69 to finish 12-under. On the birthday of late Spanish golf icon Seve Ballesteros ...

[ad_1] AUGUSTA: Viktor Hovland wore a shocking pink and white polo shirt for Thursday's opening round of the 87th Masters, but his game was simply electrifying. The 25-year-old Norwegian broke 70 for the first time at Augusta National, firing a seven-under par 65 to grab a share of the 18-hole lead with Spain's Jon Rahm and American Brooks Koepka. "You know a good score is out there, but you can't really force it," said Hovland. "You've just got to let it happen and if you have some makeable putts, you've got to make them and then you can get into a rhythm. "But it's one of those things, you push too hard and it will backfire." World number nine Koepka made five birdies and an eagle at the par-5 second on a 25-foot putt to dazzle the crowd. "Got off to a nice start," Hovland said. "Just kept hitting great shots on the front nine and made some putts, and before I knew it, somehow I was 6-under through 11 and j...

[ad_1] CNN  —  The seventh episode of Netflix’s “Full Swing” is named “Golf is Hard.” It could easily serve as the title for the series itself. Taken literally, it could refer to how golf’s latest fly-on-the-wall show, documenting the 2022 PGA Tour season, shows just how difficult it is to win even a single tournament, let alone multiple or a major. In the case of Matt Fitzpatrick, US Open triumph – his first PGA Tour win no less – proved the ultimate payoff to a dogged commitment to self-improvement, the reward for countless hours spent pouring over data and spreadsheets. Dubbed the hardest working player in the men’s game, the 28-year-old Englishman is shown to have logged details of his shots since the age of 15. Trawling through a plastic box stacked with yardage books, Fitzpatrick estimates he has recorded over 7,000 swings from both competitions and the driving range....