Jon Rahm received a motivational message from a well-known friend before getting going on the Masters, but it took some time for the text to age well.
Rahm claimed the second major of his career Sunday by winning the 2023 Masters Tournament. The 28-year-old initially didn’t seem primed for the green jacket, as he double-bogeyed the first hole at Augusta National on Thursday. The tournament-opening blunder came mere minutes after three-time Pro Bowl selection Zach Ertz tried to hype Rahm up for the season’s first major.
“For those people who believe in jinxing other players, people, whatever it may be — Thursday morning, when I was on the golf cart getting to this putting green 10 minutes before my tee time, I saw a text from a good friend of mine,” Rahm said Sunday night. “I’m going to name him because he is a Super Bowl-winning champion. Zach Ertz, he sent the text — I’m going to paraphrase here — but he said, ‘That first green (is) looking like a walk in the park’ or something like that, 10 minutes before I four-putted to start the tournament. So, thank you, Zach. Don’t ever do that again, please.”
Ertz confirmed Rahm’s anecdote on Twitter and vowed to keep texting the PGA Tour’s No. 3 ranked golfer before major tournaments. The story also was corroborated by future Pro Football Hall of Famer J.J. Watt, who was in the group text where Ertz nearly put a mush on Rahm.
Rahm will have a chance to take another step toward a career grand slam next month at the PGA Championship in Rochester, N.Y. With momentum now on their side, Ertz probably should give Rahm a buzz before he tees off at Oak Hill Country Club.
