Jon Rahm may have walked away with the green jacket, but his week got off to a horrible start and one of his famous friends made sure he knew it.
On Thursday, Rahm opened his Masters with a disastrous four-putt double-bogey on the first hole.
But four days later, clad in his fresh green jacket after a final-round 69 and a four-shot Masters victory, he shared he had actually got a text from his friend and Super Bowl-winning NFL tight end Zach Ertz right before his tee time.
“He said in the text, and I’m paraphrasing here, ‘That first green is looking like a walk in the park,’ or something like that right now,” Rahm said at the green jacket ceremony on the 18th green. “Ten minutes before I four-putted to started the tournament.”
The crowd erupted in laughter.
“So, thank you Zach,” Rahm continued as he smiled. “Don’t ever do that again, please.”
Ertz almost immediately shared a clip of the speech and responded to Rahm’s request.
“I apologize for absolutely nothing!” Ertz tweeted. “You can expect these texts every major going forward my friend!”
Recently retired NFL Pro Bowler JJ Watt also came forward with the actual screenshots of the texts, showing the message was sent to Rahm in a group chat with the two former Arizona Cardinals teammates. They are regular golfing buddies in Scottsdale, and given how all three athletes had children in 2022, their group chat was aptly named “Birdies & Babies.”
“Let’s have a day Jon!! Start fast!!” Ertz’ first text read on Thursday morning.
He started with a four-putt. Now Jon Rahm’s the Masters leader
“Let’s go Jon!!” Watt replied. “Pretend you’re playing with Zach and I. You’ll set the course record.”
Then Ertz added the message in question which read, “First hole green looks like a walk in the park.”
About an hour later, Ertz texted Watt separately about what had transpired on the first green.
“4 putt on the putt to start the round… not ideal,” the former Philadelphia Eagle said.
“Horrendous,” Watt replied. “I said pretend you’re playing WITH us, not like your playing LIKE us.”
Rahm must have gotten the message on the second tee, as he played his next 17 holes in nine under to co-lead the tournament after the first round. Had he not four-putted the first green Thursday, he might have actually had a chance at the course record.