The Augusta Conspiracy

The image has enormous evocative potential. José María Olazábal and Sergio García, the two ‘green jackets’ that Spain still enjoys after the death of Seve Ballesteros, and Jon Rahm, a golfer who seems destined to add the sixth replica of this select garment to the national record at the Masters, together in a practice round at the Augusta National in Georgia (USA). It seemed like a conspiracy, a visit by the outstanding student to his mentors in search of wisdom to face the most special undertaking of the golf season, which starts this Thursday (from 3:30 p.m. at Movistar Golf) with the three mentioned in contention.

This year, in addition, is going to be anniversaries. Because the event ends on Sunday the 9th and on April 9, 1957, Seve Ballesteros, Rahm’s idol, was born. And on April 9, 2017, his only great Sergio García won until now. “It is also the 40th anniversary of Seve’s second jacket, and next year it will be 30 years since Txema’s (Olazábal) first. There is always something to commemorate”, the Biscayan man takes away from the matter, who left the top-10 last year (he was 27th) after four consecutive editions in noble positions.

“I am a golf junkie,” he confessed on Tuesday at a press conference Rahmbowho in his search for knowledge, in his investigation of the history of golf, comes across revealing data. For example, the one that says that to win in Augusta you have to take at least 60% of fairways. He has work there, because the dispersion from the tee (he is 116th on the circuit in accuracy, with a 57% accuracy rate) is one of the causes behind the sudden slowdown in March, which was also inevitable.

lowered on hype of the first third of the year those three victories in just over a month, Rahm continues to be a fixture in the pools. His record, four top-10s, and his status as ball strikerof a player capable of handling the ball almost at will in a field that goes more from where you should not be than where you do have to be, they put him in that position. Americans often talk about horses for courses. They come to say that there are horses for each route. Rahm is a thoroughbred made for Augusta.

As is the Australian Cam Smith, the main candidate with Dustin Johnson’s permission among the legion of ‘insurgents’ who will campaign these days for the design of Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie. The dispute between the PGA and LIV is one of the narratives that mark this first edition since the Saudi super league caused the schism. The Masters, like the rest of majorsrefused to veto its members and up to 18 will compete (dressed, by the way, in the clothing of their franchises), six of them champions in the past.

All of them (and others like the battered Tigerstill one of the great claims despite the fact that it was ruled out of the fight) were at a dinner of champions on Tuesday that, judging by the smiles in the family photo and the little that the diners said, was less tense than expected . Sergio García has recognized that he embraced Jason Day and Rahm, that the only thing he has noticed differently has been seeing Dustin Johnson wearing FootJoy shoes, alluding to his break with Adidas after leaving the PGA. Among the majestic Augusta pines, among the azaleas and magnolias, there is no room for disputes. Just for enjoyment.