Jon Rahm continued his love affair with Augusta National as he carded a closing 66 at the 2021 Masters Tournament and then revealed he could not wait to get back to the new love in his life.
Rahm's wife Kelley gave birth to their first child Kepa on April 3, meaning the Spaniard was playing his first event as a father this week.
Three rounds of 72 meant he was 11 shots off the lead heading into Sunday and while he could not get close enough to challenge for the Green Jacket, he made four birdies and an eagle to ensure a fourth consecutive top ten at Augusta from just five appearances.
He will now head back to his new family and he admits that Kepa makes it easier to handle the hard times on the course.
"I'm excited to get home and change a few diapers and let Kelley sleep a few more hours," he said.
"I'm extremely happy. Let's say the disappointment after the round lasts a lot less. I finish the round and I get a picture from Kelley and no matter what I do, if I shoot 80 or 65, it's the same feeling. You kind of forget and I'm a parent again.
Congratulations to @JonRahmpga and wife Kelley on the birth of their son Kepa 👶 pic.twitter.com/Zc9a8NfIL4
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) April 4, 2021
"It's great moment in our life. At 26 to have the life we have, it's incredible. So yeah, it does lighten the mood a lot more. It might not be as intense as it would have been in another week, which is only beneficial."
Reflecting on his week, Rahm added: "It’s almost like a shoulda-coulda-woulda, right? Each day I’ve played better golf. First three days I just couldn’t get anything going.
“It’s golf. What am I going to do? I also showed up here Wednesday, haven’t hit a shot in six days, very little sleep. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to play as good as I did early on.
“It’s still a top ten at a Major with a great round on a Sunday, 15 straight rounds of even par or better here. Clearly I like the place. I play good here. My year is coming up. Let’s hope it’s soon.”
