AUGUSTA, Ga. — Former Arizona State Sun Devil Jon Rahm capped off an amazing week at Augusta National by winning his first Green Jacket as the champion of The Masters on Sunday.
However, Rahm revealed in his speech after the tournament that a member of the Arizona Cardinals almost jinxed him before the first round.
"For those people who believe in jinxing other players, people, whatever it may be, Thursday morning when I was on the golf cart to get to this putting green. 10 minutes before my tee time, I saw a text from a good friend of mine, and 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 it said, that first green looking like a walk in the park or something like that right now. 10 minutes before I four-putted to start the tournament. So, thank you, Zach. Don't ever do that again please."
After Rahm's speech, Ertz responded on Twitter, saying, "I apologize for absolutely nothing! You can expect these texts every major going forward my friend! Congratulations!"
Former Cardinal J.J. Watt then jumped in, posting screenshots of the texts on Twitter, showing Ertz's tweet and J.J. encouraging Rahm by telling him to play The Masters as if Rahm were playing a round with J.J. and Zach.
After Rahm four-putted that first hole, Ertz texted Watt, saying "4 putt to start the round... not ideal." To which Watt responded saying, "Horrendous. I said pretend like you're playing WITH us, not your (sic) playing LIKE us."
The good news for not only the guys in the 'Birdies & Babies' group chat but all Sun Devil and Rahm fans is that he has been known to take advice from Ted Lasso, which he revealed back in 2021.
"I must say for all those Ted Lasso fans out there, be a goldfish," Rahm said after the first round of the 2021 BMW Championship. "It's basically the happiest animal in the world is a goldfish. You know why? He's got a 10-second memory."
Rahm overcame a two-shot deficit and won the 2023 Masters by four strokes. This is his first win at Augusta National and his second major championship. Rahm also won the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines and has now regained the title of No. 1 golfer in the world.
All of this, it turns out was predicted by Rahm 10 years ago, when he went to a Panda Express in Tempe and got a fortune that said "Your talents will be recognized and suitably rewarded."
Rahm tweeted a picture of the fortune and captioned it, 'I am gonna win the masters!' and tagged then-ASU head golf coach Tim Mickelson, who is now the caddy for his brother, Phil, who finished tied for second place behind Rahm at The Masters.
Rahm will continue his search for the career Grand Slam at the PGA Championship, which will be May 15-21 at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York.