‘Don’t ever do that again’: Jon Rahm shares hilarious Masters jinx by NFL friend

Jon Rahm opened his Masters with a four-putt. Then he won the tournament and revealed his NFL star friends had some fun with it.

Darren Riehl/GOLF

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.


Jon Rahm is the first-round co-leader at the Masters.

He started with a four-putt. Now Jon Rahm’s the Masters leader

By:


Dylan Dethier



“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.

HeadshotRAW copy e1660343630658

Jack Hirsh

Golf.com Editor

Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.

 

 

We will be happy to hear your thoughts

Leave a reply

Golf Products Review
Logo
Shopping cart