


Jon Rahm may have to go with Panda Express for next year’s Masters dinner.
The 28-year-old, who shot 12-under par to win the 2023 tournament at Augusta National, predicted he’d win a decade ago, thanks to a fortune cookie from the Chinese food eatery.
“I am gonna win the Masters,” Rahm tweeted on Nov. 8, 2013 with a photo of a fortune that read, “Your talents will be recognized and suitably rewarded.”
At the time, he was a sophomore at Arizona State on a golf scholarship, learning English and working toward a communications degree.
Ten years later, he took home the $3.24 million purse at the Masters and became the fourth native Spaniard to win the tournament.
“I was told a lot of things about why this could be the year,” Rahm said after his victory. “And I just didn’t want to buy into it too much.”
Despite his prediction, there was no preparing for how it felt slipping on the vaunted green jacket after he pulled away from Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson on Sunday, shooting a three-under 69 in the final round to beat the LIV Tour golfers by four strokes.
“We all dream of things like this as players, and you try to visualize what it’s going to be like and what it’s going to feel like,” Rahm said. “Never thought I was going to cry by winning a golf tournament, but I got very close on that 18th hole.
“And a lot of it because of what it means to me, and to Spanish golf. It’s Spain’s 10th major, fourth player to win the Masters. It’s pretty incredible.”
Not that it was easy to fulfill the prophecy.
Rahm became the second golfer in Masters history to double-bogey on his opening hole, joining Sam Snead (1952) as the only other golfer to do so and win.
It was a four-putt start that he jokingly blamed on his friend, Arizona Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz.
“He sent me a text, and I’m gonna paraphrase, that said ‘That first green is looking like a walk in the park right now’ 10 minutes before I four-putted to start the tournament,” Rahm said during his victory speech in Augusta, Ga. on Sunday. “So thank you Zach. Don’t ever do that again, please.”