Rahm rises with round of the day

Apr. 12—AUGUSTA — It took Jon Rahm four days to get anything going at the Masters.

But, oh, what a fourth round it was for the Spaniard.

Rahm fired 6-under-par 66 on Sunday to finish tied for fifth.

Considering that he started the day 11 shots behind leader Hideki Matsuyama, it was a heroic effort.

"I kind of went out there, tried to put the best round out there for me," Rahm said. "I never really thought there was going to be a chance unless I posted a record-breaking score, which needed to be 9, 10 under."

Rahm and his wife, Kelley, welcomed the couple's first child last weekend. The golfer had said he wouldn't play in the Masters if the birth came during tournament week, and he showed up in Augusta in the middle of the week.

The baby boy named Kepa arrived on April 3, and Rahm wrote on social media that it was "the greatest day of my life!"

But Rahm, one of the pre-tournament favorites, could do no better than post three consecutive rounds of even-par 72.

Rahm served notice early Sunday with a birdie at No. 1 and an eagle from 9 feet at No. 2. A birdie at No. 8 put him out in 4-under 32.

"Each day I've played better golf," he said. "First three days I just couldn't get anything going. Today was the complete opposite. Started the way I started, and that set the tone for the rest of the round."

Coming home, Rahm hit it tight at the par-3 12th for another birdie but had to settle for par on the 13th when his tee shot wound up in the pine straw right of the fairway. He laid up for his second shot and couldn't get up and down for birdie.

He went over the green at the par-5 15th in two and was able to get that up and down for birdie to reach 6 under for the day. He parred the final three holes to cap off the best round of the day.

"Yeah, it was all fun and games up until I made that birdie on 12 and I looked up and I'm like, I'm not that far away," Rahm said. "Tried my best at the end ... I played really, really, really good golf today to shoot the 6 under, which it looks like it might be the best round of the day."

Rahm has now posted 15 consecutive rounds of par or better at Augusta National. He also has finished in the top 10 four consecutive years. That makes him think that his day to slip on a green jacket might be on the way.

"Clearly I like the place. I play good here," he said. "My year is coming up. Let's hope it's soon."