Rambo Jinx?

Background: Apr 9, 2023; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Jon Rahm hoists the Masters trophy above his head during the green jacket ceremony at The Masters golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Network PGA Masters Tournament Final Round.

What a weekend it was for former Arizona St. All-American golfer and U.S. Open champion, Jon “Rambo” Rahm. Rahm was a model of perseverance this weekend as be battled through cold, heavy rains and being four shots behind Brooks Koepka heading into Sunday’s resumption of the 3rd round.

It was one of the most historic and symbolic “sunrise to sunset” (Jim Nantz) wins at The Masters and for PGA golf. If it weren’t for meeting legendary Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros when Jon Rahm was a starry-eyed youngster, he most likely would not have donned the fabled “green jacket” yesterday, on the same date as Seve did on his own birthday 40 years ago. Yesterday would have been Seve’s 66th birthday. All this symbolism for Jon Rahm’s electrifying victory, to boot, on Easter Sunday.

And apparently, all this, to boot, following the jinx of a text that Arizona Cardinals’ tight end Zach Ertz sent to Rambo mere minutes before he teed off on Thursday:

Four-putting the first hole of the tournament at The Masters is typically an inauspicious foreshadowing . However, after what the CBS announcers described as a 4-putt “wake up call”, Rambo proceeded to post 6 birdies and 1 eagle to score an opening round 65.

Rambo followed up his 7-under 65, with a 3-under 69 on Friday, a 1-over 73 through the inclement weather throughout Round 3 and an impressive 3-under 69 on Sunday which helped Rambo blow away the rest of the field by four shots.

While Jon Rahm may have four-putted his first hole, he one-putted his final hole in classic Seve Ballesteros fashion, by hoisting a towering wedge shot over the huge sand trap to the left of the 18th green to within 4 feet...leading to this:

As they say, “it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”

Therefore, in a paradoxical way, perhaps Zach Ertz’s encouraging text set the tone for Rambo’s entire 72 hole performance.

Perhaps it was the wake-up call that every aspiring champion needs.

Thus, perhaps the Arizona Cardinals should ask Zach Ertz to address the team ten minutes before the first game this season.

If it can work for a Sun Devil, then perhaps it can work for a team of Cardinals.

If ever there was a team that needs to learn how to finish in masterful style —- it’s the Arizona Cardinals.

After all, after hearing Rambo’s plea to “never text me like this again,” the intrepid Zach Ertz tweeted him :

“I apologize for absolutely nothing! You can expect these texts every major going forward my friend! Congratulations!”