Masters champion Jon Rahm jokingly blamed NFL star Zach Ertz for a text message that jinxed him after his horror start to the tournament at Augusta.
The Spaniard held his nerve to claim a dominant four-shot victory over LIV Golf duo Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson in an enthralling final round on Sunday.
Imperious Rahm became the fourth Spanish victor at Augusta and fittingly won his first Green Jacket on what would have been the 66th birthday of the legendary Seve Ballesteros. But the fiery 28-year-old, who has also returned to world no.1 with victory, could have had his Masters hopes scuppered as early as the first hole on Thursday.
He effectively gave the rest of the field a two-shot head-start by four-putting the first for a nightmare double bogey six, before brushing off the blunder to fire a blistering seven-under opening round 65.
And Rahm was able to joke in his winners' speech about being cursed by his good friend and 2018 Super Bowl winner Ertz ahead of his tee-time on Thursday .
"For those people who believe in jinxing other players, people or whatever it may be, Thursday morning when I was getting on my golf cart to get to this putting green...ten minutes before my tee time I saw a text from a good friend of mine," Rahm explained.
"I'm gonna name him because he is a Super Bowl winning champion - Zach Ertz - he sent the text: 'That first green looking like a walk in the park' 10 minutes before I four-putted the start of the tournament. So, thank you Zach, don't ever do that again please!"
Philadelphia Eagles star Ertz immediately responded on Twitter, joking that his 'jinx' message will now become a recurring a theme after Rahm's second major title.
"I apologise for absolutely nothing!" Ertz wrote. "You can expect these texts every major going forward my friend! Congratulations!"
An inspired Rahm was unfazed by a lapse that could have rocked him on Thursday, and became the first European Masters champion since Sergio Garcia in 2017 after holding off the mercurial Mickelson and a resurgent Koepka with a closing three-under 69 on Sunday.
