Rahm and Koepka provide Masters victories for various sides of golf divide

The zany world of golf has never been better explained than the prize fund this week at the RBC Heritage event on the PGA Tour. This standard competition stop carries a $20m purse, making it $2m more lucrative than the Masters. So much for after the lord mayor’s show.

The reason for this anomaly, of course, can be found in the multiple kitchen sinks the Tour threw at leading players in order to prevent a talent drain to LIV Golf. Those in the top echelon have never had it so good. In return, tournaments such as the RBC event this week at Harbour Town have star appeal.

For Jon Rahm, there is a level of glory that far outweighs his winner’s cheque from Augusta National. The Spaniard breezed towards a first Masters triumph; it would be a shock if this becomes his last. Augusta could revel in a storyline with an emotional pull, four decades on from Seve Ballesteros donning a Green Jacket for the second time. “This one was for Seve,” said Rahm. “He was up there helping and help he did.” Ballesteros would shake his head at what has transpired in his sport. Civil war, triggered by LIV’s arrival on the scene, has led to court cases being launched and friendships ruined.

Any notion that golfers would be seen brawling on Augusta National’s sacred fairways or heard trading verbal blows in the ostentatious surrounds of the media centre was always fanciful. The club carries such a passive aggressive demeanour that one has cause to fear propping up an overpass on the highway to Atlanta if misbehaving to any notable degree. Everyone played nicely at the 87th Masters.

This was also a tournament where various sides could claim victory. For the club itself, that inevitably overstated belief that it can be a uniting force. Fred Ridley, the