I wish I could encapsulate it in one word. The dew sliding off the Bermuda grass. The sunset hitting Amen Corner on Sunday. The roar at the 18th when a champion is crowned. The Masters Tournament truly is a tradition unlike any other.
This year, despite the clashing PGA-LIV narrative and weather that reached biblical proportions, the tournament delivered, as it always does. As it always does, the story begins on Thursday, where Viktor Hovland, Brooks Koepka, and Jon Rahm all shot -7 to head to the clubhouse as leaders. Koepka began to pull away in the second round, finishing the day -12 compared to Jon Rahm’s -10.
The real story of Friday’s round was the young amateur Sam Bennett. The Madisonville, Texas product has a tattoo scrawled on his forearm, the last written words of his late father that read, “Don’t wait to do something.”
Bennett heeded these words, heading into Saturday at -8, four shots back of Koepka. Spoiler Alert: Bennett didn’t claim the Green Jacket. To make the cut as an amateur is impressive, sure. But to be in contention with greats like Koepka and Rahm shows wisdom beyond the young Aggie’s years.
Play was suspended on Saturday as torrential rains flooded Augusta National. Sunday led to Jon Rahm becoming the fourth Spaniard in tournament history to win the Masters.
This achievement came six years to the day that fellow countryman Sergio García won his first major on the 18th green. It also came on the same day as Seve Ballesteros’s birthday, who some consider the greatest Spaniard ever to play the game. Rahm might be on track to overtake the late great.
Rahm already has two major wins in his career, as he took the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. The 28-year-old Spaniard is now looking to repeat the feat at the Los Angeles Country Club in June.
But don’t miss this moment. The Masters is the Masters. This tournament delivered despite awful weather. It flourished despite three withdrawals, one from the great Tiger Woods. It succeeded because, well, it’s Augusta in April. Good luck, sports world. The standard has been set.
Sports Editor
