🏆 The Masters Recap

Scottie claims his 2nd Green Jacket

Scottie Scheffler is now a 2-time Masters Champion, joining the esteemed company of legendary golfers like Steve Ballesteros, Tom Watson, Sam Snead and Ben Hogan. Scheffler left no doubt that he is currently the best golfer in the world and claimed his 2nd Green Jacket in 3-years. It was a brilliant week at Augusta, so let’s dive straight in with our Masters Recap issue.

Everything you need to know from all 4 rounds

Round 1 - Thursday

The main storylines and narratives (from the usual suspects like Brandel Chamblee and Eamon Lynch) heading into the first round were:

1. Jon Rahm is not happy, looks frustrated and regrets his move to LIV.

2. The guys from LIV don’t play competitive golf and there’s no way to judge their form.

3. The weather for Thursday and Friday looked set to cause significant havoc with a “rain bomb” predicted for Augusta, Georgia.

Thankfully, the rain on Thursday was nowhere near as bad as predicted and there was only a 2.5-hour delay to the start of play. OWGR World #210, Bryson DeChambeau, came out of the blocks with a stellar 7-under 65 to set the tone and take the outright Round 1 lead. World #1 Scheffler returned serve with a bogey-free round of 66 to be one shot back.

LIV Golf CEO, Greg Norman, was spotted on course with a patron’s badge that he purchased from the secondary ticket market. As alleged on social media by his son, Greg Jnr, Norman had sought entry to the Masters through formal channels at Augusta National but had been refused, which is contrary treatment to what past Major Champions and current World Golf Hall of Fame inductees usually receive from ANGC. A pretty sad indictment on world golf really.

Round 2 - Friday

The rain may have been milder than expected on Thursday, but the wind was savage on Friday. Swirling winds of 30-40km/h constantly sailed through the course, often gusting to 55km/h. The blowy conditions caused havoc for the players especially, on holes such as 11, 12. 14 and 15. Distance control was a premium, and so was ball flight. South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen said Friday’s conditions were the most difficult he had ever played in. There were only 8 rounds under par all day.

Max Homa showed great composure in the wind to take a share of the Round 2 lead at 6-under along with DeChambeau and Scheffler. Bryson had an up and down day with 2 bogies in his last 5 holes to surrender the outright lead. Scheffler was his usual rock-solid self. Ludvig Aberg had round of the day with 3-under 69 to move into 7th, 4 off the lead.

Tiger grinded hard to make the cut with an even par 72. He was out of position on many occasions, but his misses were in the right spots and his short game was sublime. Due to the delayed start on Thursday, Tiger didn’t complete his first round, and therefore played 23 holes on Friday. This would prove to be pivotal as the limp in his gait became clearly noticeable.

Wyndham Clark ended up with egg all over his face after making some petty and unnecessary remarks regarding LIV players. After posting 1-over 73 on Thursday, Clark was interviewed and chose to take a swipe at LIV players by insinuating that he was not worried about them as they only play 54-hole events. A shame he didn’t appreciate that the Majors should be above the politics of both tours and should have focused on his own game. On Friday, the karma bus hit Clark hard as he shot a 6-over 78 to miss the cut by one shot ☠️⚰️. Interestingly, 8 of 13 LIV players made the cut with one in the lead and another in the top 10.

Round 3 - Saturday

Weather conditions abated on Saturday as the rain totally disappeared and the wind, whilst still a factor, was nowhere near as bad as Friday. So one might have expected the players to post lower scores. Not the case though as the combination of lightning-fast greens (courtesy of the constant winds) and tricky pin placements made for another tough test for the best golfers in the world.

Saturday saw the Tiger train run right off the tracks. After 3 straight pars to start, things fell apart badly for Tiger as he went out in 6-over (42) and finished with a 10-over 82. It was only the 5th time in Tiger’s pro career that he posted a score in the 80s. On multiple occasions, he looked to be in back pain, and fans started to question whether another WD might be on the cards.

Aussie Cam Davis and Danish young gun Nicolai Hojgaard both got a brief sniff of Masters glory, only to crap the bed almost instantly. Davis got within 2 of the lead and then dropped 4 shots in 4 holes, whilst Hojgaard actually took the outright lead following his birdie on 10, which was then followed by 5 straight bogies.

Round 3 was mainly about 4 golfers - Scheffler, DeChambeau, Colin Morikawa and Max Homa. Morikawa had the second lowest round of the day (69) and made a clutch par on 18 to be 1 shot off the lead going into Sunday. Homa was steady all day and avoided any big numbers on the card. His rhythm and quiet confidence positioned him nicely into 3rd. For LIV supporters out there, Bryson’s round looked to be a total disaster following a double on 15 and bogey on 16. However, a hole-out eagle (click below) from the fairway on 18 clawed back 2 unexpected shots for Bryson and he would go into Sunday 4 back.

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Then of course, there was Scheffler. After making an uncharacteristic mistake on 10 (flying the green) which led to double, and backing that up with bogey on 11, Scheffler got into the zone eagling 13 and making birdie on 15. This, along with a further birdie on 18 (which was the 2nd toughest hole) saw Scottie snatch the lead back and take a 1-stroke advantage into Sunday.

Round 4 - Sunday

Masters Sunday arrived with perfect weather and a course that was set up for drama. Tournament officials created the perfect mix of risk/reward for the players by putting the tee boxes and pins in just the right locations. Birdies were out there, but if players missed their spots, they would pay the price.

Morikawa, Homa, and Aberg all had their chances to win on Sunday. Colin was right in the mix on the front 9 until he failed to get out of the greenside bunker on 9 which led to a punishing double bogey. He then backed this up by putting his 2nd into the pond on 11 to end his chances. Homa had been going about his business steadily, only 2 shots back until the infamous 12th hole. This incredible par 3, which is only a 9-iron for the players, claimed another scalp as Homa flew the green and finished in the bushes. He had to take an unplayable and then flubbed his chip resulting also in double bogey.

Aberg, who was unphased by the occasion of playing in his first Major, grabbed a share of the lead following birdies on 7 and 9. He looked most likely to challenge Scottie until one bad swing on 11 resulted in his 2nd shot landing in the drink. Despite this, Aberg surged again with birdies on 13 and 14 to claw back the 2 dropped shots from 11.

But Scheffler would again prove to be too good. His play was mixed early on the front 9 to be 1-over through 7 holes. He then put the foot down with 3 straight birdies on 8, 9 and 10, including an incredible stiffed approach shot on 9 which looked like it was going in for eagle (click below). This really swung the momentum in Scheffler’s favour. Even when Aberg challenged on 13 and 14, Scottie answered with his own birdies on those same holes. A further birdie on 16 was the icing on the cake and paved the way for Scheffler to secure a 4-shot victory and continue his incredible run of form which is being described by some commentators as “Tiger-like”.

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The Masters never ceases to deliver an amazing event. Whilst the Aussies didn’t really contend (Cam Smith best of the Australians at T6, 9-shots back), there was plenty of brilliant golf moments and Amen Corner showed again how it sorts the men from the boys. The biggest disappointment is that we have to wait another 365 days for it to take place again. But now we look forward to the next Major, the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club from 13 to 19 May 2024.

🍴Quick Bites

Here are some quick bites from The Masters for you to snack on:

• USA Ryder Cup Captain and former Masters champ Zach Johnson was accused of chirping “f**k off” to the crowd after they applauded him tapping in for triple bogey on 12.

• Jason Day continues his quest to become the worst dressed player in golf following his apparel partnership with Malbon. One of his vests was so bad, that Augusta National asked him to remove it, to which he respectfully agreed.

• In scenes that were eerily biblical, Bryson DeChambeau took matters into his own hands after pushing his tee shot into the woods on 13. He parted the crowed and then looked to carry the Augusta cross on his shoulders ✝️.

📅 Schedule for the Week

Straight off the back of The Masters, we have another 2 big tournaments this week. The PGAT has another of its Signature Events with the RBC at Hilton Head. Whilst the LPGA has the first women’s Major of the year, The Chevron, to be hosted in Texas. There will be 9 Australians in the field headlined by the likes of Minjee Lee, Hannah Green, Grace Kim and Gabby Ruffels.

Your golfing schedule for the week, and how to watch is below:

• PGAT: RBC Heritage - Harbour Town Golf Links (South Carolina), $20m purse, Friday 19/4 to Monday 22/4 - Coverage on Foxtel & Kayo, Main Coverage starts 5am AEST Friday, Featured Groups from 10.30pm Thursday.

• LIV Golf: no event

• DPWT: no event

• Asian Tour: Saudi Open - Riyadh Golf Club (Saudi Arabia), $1.0m purse, Wednesday 17/4 to Saturday 20/4 - Coverage on Foxtel & Kayo, starts 8.30pm AEST Wednesday.

• LPGA: The Chevron Championship - The Club at Carlton Woods (Texas), $5.2m purse, Friday 19/4 to Monday 22/4 - Coverage on Foxtel & Kayo, starts 12.30am AEST Friday.