Thursday at Augusta brought us sunny skies and summer weather. Friday and Saturday saw a deluge of rain that even the sub-air systems beneath the pristine greens could not defend. And lastly, Sunday saw the return of the spring weather we’ve all come to know and love in Augusta, GA.
And after 30ish holes, as the sun set on Seve Ballesteros’ birthday, we saw a fitting champion crowned at the 2023 playing of The Masters. Jon Rahm battled against rain, wind, and the once (still?) mighty Brooks Koepka. And when the final putt dropped, Rahm won by 4 shots despite a FOUR putt on his opening hole, a mere 71 holes and 3 days prior.
Rahm’s caddie/Augusta number this year? 49. The date he won this year? 4/9. The birthday of the greatest Spanish golfer of all time? 4/9. It’s been coming for Rahm — this win felt more like the heir rightfully ascending to his throne, rather than a shock. Rahm has arguably been the most consistent golfer on the planet over the last few years. Really has no weakness in his game. It was only a matter of time. Now, he has two major title on his resume with three more to be played this year. And I wouldn’t count him out in any of those.
We saw an (unfortunately) great showing from the shiny LIV stars at Augusta this week. Despite Brooks faltering on Sunday, we saw a Sunday 65(!!!) from Phil to finish T2 with his LIV compatriot Koepka. Everyone’s favorite cheater, Patty Reed, finished T4. But alas, that was it from the LIV lads — their crowned jewels Cam Smith and DJ both showed zero signs of life. Brooks did what Brooks did so well from 2017-2019. Fairly boring golf at times but man when he’s on, not many can beat him. But the inevitable “54 hole” jokes will be haunting Brooks for some time after he held the 54-hole lead going into Sunday only to choke down the stretch. Is major-championship Brooks Koepka back? Maybe. Three more majors this year to decide that. But if he is, I would not be shocked at all to see him at the top of the leaderboard when those tournaments come around.
Given their history and success at Augusta, it’s not super shocking to see PReed, Brooks and Phil play well there but I think everyone was shocked to see just *how* well they played given their severe lack of true competitive reps. The majors will continue to see the best golfers compete against each other, but man it’s a bummer we don’t get to see these kind of leaderboards week in and week out. But that is a much longer conversation for another time.
The biggest bummers, though, had to come via Rory and JT who both missed a cut that really wasn’t that hard to make. I’d vouch for Rory to even skip a year or two at Augusta — he knows it’s *the one* and just gets way too in his head about it. JT’s missed cut allowed Tiger to make the cut on the number, which then meant he had to go out and play in miserable conditions. He WD’d before Sunday’s round. Alas, I really don’t know how many more weekend roars at Augusta we’ll see following Tiger around anymore. His time is certainly limited, and that is depressing to think about.
Outside of the obvious bright spot of Rahm, I’d argue that Sam Bennett’s time at Augusta was the best story of the week. We seldom see amateurs make the cut, let alone be top 5 going into the weekend at the biggest major of the year. His swashbuckling style of play, his INSANE club twirls and incredible backstory makes the kid easy to root for. If he can clean up his slow play issues just a touch, he’ll have a bright future with a LOT of people rooting for him once he turns pro. Another happy ending is the continued resurgence of Jason Day — former World #1 but was down on his luck for a few years after back issues and a bout with vertigo. Happy to see him out playing well again!
Lastly…Spieth. Man there just aren’t enough words to say about this dude, but simultaneously we all know what to expect. One of the greatest artists of the game, there is no shot he *can’t* hit but he doesn’t always hit the one he *should.* A third round 76 put him out of contention but a Sunday 66 with 3 bogeys(!!!!!) put him right back near the top of the leaderboard. As always with Jordy, it’s what could have been as opposed to what is. But that won’t stop me from putting my entire hope and mental well being invested in his day to day game.