The Masters: A Spanish Destino

Majors Season is back and as great as ever. The Masters kicked off the start of the majors in true Augusta fashion: anticipation, drama, and triumph. In the weeks leading to The Masters, anticipation and excitement grew as it always does, but this time with an extra layer or two added to the fold. With the first meeting of LIV Golf and PGA Tour players since the drama of last year and with a grim forecast lurking on the horizon, nobody quite knew what to expect of this year’s championship. One thing is for certain, the 2023 Masters Championship is one for the books.

Full of history, twists, and fate, Augusta had all eyes for four days. Before the week began, staff and players were aware that the weekend may bring some unwelcome weather, and boy did it. Thursday’s round gave us the sunny, beautiful Augusta we know and love, but heading towards the weekend the weather took a turn. It brought wind, rain, and cooler temperatures, forcing delays and pushing more golf to be fit into Saturday and Sunday. Players found themselves not only battling each other and the course, but the elements too. Some patrons even found themselves on the brink of disaster, when the winds found the trees off the 17th teeing area, bringing them crashing to the ground on Friday afternoon. Thankfully, no injuries were reported following the incident. As fate would see it though, every year ending in a 3 for the last 60 years has had weather - namely rain - find its way into the championship.

Once you get past all of the weather - though it played its part - you have golf. And the storylines did not fall short this year. Perhaps the most shocking and disappointing to fans around the world was that of fan-favorite Rory McIlroy carding five-over par, leaving him to bow out of the competition with the rest of the players missing the cut. But the memorable and record book moments continued to come throughout the weekend. Finishing up their week in the same boat as Rory, as well as finishing their Masters runs, we saw Masters Champions Sandy Lyle and Larry Mize bid farewell to their time at Augusta on Saturday morning. Not quite finished with his time playing the course, Fred Couples made history as the oldest player to make the cut at the ripe age of 63 years and 187 days. Couples broke the record previously held by Bernhard

Langer at 63 years and 78 days. Finding his way back into yet another record book, Tiger Woods fought his way to three-over par and inside the cut line. Making this cut brought him to 23 consecutive Masters cuts made, which ties the record with Fred Couples and Gary Player. Unfortunately, after playing seven holes of the third round while being battered by the weather and the harrowing scenes of him trying to make it around the course, Woods withdrew from the competition.

Conceivably, the talk of the entire weekend was the performance of amateur Sam Bennett. Firing both first and second round scores of 68, Bennett became the player to hold the second lowest amateur score through 36 holes in Masters history. The weekend rounds proved a tougher for the amateur, but he still managed to finish championship at two-under par and tied for 16th. It was truly a weekend the college student will never forget, being the only amateur to make the cut and getting to play with Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa, and Scottie Scheffler.

Despite all the speculation and anticipation, the LIV Golf players came out swinging. After Kevin Na withdrew from an undisclosed illness after nine holes and leaving viewers speculating, other LIV members came out with something to prove. To the dismay of LIV opposers, LIV golfers proved themselves, with 11 out of 17 players making the cut. Big hitters for the weekend were Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka. Phil went into the final round at one-under par and then proceeded to fire a final round seven-under par (65) to move into second place. Koepka came out guns blazing in rounds one and two, carding seven-under and five- under par, respectively. Sitting in the lead at twelve-under par, it was looking as though it was Brooks’ green jacket to lose. Between the weather and two long days of golf on the weekend, Koepka couldn’t seem to find his rhythm again and subsequently finished tied for second with Mickelson.

At the end of the day, or rather weekend, fate was in the hands of Jon Rahm. The Spaniard remained toe-to-toe with Koepka throughout the weekend with a round one score of seven-under par and round two of three-under par. Both Rahm and Koepka produced third round scores of one-over par, leaving for an exciting final round. Though Rahm fully earned his green jacket with a final round of three-under par, it seems as if it was no coincidence he would bring it home. The stars seemed to align exactly for this outcome. For the past 5 decades, years ending in 3 saw international champions. It feels like no coincidence that for the championship concluding on the date 4/9, Rahm’s order of check in would have his caddie don the bib number 49. Also, it is serendipitous that the 2022 Champion would end his win with a 4-putt and the eventual 2023 Champion would begin his run with a 4-putt. Added to this fate, Sunday, April 9 would have been the birthday of Spanish golf legend Seve Ballestreros. This year also marked the 40th anniversary of Seve’s second Masters victory. It was only fitting that Jon Rahm would end the weekend triumphant and bring Spain its fourth Masters Champion.