Fifth-year Sam Bennett might not have been the favorite to win the 87th Masters on Thursday, April 6, but he left Augusta, Georgia the favorite to everyone who tuned into the annual invitational golf tournament this past weekend.
After winning the 122nd U.S. Amateur, Bennett was invited to compete with the best golfers on the biggest stage the PGA Tour has to offer. This included being paired with last year’s Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and fan-favorite Max Homa for the first two rounds.
Intimidation did not play a factor in this performance as he started the first round with a birdie on hole No. 1 and a chip-in eagle on hole No. 2 to place him 3-under-par on the first two holes.
The 23-year-old Texas A&M graduate finished the first two rounds with a pair of 68s and 8-under-par. This placed him second on the leaderboard in front of the best golfers in the world. Notably Sam Burns and Corey Conners, who won two of the last three PGA Tour tournaments.
Bennett spoke openly about what drove him throughout the Masters with a tattoo on his left wrist serving as a constant reminder. On June 8, 2021, Bennett’s father, Dr. Mark Bennett, died after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease and left him with advice that the young golfer will remember for a lifetime. “Don’t wait to do something,” is what he told his son.
“To me, it just means don’t be scared in anything you do,” Bennett said.
Less than two years later, Bennett had the opportunity to put his father’s advice into practice on the world’s biggest stage.
“From growing up as a kid watching this tournament, to losing my dad, to the struggles I’ve faced and still face, to being able to walk up that green on 18 on a Sunday, Easter Sunday and just be appreciative of everything,” Bennett said. “If you had told me I was going to be here when I was a kid, I would have thought you were crazy.”
His performance on Day 1 and Day 2 rewarded him in a threesome among the top-three golfers from the leaderboard. Among Bennett was Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm, who eventually took the reins and was rewarded with the green jacket at the end of the invitational.
His momentum in the first two rounds began to fade away along with the blue Georgia skies as a brutal storm came in and affected the performance of numerous golfers. Bennett was unable to finish the third round on Saturday as they delayed the tournament to Sunday, along with the fourth and final round of the Masters.
Bennett was forced to play 30 holes on Sunday, 12 holes to finish the third round and 18 in the final, to finish out his impressive weekend. Unfortunately, he finished the third round with a score of 76 and the final round with a score of 74.
Bennett spoke on the fatigue he faced given the circumstances of the weather.
“I was tired this weekend,” Bennett said. “I think that’s what it was. My body wasn’t moving how it should be. That’s why I had the driver slotted the first two rounds, and then my legs kind of gave out. I wasn’t turning and started missing them left.”
Bennett ended the tournament with a final score of 2-under-par and was rewarded with the Silver Cup for Low Amateur. His 16th place finish was also the highest among amateurs since Ryan Moore’s performance in 2005.
When he finished his final shot on hole No. 18 at the Masters, fans and past Masters winners stood up and applauded the young Aggie’s performance. Leaving him in tears and a feeling of accomplishment as he walked off the green Augusta National Golf Club grass to end this remarkable performance.
“I’m going to need some time when I get back to decompress and really look back and enjoy it,” Bennett said, the only Amateur to make the cut. “I didn’t play how I wanted to this weekend, but this experience playing the weekend at Augusta is definitely going to help me be the golfer I want to be. And to be able to play the Sunday pins was just incredible.”