Amateurs have made some memorable runs at the Masters.
Amateurs have always been a major part of the Masters.
From the Amateur Dinner to the Crow’s Nest and Silver Cup, amateurs at the Masters are a focal point of the week at Augusta National Golf Club. They have made some memorable runs throughout the history of the event, including Sam Bennett in 2023, eventually finishing T-14.
Although an amateur has never won the Masters, 11 have finished inside the top 10, including three runner-up finishes. The best finish this century was Ryan Moore is 2005 at T-11 and Casey Wittenberg in 2004 at T-13.
Peter Malnati qualified for his first Masters and is sharing a first-person account of his experience with Golfweek.
Editor’s Note: Peter Malnati qualified for his first Masters by winning the Valspar Championship last month. The 36-year-old veteran hadn’t won in nearly nine years on the PGA Tour. He’s sharing a first-person account of his experience daily only at Golfweek.com.
After all these years, I had so many expectations and had heard so much about Augusta National that it seemed like one of those situations where it could only be a letdown because I was so incredibly excited. Well, guess what? It wasn’t a letdown.
On Saturday, we got to our rental house for the next nine nights and settled in a bit. I looked at my wife and I said, “You want to go on a date with me? Let’s go drive down Magnolia Lane.”
That afternoon, we drove to the course and at first, we drove in the wrong gate. I’m not sure what gate it was supposed to be but it definitely wasn’t Magnolia Lane.
Hopefully that’s my only bogey of the week. We drove down a few more gates before we found the right entrance. I don’t know if the security team has the reputation of being knowledgeable golf fans, but they all recognized me. That’s never happened to me before so that was pretty special. They congratulated me on my win and welcomed me to Augusta National. Alicia and I got to have that moment where we drove Magnolia Lane together.
I got registered and checked out the practice area and gym but during that first visit I didn’t so much as see the first tee or the ninth hole.
On Sunday, the real fun began. I got to take in the Drive, Chip and Putt from a distance and worked out and after a quick warmup on the range, I teed off around 10:30 am. There’s quite a bit of play on Sunday but I felt like I had the course to myself. It was just me, my caddie and my longtime coach. I played all 18 holes. There’s a lot of courses that you play that are beautiful to look at but not that interesting to play; then there are the opposite that are incredibly interesting to play but don’t have that wow factor. Augusta National in tournament conditions was one of the most beautiful golf courses I’ve ever seen and at the same time one of the most interesting golf courses to play. It seemed like every shot had something to think about.
Probably my favorite moment of my first time around the course was after my tee shot on No. 11. Walking down the hill, you get to the landing area of the tee shot and you get far enough out there over the hill to see the 11th green, No. 12 and the azaleas hidden back toward 13 tee, the bend in the fairway on 13. It was a Wow moment – I’m here at this spot that I’ve watched since I was a kid on TV and I’d never seen it in person. When you did, it’s more than you could ever imagine. It’s surprising just how beautiful it is in person. You knew the azaleas were going to be there, you knew the conditioning was going to be nice but it really is a beautiful property.
Peter Malnati hits his shot from a bunker on the second hole during a practice round prior to the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
I told everyone my goal was to get all my awe out of the way on Sunday so I could just go to work starting on Monday. I think I did that to a large degree. It’s still incredibly cool to be at a place you’ve dreamed of being and being here for the first time. I’m still enjoying that and taking it in.
On Monday, I played the front nine by myself. That’s usually my most productive practice. Seeing that it is a course where experience is said to be invaluable, I’m open to the idea of playing the course with somebody who has had success here and been here many times but I really love the peacefulness of being out there by myself.
That’s kind of my plan. I haven’t set up a practice round with anybody yet. For now, I plan to play nine holes the next couple of days and learn my way around this course and have an incredible first Masters.
As one early visitor to Map & Flag said, “They have yet to miss.”
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Map & Flag, Augusta’s newest high-end hospitality venue, is open for business and the early reviews are positive.
“It’s Augusta. They did it perfect,” said a golf industry veteran who hosts clients at the Masters every year. “First year deal, you’d think there would be issues but, no, it works and my people love it.”
Map & Flag is the first and only official Masters hospitality experience outside the gates of Augusta National Golf Club. Located on the corner of Berckmans and Washington Road, it is a seven-minute walk to access the club’s North Gate. Sports Business Journal previously reported that weekly passes cost $17,000 each and includes access to the hospitality venue as well as a tournament badge. The venue opens daily at 6:30 am ET for valet, shuttle drop-offs and breakfast services and closes one hour following conclusion of play.
Berckmans Place, which debuted in 2013 as the ultimate golden ticket, is tucked in an oasis behind the fifth fairway at Augusta National and is a modernized version of the famed white antebellum clubhouse. One patron, who has been to Berckmans previously and visited Map & Flag on Monday, described the difference as the latter being “a more chill vibe with less important people.” Another industry veteran who had been to both said they are meant to be different and described Map & Flag as a giant sports bar that is “simple and elegant.”
It is built on the grounds of Augusta’s former Electrolux building, which was 26,000 square feet. This year, only the hospitality zone’s first floor is open but a second floor is expected to be completed for next year.
This is how the Masters website describes the new venue: “Featuring a merchandise shop, inclusive food and beverage with chef-inspired food concepts, an outdoor garden and more, Map & Flag offers guests a premium patron experience to enjoy all the action of the Tournament with a level of service only found at the Masters.” Tips are included, too. The website also notes that tickets sold out this year, but there is a form to apply for tickets for 2025.
For years, unauthorized hospitality venues, typically located just outside the gates, have filled a need with corporate sponsors looking for tickets and a place to tend to their guests. The creation of Map & Flag surely is going to impact the secondary market. According to one source, the clientele that typically purchases off-site hospitality and tickets were among the first to sign up for the Masters-approved off-site hospitality.
“What you get from the Masters is 10 times better than being part of some off-site group that’s not affiliated and using tickets that aren’t theirs,” one Map & Flag user said.
Another user speculated that knowing Augusta National, it wouldn’t surprise them if the club built an underground tunnel to transport patrons to and from the off-site hospitality and the course without having to leave the property.
Time will tell but the early returns suggest Augusta National has hit another home run.
As one early visitor to Map & Flag said, “They have yet to miss.”
The 20 first-timers this year is six off the record set in 2020.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Some veterans have a few tips of advice for 11th-hour Masters Tournament participant Akshay Bhatia and the other 19 golfers making their debut at Augusta National Golf Club this week.
Bhatia won a playoff in the Valeron Texas Open on Sunday night, making him the final entrant in the 88th Masters, which begins on Thursday. The starting field has 89 players.
It’s been such a whirlwind that Bhatia said on Tuesday afternoon that he “really can’t” remember much of what had happened in the previous 24 hours.
Bhatia flew into Augusta after his victory in San Antonio, arriving at 1:30 a.m. He made it to Augusta National by 2 p.m., did a news conference at 4 p.m. and then decided to “take it easy. This is seven weeks in a row for me, so it’s a lot of golf, but I also have a ton of adrenaline so it kind of balances out.”
Because of a recurrent shoulder problem that he fought through to win Sunday, Bhatia doesn’t know how much practice he’ll get in on Tuesday. He said he wants to play in the Par 3 Contest on Wednesday.
Keegan Bradley, who is playing in his eighth Masters, hopes the rookies take in the whole experience as much as they can. He wishes he had in during his 2012 debut.
“I was a nervous wreck,” he said. “You can miss the accomplishment in your career to get out here. I think you got to take a second is and enjoy being here. I wish I took a little more time to look around and see where I was and how far I had come in my career to be teeing it up in the Masters. I would really take the time to really enjoy and look around. It’s such a stressful week, especially the first one.”
Augusta resident Luke List is playing in his third Masters. His first, in 2005, was as an amateur. When he returned as a pro in 2020, he followed the same strategy he had on first Masters: Stick to your game plan.
“There will be some bad stuff happening out there and you try not to be too aggressive when that happens,” List said. “Just plod along. And there is some opportunities out here, but also a lot of the holes that will jump up and get you. For me, just trying to stay in my routine and my game plan I guess.”
Flags fly on the scoreboard during a practice round for the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Network)
The 20 first-timers this year is six off the record set in 2020. Heading up this year’s group is current U.S. Open champion Wyndam Clark. He played in September’s Ryder Cup for the U.S. Also in that event were Masters rookies Ludvig Aberg and Nicolai Hojgaard.
Nine of the rookies punched their ticket with PGA Tour victories, with Lee Hodges, in the 3M Open in last July, being the lone entry from the 2023 Masters in April to the end of the year.
After that, they came fast and furious early in 2024 and then in the runup to the Masters. There were three winners in January, two in February, two in March and one in April.
In fact, the last three tournaments have seen the winner earn a Masters invitation – Peter Malnati at Valspar, Stephan Jaeger in the Houston Open and Bhatia.
“Just to be standing here, it’s amazing, and just having the opportunity, the members giving us the opportunity to play their golf course is certainly special, and I can’t wait to be on that first tee on Thursday,” Bhatia said.
In addition to Bhatia, Clark, Aberg, Hojgaard, Malnati and Jaeger, the other Masters rookies are pros Eric Cole, Nick Dunlap, Austin Eckroat, Ryo Hisatsune, Lee Hodges, Jake Knapp, Denny McCarthy, Grayson Murray, Matthieu Pavon and Adam Schenk.
After rough weather the last two years, a dry forecast could bode well for the 2021 Masters champion.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — No stranger to Augusta National, Hideki Matsuyama will make his 13th start at the 2024 Masters this week with the seventh best odds to win, tied with Joaquin Niemann and behind Xander Schauffele, two players who have never won a major, let alone the Masters.
Have the oddsmakers been paying attention to the 2021 Masters champion this season? Matsuyama has yet to miss a cut this season and is riding a wave of momentum down Magnolia Lane that hasn’t died out since his victory in February at the Genesis Invitational. After earning his ninth win on the PGA Tour, the 32-year-old has logged finishes of T-12 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, T-6 at the Players Championship and T-7 at last week’s Valero Texas Open.
“You always like to peak for this week. Up until 2021 I always took the week off before the Masters, but now since then I’ve played the week before,” Matsuyama said through an interpreter of his change in preparation for the first men’s major championship of the season. “It’s been able to get me into tournament shape. But then, on other hand, too, you get tired from playing two in a row. So I’m still searching for that perfect preparation method.”
Hideki Matsuyama hits out of a bunker at the practice facility during a practice round for the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo: Katie Goodale-USA TODAY Network)
He may still be searching for perfection, but he certainly isn’t far off. A back-to-back Asia-Pacific Amateur champion in 2010 and 2011, Matsuyama was the low amateur at the 2011 Masters and has missed the cut just once back in 2014. His worst made-cut performance of T-54 came all the way back in 2014, and he boasts an average finish of 16th.
“Winning the Asian Amateur twice and being invited to the Masters tournament was really life-changing. I always wanted to play here in the Masters. I watched it on TV a lot,” said Matsuyama. “I’m grateful to the members of Augusta National Golf Club for what they have done, not only for me, but for golf in Asia. It’s been quite rewarding. Then to be able to win this tournament was a thrill beyond thrills.”
“Since coming here 13 years ago as a rookie, it was really a long learning process on playing the course and how the course should be played here at Augusta National,” he added. “It’s been a wonderful experience, and I’ve learned a lot. Luckily, I was able to win and now preparing to hopefully get back into the winner’s circle here and another Green Jacket.”
Players have faced cold, soggy conditions in the last two Masters, but this year – knock on wood – the weather forecast looks relatively clean for the week aside from some showers on Thursday. That means a firm and fast Augusta National could return, which plays in Matsuyama’s favor.
“If the course is playing hard and fast, it’s more difficult. Winning score is usually lower – not lower, but higher. When it’s wet, I mean, it can go to 20-under,” he explained. “I like both, but if it goes to 20-under, my chances are – get slimmer. So, I would like a more, tougher setup where it plays dryer, fast and hard. I think I have a better chance when it’s playing that way.”
“They should lengthen it by at least 10 yards,” says 2000 Masters champ Vijay Singh.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Here’s a course change idea you don’t hear thrown around at Augusta National Golf Club very often: The iconic par-3 12th hole for the Masters Tournament should be lengthened because it’s become too easy.
Yet that’s exactly what 2000 tournament champion Vijay Singh would like to see happen to the 155-yard hole.
“We used to hit 7-irons and 6-irons and then it started going to 7-irons and 8-irons and it’s gone from 8-irons to 9-irons and the guys are hitting wedges now,” said Singh, who is playing in his 31st Masters. “They should lengthen it by at least 10 yards. I think it should go to at least 170. I think it would be a much more challenging hole if people were hitting a 6-iron or a 7-iron instead of a 9-iron or wedge.
Singh might be on to something.
Starting in 2018, the stroke average on No. 12 has gone down every year with the exception of 2022, when it was 3.233. Last year, it was 3.058 with 49 birdies, 47 bogeys and nine double bogeys or higher.
“It used to be a hole that you go to and everybody used to worry about it, distance-wise, to get the correct distance,” Singh said. “But now it’s ‘hit a 9-iron to the middle of the green.’”
Asked if he thought the club would ever lengthen it, Singh said “I hope so.”
Ben Crenshaw, who is almost as famous for his golf course architecture work as his two Masters titles, was asked what he thought of Singh’s idea.
“Ten yards? Actually, it’s not a bad idea,” said Crenshaw, who is retired from the Masters.
Luke List and Keegan Bradley are among Masters participants who believe it would be a bad idea. A real bad idea.
In fact, List laughed when he was told Singh wants to lengthen the hole.
“I’ll go on the record that I disagree with that,” List said. “It’s fun to have short par-3s, especially ones that are difficult. The wind is swirling there always. Guys are going to make 2s but you’re going see enough 5s. Does it need to be a 7- or 6-iron? I don’t think so.”
Bradley calls it a “perfect hole” that doesn’t need to be lengthened.
“I don’t agree with that,” Bradley said. “I just love that hole. It’s iconic. I wouldn’t do that. It’s tough, it’s tricky. If you hit a good shot you’ll have a good look at birdie. I think if you go a little farther (back with the tee) it could go a little weird.”
If it were to happen one day, it might be the most controversial course change in the history the course, of which there have been many, especially since nearly 300 yards were added in 2002.That trend has continued as the club tries to keep up with improved golf equipment technology and better-trained athletes. Twelve yards were added to the par-5 second hole this year, bringing the course yardage to 7,555 yards. It was 6,985 yards in 2001.
The 12th hole is considered the most famous hole at the Masters – and among the greatest par 3s anywhere for various reasons, from its beauty and the unpredictable swirling winds in Amen Corner that pay havoc with club selection.
That’s probably why at 155 yards, it is the only hole on the course whose yardage has not changed since the first Masters in 1934.
“That’s cool,” Bradley said.
Will Zalatoris and Tiger Woods walk to the No. 12 green during a practice round for the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Network)
Another par-3, the sixth hole, has had its yardage changed slightly. It was 185 in 1939, the first time Augusta National published hole yardages. It went to 190 yards in 1950 and has been at 180 yards since 1980.
If Singh is right, and the 12th has become too easy, that might explain why there has been little or no drama on that hole in the final round of the past four Masters.
It used to be that everyone stopped what they were doing to see what happened on the 12th hole. But the last time it was a pivotal hole was in 2019 when Francesco Molinari, Books Koepka and Tony Finau, who were battling Tiger Woods for the lead, all three went into the water and made double bogeys. Woods made par and was on his way to his fifth green jacket.
And don’t tell Jordan Spieth that No. 12 is an easy hole. Of course, he made a quadruple bogey 7 on No. 12 in 2016, losing his lead and ended up finishing tied for second place, three shots behind Danny Willett.
There’s no detail too small at the Masters Tournament.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Adlai Stevenson described Richard Nixon as the kind of man who would cut down a tree then mount the stump to deliver a speech on conservation, so one wonders what he’d say of Bryson DeChambeau, one of the arsonists who set golf’s house on fire and who is now complaining that others aren’t moving quickly enough to extinguish the blaze.
At last week’s LIV tournament in Miami, DeChambeau demanded reconciliation in a sport that’s been bitterly divided by things like the now-withdrawn antitrust litigation filed by, um, Bryson DeChambeau. “We can’t keep going this direction,” he said. “It needs to happen fast. It’s not a two-year thing. Like, it needs to happen quicker rather than later just for the good of the sport. Too many people are losing interest.”
One assumes he means people are losing interest in the PGA Tour’s product, unless LIV’s turnstile numbers have plummeted from the hundreds to the tens.
DeChambeau was reacting to similar comments made by Rory McIlroy, who has been attempting to cajole competing interests toward a resolution. “There needs to be a correction,” McIlroy said. “I think what’s happening is not sustainable right now, so something needs to happen to try to bring it all back together so we can all move forward so we don’t have this division that’s sort of ongoing.”
A valid argument can be made that golf would benefit enormously from reunification, that the diffusion of star players between tours is bad for the competitive sport, bad for fans and bad for business. That’s eminently fair. Who has the credibility to make that argument is another matter.
McIlroy does. He’s spent the past few turbulent years advocating for unity, urging his peers to remain under one roof while acknowledging that significant repairs to that roof are necessary. DeChambeau didn’t do that, though. He made a decision to cleave the sport for the sole purpose of personal enrichment, and his new-found enthusiasm for a peace agreement is a shameless effort to have others insulate him from the consequences of that decision.
DeChambeau’s win at the 2020 U.S. Open earned him a 10-year exemption to that major and five years’ worth of free passes to the other three. His eligibility for the Masters, PGA Championship and the Open expires in 2025, so unless he earns a place in the field by other means – or the qualification criteria is rewritten – DeChambeau will be boxed out of three-quarters of the events that matter most. No wonder he insists that reaching a deal is a matter of urgency, that it can’t be a drawn out process for a couple of years. All for the good of the game and the fans, you understand.
From whatever quarter they emanate, pleas for a settlement all cite worrying evidence of an erosion of fan interest. In some instances, that concern is genuine. In others, it’s expedient for people with a lengthy, undistinguished record of prioritizing their personal interests over those of fans or the broader game. The argument for unity is underpinned by an assumption that is both convenient and generous: that fans who have been turned off by money grubbing and entitlement will return if only we can get all the entitled money-grubbers together again under one roof. It’s possible instead that the fire damage caused by the likes of DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson – and those who stayed loyal to the PGA Tour but insisted it too be disfigured by avarice – is irreparable.
It’s going to take time to figure out the future shape of men’s professional golf. Not just in negotiating terms between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, but in the regulatory scrutiny that follows. And that’s before any agreed-upon changes are actually implemented. Even the most optimistic types gathered at Augusta National this week think that a new normal is, at best, a couple of years off. That’s a lot of time and political infighting during which more disaffected consumers can drift away from the product. Yet no single party can wield absolute power over the timetable for finally extinguishing golf’s slow, painful immolation, least of all the guys who struck the match that began it all.
The 88th Masters Tournament is underway with the Monday practice rounds taking place at Augusta National.
A day after his arrival, Tiger Woods was back on the course for an early tee time, this time with Will Zalatoris.
Patrons lined up early, before the gates were even opened, and walked in to Masters Tournament employees handing out free solar eclipse glasses. Masters-themed solar eclipse glasses, that is.
There will be more practice rounds on Tuesday, then it’s the Par 3 Contest on Wednesday, before the first round tees off Thursday morning.
Check out some of our best photos from Monday at Augusta National.
Maggert estimates that “less than 100 people” witnessed the shot.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Jeff Maggert finished above par in every round at the 1994 Masters.
He carded the day’s high score (82) on Saturday, and was 19 over as he walked toward Sunday’s 13th hole.
“I remember it well,” said Maggert, 30 years after the achievement. “I had 222 yards to the pin and thought, ‘I’m not playing this safe. I’m going right at it with a 3-iron.’”
Then, magic happened.
With the flag tucked in its Sunday traditional front-ride corner, Maggert’s ball hopped once, bounced twice, hit the pin and vanished.
“I looked at my caddie (Brian Sullivan) and said, ‘Sully, holy cow, that went in,’” Maggert recalled.
As the first pairing off on Sunday, Maggert estimates that “less than 100 people” witnessed the shot.
There’s no video of the hole-out, but one onlooker was John Cherwa, a reporter with the Los Angeles Times, who wrote: “Maggert stared in disbelief for a second, then raised his arms. He gave his caddie, Brian Sullivan, a high-five and strode up the fairway to several standing ovations from the early arriving crowd.”
Fifty-seven Masters Tournaments were played prior to 1994, and 30 have been conducted since. No one has duplicated Maggert’s albatross on No. 13.
Following the tournament, media members peppered Maggert about what he planned to do with the ball.
“I’ll probably put it on a shelf, so I can keep the kids and dog from it. Maybe it’ll last a while,” he said.
It didn’t.
Maggert was awarded a crystal bowl for the accomplishment and placed the ball inside. Eventually, the pellet was removed.
“You know, when you have kids,” said Maggert, before pausing. “It was probably hacked into the woods.”
In all, only four double-eagles have been struck at the Masters — one at each par 5:
No. 2: Louis Oosthuizen, 2012, final round (4-iron, 253 yards)
No. 8: Bruce Devlin, 1967, first round (4-wood, 248 yards)
No. 13: Jeff Maggert, 1994, final round (3-iron, 222 yards)
No. 15: Gene Sarazen, 1935, final round (4-wood, 235 yards)
“It’s a little surprising that no one else has done it,” Maggert said of his shot at No. 13. “The 13th is the easiest par 5 out there.”
Seven years after his shot at Augusta National, Maggert delivered a second miracle — this time at the 2001 British Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
He’s the only player to have two double-eagles at a major championship.
Photos: Tiger Woods at 2024 Masters at Augusta National
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods is back at Augusta National Golf Club for a third straight day of practice rounds.
In preparation for the 88th Masters Tournament, Woods is sporting his new Sun Day Red logo for the first time at Augusta. Woods and TaylorMade announced the new brand in February after Woods and Nike parted ways in 2023 after a 27-year relationship.
The 48-year-old Woods has competed in just one PGA Tour event this year, withdrawing due to illness during the second round of the Genesis Invitational in February. The Masters will be his second start of the 2024 season.
The early reports from his Monday practice round were good.
“He played great today,” playing partner Will Zalatoris said. “He outdrove me a couple times so there was some chirping going on. So, you know, he looks great. He’s moving as well as he can be. Again, with everything he’s gone through, it’s pretty amazing to see how good he’s swinging it.”
Woods is looking for a record 24th made cut, which would put him alone for the most all-time. He’s currently tied with Fred Couples and Gary Player with 23.
