2026 Masters

Could Rory go back to back?

Well, he sure dominated the shit out of the first two days at Augusta, holding the largest lead ever after the 2nd round. He was nothing special on day three, still in the lead but with the peloton coming in his rearview. On Sunday, Rory (like last year) fumbled early and the lead was gone almost instantly; but (like last year) he settled in and played a competent, if rather vanilla front 9.  He was back to the top of the totem pole fairly quickly and even though there were nips at his heels, he clamped down on the back 9 (unlike last year, when he stumbled badly across the midway point, only to rally into a playoff). There was action all day Sunday, plenty to keep an eye on, but looking back on it, Rory was pretty comfortable for the last 2 hours of this match. 

Rory did indeed dominate Thursday and Friday, I think it's notable that none of the dudes that spent on time on the leaderboard with Rory, managed to catch on Saturday or Sunday. Burns and Reed hung around and finished well, but don't remember either of them on Sunday. 

Sunday was Scheffler, Rose, Young, Hatton, Henley, Morakawa, Schauffle and Spieth.  

Scottie Scheffler was pretty good on Thursday, not so good on Friday and then killed it Saturday and Sunday to end up in 2nd (though I don't recall him ever in first at any point). Felt like Scheffler wasn't up for it this year, but that's just how damn good he is that this looked like he was sucking. This dude is one of the all time great ballers I've ever seen, he's as cool and ready to win and play to the end m'f'ers I've ever seen. Feels weird to anoint him this quickly and I'm by no means some huge golf guy, but I've been watching it since I was a kid, I've seen all the golfers. Tiger was the flat out most winningest dude I ever saw and though Scheffler isn't quite the unstoppable robot that prime Tiger was, but he also doesn't malfunction the way Tiger would from time to time. He's going to end up with a ton of top 5 finishes at Majors, I'm guessing.

Justin Rose was steady good all the way through, killed in on the front 9 on Sunday, then bogeyed 11 and 12 and it zapped him, he just wasn't the same down the stretch. Had a hell of a tournament, he was good all four days, just needed to be a little better at the end, he might've stolen himself a jacket. 

I don't even know who Cam Young is, but he was pretty fascinating on Sunday, some crazy ups and downs for that guy.  

Tyrell Hatton was up and down: great on Friday and Sunday, mediocre on Thursday and Saturday. He hit some great shots, all good on Sunday, just couldn't catch Rory's lead. 

Russell Henley went nuts on Saturday and Sunday, never got high enough up the leaderboard to catch my eye, he was a late riser. Good finish. 

Morakawa, Schauffle and Spieth were sneaky fun to watch on Sunday, nice highlights.  

I like Rory, I'm not enough of a golf nerd to really get into the weeds of the fanboy subcultures around these players (punk rock had rabbit holes, I'm sure the PGA Tour does, too), but Rory seems like an okay joe to me. Hell of a shooter in his youth, wandered in the wilderness for a bit and is now firmly back at the top of the mountain. Joins Nicklaus, Faldo, and Tiger as the only back to back winners at the Masters. Good for him, he deserves to be remembered with the all-timers. 

2025 Masters

The Rory-coaster!

On Thursday, Justin Rose came out with a -7 and it felt like this was going to be a high (er, well, low) scoring Masters. The weather was set to be beautiful, the greens looked fast, felt like everyone was hitting the fairway and was gonna be getting birdies.  Scottie Scheffler and Ludvig Aberg (-4) were hovering but I had my eye on Bryson De Chambeau (-3) as one who looked ready to take off.

On Friday, Rose kinda faded (a piddly -1 for the day), but it felt like bad luck, I didn't give up on him.  Rory McIlroy (-6) was the man of the day and De Chambeau pitched in another -4. Xander Schauffle went -3 and (simply because he's the best in the world right now) felt like he was in the mix.  

On Saturday, Rory shot another -6 and took the commanding lead at -12. Rory has had his meltdowns at Augusta before, but this was the last one he needed to complete the career gand slam and everyone was waiting for either triumph and agony (*popcorn go munch*). De Chambeau had another -3, the only person to shoot under 70 on each of the first three days, quietly playing some damn good golf, it was set up for Bryson to be Rory's real competition.  Aberg bounced back from a disappointing Friday to finish the day at -6. Rose had a disappointing +2, but he was still in the pelaton. Patrick Reed quietly climbed the leader board, and like De Chambeau, playing solid. 

Coming into Sunday: Rory (-12), De Chambeau (-10), Reed, Rose, Lowry (-6), Scheffler, Day, Aberg (-5)

Obviously it was set up for De Chambeau to be the one to make the most of any mistakes Rory laid down. The rest of the pack felt too far behind, I thought Rose, Scheffler and Aberg would linger and maybe get a chance if a catrastrophe broke out, but I didn't have much faith in Reed, Lowry or Day.  

Rory blew it on the first hole! In Tyson-level quickness, De Chambeau has the lead and everyone senses the sky has already fallen. But, not me! I thought that Rory had made his mistake, gotten the yips out of his system and would cruise for the rest of the day. Sure enough, De Chambeau soon faltered, Rory took the lead back and was untouched for the next 10 or so holes. 

Then Rose made a run, Rory stumbled. Rory had a chance to win it on 18 but the putt just slid over the hole and everyone felt the nightmare was real as the two finished tied. But Rory birded the first OT hole and took it and the audience was relieved. The back-9 was riveting throughout: at first because it felt like Rory was going to master the Masters and then because it felt like Rose was gonna steal it. 

I was surprised how bad De Chambeau was--he was not the one I thought would totally yank it on Sunday. 

Reed quietly had a nice tournament (-9, 3rd place), Scheffler (-8, 4th place), too, didn't make a lot of noise but he was hanging around the whole time. 

And as can only happen at the Masters, Sungjae Im, killed it on Sunday, ending up finishing 5th and I don't recall watching him even for a second, not a single highlight. 

I love the Masters and this was the best in a while. I love watching dudes dominate and I love watching a demolition derby on Sunday, either way works for me. This was a mix of both: Rory and Rose killed it and yet neither were strong enough to hold back the uncertainty. A good one. 

2024 Masters

(-11) Scottie Scheffler, (-7) Ludvig Aberg, (-4) Tommy Fleetwood, Max Homa, Colin Morikawa

I watched a lot of Masters but by Saturday the field was pretty small and by Sunday it was pretty much just Scheffler watching Aberg, Homa, Morikawa and DeChambeau (-3 after 3 holes, +1 for the rest of the tourney) self-destruct around him and that was that. The only real tension was that Scheffler announced beforehand that if his any-minute-now-expecting wife called to tell him she was in labor, he was bailing at a moment's notice. Well, good for him the baby waited, now he's got another green jacket.  

Felt like no one was putting well on the first coupla days, a lot of lipping out or coming up just short, no one ever seemed to get a feel for the greens. Tiger made the cut...but was pretty awful on Saturday and Sunday. Mickelson and Singh hung around but never challenged the pack. DeChambeau had a moment where it felt like he was gonna hang, Max Homa looked good (til Sunday).  

I was intending to find a wider highlight package but Scheffler kinda dusted the field on Sunday, so just as well it's all him. Dominance is one thing but this Masters felt kinda anti-climactic and Scheffler made it his own.  

2023 Masters

The Masters hit me kinda sideways this year. I watched a ton of golf on Thursday and on Friday (til it got rained out). But I missed most of Saturday, where they finished the 2nd round but couldn't finish the 3rd. And on Sunday I road tripped with a friend thinking that they wouldn't finish and I'd be able to dedicate my Monday to leftover Masters action. Well, no. Turns out the weather was accomodating and they blasted through the 3rd round in the morning, setting up a traditional Sunday Masters.  

Jon Rahm outlasting Brooks Koepka was not a shock, those two were set up for a rousing finish and feels like Koepka didn't have it in him.  Koepka was able to breeze through the 2nd round on Friday before the rains came, leaving everyone else to scramble while he played a pretty ordinary set. 

All I really noticed this year: no one putted well. No one. Guess Rahm and Koepka and Mickelson did better than most but there were virtually none of those killer way-downtown putts that fills out the highlights every year. 

Here's Rahm's Sunday, a little lacking on context, but still a champion performance. 

Rahm was the man, Koepka was the only one that could've made a move on him. And the fact that Rahm outlasted him feels like a perfectly scripted Masters. 

2022 Masters

Scottie Scheffler -10, Rory McIlroy -7, Shane Lowry/Cam Smith -5, Collin Morikawa -4

Thursday was kinda easy-going, everyone was watching Tiger and no one really stood out on day #1. Then on Friday, just as I thinking to myself, 'Well, no one is gonna run away with it this year', that was right about the time that Scheffler went hognutty on the back nine and took a stranglehold on the lead for the rest of the weekend. A hell of a performance: while everyone else was figuring out the wind and the greens, Scheffler was just making plays. 

Saturday was all about wind and the tightness around the holes (man, can't remember so many near-miss putts that just skittered over the hole). Scheffler was able to withstand the elements, hold his big lead and that was exactly the right play. Going into Sunday, everyone was gonna need Scheffler to seriously falter to have a shot at a win, but a top-5 finish was on the table for a lot of dudes. Turned out to be McIlroy going -8 on the final day to streak up the board (though at no point was he a real threat to Scheffler). 

Two holes on Sunday made the difference. On #3, Scheffler and Smith both yanked the ball into the woods, then both just missed catching the green and rolled back down the hill right next to each other. Scheffler chipped in for bird, Smith two-putted for bogey. That was a major tone-setter early on.

Then on #12, Smith (like so many before him) went for the big play on Amen Corner, went in the drink, dropped a +3 and that was it for Smith. Game effort, for the most part Smith hung with Scheffler but couldn't make the big move on the back nine. I was impressed with Smith almost as Scheffler, I expect both of those dudes to have monstrous seasons.

The big story (sorry, Scheffler) was the return of Tiger Woods. He played damn good on Thursday, kinda sucked on Friday, was not bad on Saturday and then kinda sucked again on Sunday. He was clearly laboring, but it was impressive the way he gutted out a tough set. He wanted to play four rounds and he did it and the audience loved every second of his performance. He limped a lot, dipped his shoulder on his drive and never looked dangerous to win anything, but he's gonna slip right into the Arnie/Jack fan favorite role that Golf features so prominently. (So....Tiger will just be playing the Majors from now on, right?)

Another element overshadowing Scheffler's coming out party was a load of really good highlights. This one was my fave of the final round, McIlroy and Morikawa both chipping for birds on the 18th.

I love the Masters, pretty much the only golf I watch all year, the way it nestles between March Madness and the NBA playoffs is perfect early spring comfort food. Some might be disappointed that Scheffler so firmly clamped down this touney, but I don't mind a dominant performance--dude was awesome! Ice cold, knocking down shots, recovered from mistakes very well, Scheffler did it all, a great performance. 

2021 Masters

I'm really not much of a golf guy, I've got enough sports going on. But I love the Masters and I like really digging into it the way I just dug into the NCAA tourney. Something about springtime makes me want to appreciate nature from indoors. On Thursday and Friday I watched ESPN+ for holes 4,5,6 and then 15,16. It's an interesting way to watch, to perch at a coupla holes and watch everybody that passes through rather than following a specific group or getting random highlights from around the whole course. On Saturday and Sunday, I mostly watched the CBS coverage (seeing new holes was liked I unlocked the next level of the game!), but I'd go back to the ESPN+ from time to time. 

On Thursday, Justin Rose killed it on the back nine, jumped out to the early -7 lead. He had the best Thursday and he rode that to a top-10 finish. Nice work.

Hideki Matsuyama (*spoiler alert* the dude that won) was there at (-3), as was Will Zalatoris (-2) just behind him. I don't watch much golf, gotta admit, I didn't know either of these dudes. But they were both better on Saturday than Friday and that's why they were both still in it on Sunday. 

On Friday, Zalatoris was really good again, Tony Finau made a run, and Justin Rose just kinda hung around. Matsuyama was under par but didn't really shine out. Bubba Watson and Tommy Fleetwood were the two that I felt might make a run but neither of them ever really got into the mix.  

Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlory, and Patrick Cantlay were some of the heavier hitters that didn't make the cut. Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau made the cut but never really felt like they were gonna make a run. 

On Saturday, there was a rain delay of a coupla hours in the middle of the afternoon. The early golfers had already finished, so this mostly just hit the top of the table guys. After the delay, Matusyama went nuts on the back nine. Something about the rain changed up those greens and he was murdering his approach shots, sticking 'em on the green like Eastern European gymnasts. It was on the back nine on Saturday where he ran off left everybody. 

Schauffele was good, too, on Saturday, not as good as Matsuyama but pretty much, along with Zalatoris, the only one that had a shot at catching up with Matsuyama. 

Worst final round: Francesco Molinari. Ahhh, man, got off to a bad start and just looked like he wanted to be just about anywhere but playing golf on this day. He was rough to watch. 

On Sunday, I gotta admit: I didn't think Matsuyama would hold up. I thought, like Justin Rose on Thursday, he just got hot at the right time and he wouldn't be able to hold it. In my defense, he did go +1 for the day and when he bogeyed the 1st hole, I thought the collapse was coming. But he righted the ship and shot quite well, extending his lead for a while, and even his bogey on the 18th was pure defense, the smart play to use the cushion to avoid a bigger mistake. He really clamped down on Sunday and it was an impressive win. I didn't think he was gonna do it and he flat the fuck out did. 

Unfortunately, Matsuyama dominated so well that the only real moment of drama on Sunday was Xander Schauffele going in the drink on 16. At -10 he was really the only one that had a shot at catching Matsuyama and he had to make a big play at 16. Hey, man, ESPN+ showed me all week long that 16 was murdering people and I figured Matsuyama would play it safe, maybe even give up a stroke. Schauffele thought he had a chance to make up ground and he went for it...and it did not work. He rolled off into the water (a recurring image of the 2021 Masters) and his +3 on 16 knocked him out of the running. 

I was really impressed with Will Zalatoris, a dude I had never heard of before. That guy was in it to win it all the way and I respected that. He was kinda up and down, especially down the stretch but he hit some big shots, thought he acquitted himself admirably. Jon Rahm went hog nutty on Sunday, shooting -6 after going E in each of the first three rounds (a kinda strange accomplishment); he had the newborn kid thing going, maybe it kept him cautious during the week allowing him to rip it on Sunday. Good stuff! It got him a top 5 finish when I otherwise didn't much notice him. Jordan Spieth tied for 3rd....uh, I don't remember even seeing him once throughout the whole thing (how does that happen?).  

Phil Mickelson was fun to watch throughout, not like he was gonna turn up on Sunday but he had a coupla nice runs in him on Friday and Saturday. And I dug seeing Fred Couples, Jose Maria Olazabal ("a delightful man" the ESPN+ commentators pointed out...about 100 hundred times in the two minutes he was on screen) and Bernhard Langer, dudes that were around when I was a kid.

Felt like more of a crowd than I've seen on TV in a while, and that's encouraging.