Sam Bennett had an incredible debut at Augusta National this week as the reigning U.S. Amateur champion showed he could go toe-to-toe with the best players in the world at the 87th Masters.
The 23-year-old sat in third place after 36 holes — and then showed his moxie by battling through terrible conditions Saturday to remain in the hunt.
The Texas A&M senior closed things out Sunday — ending his third round with a 76, and then shooting 74 over his final 18 to finish at 2-under par, and in a tie for 16th with Shane Lowry and Hideki Matsuyama. He was two shots off a top 12 finish that would have secured an invite to the 2024 Masters.
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“I’m going to need some time when I get back to decompress and really look back and enjoy it,” Bennett said. “I haven’t had kids yet, so that walk up 18 was definitely the coolest experience of my life. And the walk up 12. 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.”
He was five shots off the amateur record of 281 set by Charles R. Coe in 1961, and was a shot of the record for the first 36 holes of 135 set in 1956 by the late Ken Venturi. He was the first amateur to finish in the Top 20 since Ryan Moore was tied for 13th in 2005.
Bennett was emotional as he left the 18th green and was greeted by his mother, Stacy, who proudly followed her youngest of three sons all week.
“It was just, from growing up as a kid watching this tournament to losing my dad to the struggles I’ve faced and still face to be able to walk up that green on 18 on a Sunday, Easter Sunday, and just be appreciative of everything, I thought — I mean, if you had told me I was going to be here when I was a kid, I would have thought you were crazy,” Bennett said. “So to be able to — it’s cool. Playing the Masters on Sunday, that’s what every golfer dreams of. I was just happy to be able to do that.”
Bennett, who is No 6. in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, had his Texas A&M coach, Brian Kortan, on the bag this week — just as he did when he won the U.S. Amateur at at Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey last August, when he beat Georgia Southern’s Ben Carr to win the title.
He had a strong contingent of family and friends on the grounds at Augusta National all week — about 50 in all, and then thousands of other Masters patrons who jumped on the bandwagon to support Bennett — a young player with plenty of confidence and personality to go along with a compelling back story.
His father, Mark, passed away in 2021 after battling early-onset Alzheimer’s. And Bennett is reminded of him every time he stands over a shot — as he has some inspirational words from his dad, “Don’t wait to do something,” tattooed on his left forearm.
He went out and did something special this week in his first Major appearance, and learned a lot from the experience.
“To play in the final group on Saturday or Sunday, whatever, it was incredible, alongside Rahm and Koepka,” Bennett said in the morning after finishing the third round that was halted by inclement weather Saturday. “The patrons have been awesome, cheering me on, telling me to hang in there. They really make me feel welcomed and comfortable out here.”
He was asked if the reality of playing in his first Masters lived up to his expectations.
“That’s a good question. It’s better than it was on TV for sure. Just the people, the property, the hills, the slopes, the scoreboards, I mean, the food. It was everything I could imagine. I really hope to be back,” Bennett said. “You can’t beat the walk up 18. That was good with the crowd cheering me down. And walking up with my coach, who’s helped me out a bunch. And then walking off the green to my brother and my mom, that was a really cool moment for us.”
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Sam Bennett’s Masters thrill ride ends one shot short of top 12
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