There is so, so much to discuss.
Here are 18 thoughts from the grounds of Augusta National.
Five guys in contention hit it in the water.
In 2024 it happened one hole earlier, at 11.
Both Ludvig Aberg and Collin Morikawa backed off their second shots, some uncertainty clearly slipping in.
Then both hit high-loopy draws that the wind took full control of.
They never had a chance.
Both made double bogeys to fall three back.
Then 12 came in for the final punch.
Max Homa wasnt trying to go for the typical Sunday sucker pin on the right.
A double bogey from there took the wind out of his sails.
Scheffler wouldve seen all that play out in front of him.
Up ahead, Aberg had just birdied 14 to get himself back in it.
Scheffler could so easily have laid up.
He is the finest player on the planet.
His last four starts he’s gone WIN/WIN/T2/WIN.
Theres not much more to say at this point.
We knew Ludvig Aberg had all the physical tools.
But how calm was this guy throughout the entirety of Masters Sunday?!
Keep in mind this wasnt just his first Mastersit was his first major championship start ever.
He high-fived fans that lined the walkway.
He got right back on the horse after that double and played beautifully for the rest.
Those Scandinavian players dont get too high or too low.
3.Max Homas quite the deep thinker.
Hes a far cry from the see-ball, hit-ball mentality that Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson employed so successfully.
Hes a big fan of journalinghe writes down affirmations before he plays in the morning.
Reminds himself that hes good enough just how he is.
But its something he said, not wrote, thatll stick with me for a while.
I let myself dream of what could go right."
Those are words to live by, man.
We all spend so much mental energy grinding over the worst-possible scenario.
Its only fair to yourself to consider the other side.
Negativity in life doesnt get you very far.
He allowed himself to dream of what could go right in the majors ahead.
I can kind of simulate shots.
Granted, it’s never quite the same as getting out here and doing it.
Same thing, I heard there’s some changes at the next couple sites.
So got to get up there early and check them out.
Is he going to win those?
But what use is there in only thinking about what can go wrong?
4.Absolutely loved the way the course played this week.
We began hearing murmurs early in the week that this Masters would look different than others of recent vintage.
Justin Thomas was raving about how firm it was…on Monday.
Xander Schauffele said on Tuesday hed seen shots bounce higher in his practice round than ever before.
A relatively dry winter and early spring had Augusta National in a perfect spot.
The only potential buzzkill: a front of rain open Thursday morning that couldve softened the course considerably.
I don’t know if I’ve seen it like this, is how 2011 champion Charl Schwartzel.
The first three rounds did a perfect job identifying who was in control of their ball and who wasnt.
A bunch of very, very good players missed the weekend.
And then Sunday allowed for the back-nine fireworks weve become so accustomed to seeing.
Tom Kim shot 66, a round only possible because the greens were softened.
They watered a lot of the greens.
They were softer and they were easier pins to get to, less wind.
Weve already got a major that kicks guys in the teeth for four consecutive rounds.
This one did it for three, then let the guys show off during winning time.
Thats a great rhythm for a golf tournament.
Time heals all remains the truest of truisms.
Case in point: Bryson DeChambeau.
Four years ago he was the center of attention at every single tournament he entered.
The relationship was somewhere between ice cold and frigid.
Fast forward three years and hes the darling of the press room.
Now 30, he displays a self-awareness he lacked in his beefier days.
He really, really loves making YouTube content.
Its not for everyone but a huge part of life is finding out what works for you.
Whether it’s Instagram, X, or even Snapchat.
I mean, it’s crazy, I’ve gotten a crazy amount of love on Snapchat.
They are loving it that much?
I genuinely believe hes harmlessjust a slightly socially awkward kid whos more Get Z than Millennial.
He finally has a community he feels accepted in.
It wasnt the PGA Tour community, and thats fine.
6.Im not saying caddies dont matter.
They absolutely do…but not really from an xs and os perspective.
Its all about making the player comfortable.
Theyre going to be out there for 5 hours.
Theres a lot of dead time.
You have to like the person walking right next to you.
But beyond that, the yardage books do 90 percent of the work.
And what did Fleetwood do?
He posted his best-ever Masters finish this week with a T3.
So, how did Gray do on the bag?
Just like a wonderful human being.
I’ve loved every second out here with him.
There are countless examples of a player having an awesome week with a different caddie on the bag.
The player hits the golf shots.
The caddies there for vibes.
Moore will take home roughly $75,000 for his efforts.
7.Bryson struggled mightily with his speed on the greens as they grew crispier and crispier on Saturday afternoon.
The reason why is rather interesting.
Augusta National might be the only golf course in the world that has never been measured by laser technology.
(Seems a bit silly, I know).
But not this week at Augusta, and that disrupted Brysons process.
He famously likes to turn golf into as much of a science as possible.
That extends to his putting: he likes to use a clock-like calibration system.
But that becomes exponentially harder if you dont have the luxury of measuring the slopes early in the week.
To his credit, he took full accountability for it.
I’ve got to be able to conquer it.
Nobody else is doing it, and they’re able to putt just fine.
I’ve got to learn.
Just like the greens books.
This is just another step.
The Ryder Cup captaincy giveth (Steve Stricker) and the Ryder Cup captaincy taketh (Zach Johnson).
ZJs stock has fallen quite precipitously in the six months since Rome.
First, his team got stomped.
Keegan Bradley, it seemed, never had a chance because he wasnt one of Zachs boys.
Then he got into it with a fan at the WM Phoenix Open.
And here was his denial.
And once youre on the bad side, its very hard to get back on the good.
9.What a freakin week for Neal Shipley!
The Ohio State grad student is a good but not great college playerhes ranked No.
53 among college seniors in the latest PGA Tour University ranking.
But he got to the final of last years U.S. Golf.com did a nice piece with him starting the week at Waffle House, of all places.
He knows this could be his one and only time.
What a time it was.
Then he went out and beat Tiger by five shots.
A diminished Tiger, for sure, but still.
You know, today being out there with Tiger, we were chatting.
We talked a lot about just golf, Charlie and just normal things.
He’s such a normal guy and really cool.
He was great to me all day.
The crowds were phenomenal.
That double bogey he made on on 18 on Saturdaythats the best double hes ever made in his life.
10.Must be nice to be 22, hugely talented and wholly fearless.
Akshay Bhatia hit two of the most absurd flop shots Ive ever seen at Augusta national.
Absurd in the sense of, 90% of the field doesnt even try them.
The first came on the 15th hole on Sunday evening with the stands mostly empty.
Its a shame they were.
Its just such a scary shot to throw up in the air with the green running away from you.
Catch it a little think and it could well trickle into the water.
Catch it fat and youve got the same shot again.
Akshay missed the memo, for he pulled the 60 degree and swung for the fences.
It landed just short of the green and still trickled out to about four feet past the hole.
He brushed in the birdie for an all-world up-and-down.
And he was back at it Friday morning.
Again, most guys just bump and run from there.
You know whats coming.
Bhatias had quite the whirlwind last two months; this week marked his seventh straight week playing.
A T35 finish, given all that context, is very respectable.
They had podcasts recapping the action each and every day.
We got even more YouTube and Tik-Tokey on Thursday afternoon during Bryson DeChambeaus post-round presser.
Like these individuals coming and playing golf and seeing how much influence they have is really cool.
It’s just another avenue.
Were in a new era of media.
In 2022 he was 14 months removed from an SUV crushing his right leg.
This year hed played exactly one round in competition before driving up Magnolia Lane.
And yet he posted a lower 36-hole score than all four reigning major champions.
He made the cut when Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson and Viktor Hovland missed it.
Just look at what Tiger is doing right now.
The guy has barely played at all in the last calendar year, and he’s 1-over.
That’s alien stuff.
Golf at Augusta almost feels like a different sport from tournament golf anywhere else.
Do we think Jose Maria Olazabal could ever make the cut in a Korn Ferry event?
But Im pretty sure its true.
Hes a great authority on the difference between elite-level amateur golf and the professional level.
He shot 74-78 to miss the cut by two this week.
Amateur, where there are 312 players and 64 make match play.
Good question, he said before ruminating.
I think Id have missed match play by one.
Is…is he already there?
His future outlook, from a winning-tournaments perspective, has never been more bleak.
15.That said, immense respect for him for speaking to media after an embarrassing 10-over 82 on Saturday.
He could so easily have ducked out.
Fused back, fused ankle and all.
Jordan Spieth made an Irish exit after missing the cut on Saturday.
Tyrrell Hatton is one tough man to like.
Its kind of endearing, how much of a curmudgeon he is.
He said on the podcast that hed find something to complain about at a course that he designed.
Thats just how he operates.
But theres probably never been a person more upset with a top 10 finish at the Masters.
I was trying not to think of 15 until I got there, he said.
That hole lives rent-free in my head.
I absolutely hate it.
And I think it hates me with the scores that I end up producing on it.
Again, I’ve played that hole in 4-over this week.
Yeah, 15 and 18, I’m 8-over for the tournament.
You take them out, and it shows that I’ve played some really good golf.
Around most courses, it’s fine.
It’s just here, they just love having trees on the front left of tee boxes.
We need more characters in our game, not less.
They also didn’t have it on Homa’s tee shot on 12, which ended his chances.
More tracers is always the answer.
I’ll admit it: I liked Jason Day’s pants.
