By Stephen Delaney Hale  |  Photos Courtesy of Augusta National Golf Club

In the end, the 2020 Masters Tournament was won by a major talent who counted it as his second major championship victory, and it was largely unchanged inside the ropes. Augusta National Golf Club and its members had pulled off moving the world’s premier golf tournament seven months to November, got lucky with the weather, got lucky with great play and competition, and certainly got a popular champion.

They deserved a break for their daring move and commitment to the tournament, the sport, and the town; their planning for so many unknowns paid off in a triumph. No doubt there were some long sighs of relief in the fabled clubhouse on Monday morning, and all ended well along Washington Road in Augusta.

Seeing Dustin Johnson sink putts, crush drives and put on the green jacket made the 2020 Masters as traditional as any of the most traditional events around the world. In the end, it was as if there were no complications to get in the way of the golf.

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The Practice Rounds

Usually peaceful walks in the park for Masters competitors, the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday practice rounds leading up to the tournament are the most frantic for the spectators, who typically have tickets for one of the three days and maybe the coveted Par-3 Contest on Wednesday. Many of those wide-eyed gallery members are fulfilling a lifetime bucket list item just to see Augusta National and some of their golfing heroes. They have to cram everything in; they must see every hole and every player they can, try all the famously simple, fresh, tasty and inexpensive sandwiches and, of course, buy every shirt and cap they can carry. A sure tipoff of a Masters rookie is one who buys all his or her swag on the way in and has to carry it all day. It will be there on the way out.

But none of that happened in November. Usually ringing up sales at a pace exceeding any department store owner’s dreams, the golf shops were empty, and the food stands were peaceful. In a nod to their epic support of the tournament, Masters patrons, lifetime owners of tournament tickets, were able to buy their Masters mementos online, including the pimento cheese.

The Usual Speculation From Experts

Since everybody who grew up with badges around Augusta, and every member of the media, are “experts,” everybody is a prognosticator before the tournament begins. The media members have a curious education, since they rarely venture out on to the course. They sit watching the tournament on a huge bank of televisions and listen to their fellow “experts” watching with them before writing down all the vital information they have ascertained from their “sources.”

But it is often the same.

As in all the last 25 Masters, in November 2020, everybody was talking about Tiger Woods – as well they should. Woods had fashioned a comeback for the ages by winning the 2019 tournament by a single stroke over PGA Tour stars Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and the youthful but already highly ranked Xander Schauffele.

That victory won Woods his fifth green jacket and 15th major championship. That left him just one Masters short of Jack Nicklaus’ record of six Masters and three shy of The Great One’s record of 18 major championships. Those two seemingly unassailable marks had been Woods’ impossible dreams since he won his first major, at the Masters Tournament, in 1997 at the age of 23. The 2019 victory here seemed to put those targets back in his sights.

It was 11 years after his last major win, the 2008 U.S. Open, and 14 years since his last Masters win. Due to his worldwide stature in the sporting world, the 2019 victory was regarded as among one of the greatest comebacks in any sport.

Could he do it again and catch Nicklaus?

Not many people in Augusta were willing to bet against him.

The COVID-19 pandemic meant that he would have to wait 19 months to play another Masters. Woods ended the year by winning in Japan for his 82nd career victory, tying the PGA Tour record held by Sam Snead. A Masters victory would give Woods one all-time golf record, tie another and move him within two wins of tying another. Sweet dreams are made of these.

Also on everybody’s tongue going into the 2020 Masters was scientist-golfer Bryson DeChambeau, who uses mathematics to design his swing and his clubs – making all of them the length of his 7-iron. In a radical departure from his, or anyone’s, preparations, DeChambeau was known to be practicing with an oversized 48-inch driver shaft. That is the length used by competitors in the World Long Drive Championships, an obvious assault plan on Augusta’s often vulnerable par-5s. He unleashed a show two months before the Masters, posting a six-stroke victory in the U.S. Open at famed Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., considered among the country’s most difficult and traditional courses.

The other name on everyone’s mind was Dustin Johnson.

He had already won The Travelers Championship earlier in the year, and then, in the leadup to the top tournaments, the 6-foot-4” long-driving South Carolinian put on a streak of great golf that would be difficult for any player to match.

He started by finishing in a tie for second at the COVID-19-delayed PGA Championship, won The Northern Trust during The Tour playoffs, was second in the next playoff event at the BMW Championship, tied for third at the Tour Championship, tied for sixth at the U.S. Open and tied for second at the Vivint Houston Open coming into the Masters.

Rory McIlroy will probably remain a big topic coming into the Masters until he wins it and puts himself among the all-time greats of the game who have won all four of the major championships. In the wrap-around season from last winter through the spring, McIlroy had seven straight tournaments where he finished no lower than a tie for fifth, including a win at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, a stretch which loosely paralleled a string of five weeks ranked as World No. 1. He came into the Masters ranked No. 5.

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Day One

Dustin Johnson led off the 2020 Masters in the form people expected. He shot a brilliant 7-under 65 and kicked his round off in high style with an eagle on the getable No. 2. He would birdie the other par-5 on the front nine before making birdie on the devilish par-3 No. 12 and then going 3-under on the last four holes coming in, with birdies on Nos. 15, 16 and 18. Without a bogey on his card, the conventional wisdom was looking pretty wise.

Tied with Johnson was a name nobody knew, Dylan Frittelli of South Africa, and British journeyman Paul Casey.  Frittelli also carded an eagle, on the classic par-5 No. 13, and followed that with a streak that would see him go 5-under on four holes, adding birdies on Nos. 14, 15 and 16. Casey got to his sterling number with his own eagle on No. 2, no bogeys and a 4-under 32 on the back.

The leaders were followed by a pack of highly regarded challengers. Tied a stroke behind at 66 were Justin Thomas and Sungjae Im.

Another stroke back at 67 were Cameron Smith, Web Simpson, Xander Schauffele and Englishman Justin Rose, who tied for second at the 2015 Masters and lost a playoff to Sergio Garcia at the 2017 Masters.

Following close behind with very respectable scores of 4-under 68 were 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed, Abraham Ancer of Mexico, Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, American Cameron Champ, South African Louis Oosthuizen, the ageless German and two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer, Englishman Lee Westwood and defending champion Tiger Woods.

In one of the lowest-scoring rounds in Masters history, 52 players finished under par, including eight who would eventually miss the cut.

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Day Two

Friday patrons endured intermittent light rain interrupted by the real thing during a weather delay that started at 5:05 p.m. and lasted just 29 minutes. But most of the day was nice, and the temperature reached 84. Most Masters patrons take a weather delay as a cue to go shopping. After all, you’ve got the badge, and all your friends and relatives are home watching and wondering what color shirt or cap you are going to get for them. Of course, lightning must be taken seriously on any golf course, so if you don’t want to buy any clothes, a beer tent will do for shelter.

Friday was also a time for a parade of major champions. Five players finished in a tie for the lead, and all five of them have a least one major championship on their resume.

First-round co-leader Koepka had a rocky ride but moved his total a stroke lower to 7-under 137, with a 1-under 71 on Friday. He bracketed a disastrous double-bogey on No. 2 with birdies at Nos. 1 and 3. With two bogies and a birdie on the rest of the front nine, he made the turn at 37. He gathered his immense strength with a birdie on No. 15, then got back into a tie for the lead with a birdie on the final hole.

Former PGA champion Jason Day and 2018 Open champion Molinari put together scores of 5-under 67s to join Koepka. Playing their way into the leading quintet were 2013 Masters champion Scott with a 4-under 68, which included an eagle on No. 15, and the 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen with a seven-birdie, one-bogey 66. (Oosthuizen finished second to Bubba Watson in a playoff at the 2012 Masters. He holed the rarest of scores, a double-eagle on the par-5 No. 2, during that year’s final round.)

Johnson moved up a stroke to within one of first place with a 2-under 70 that included three birdies on the back nine. Tied with Johnson after the best round of the first two days, a 7-under 65, was Schauffele, firing eight birdies, including on all four par-5s. Tied with them was the man with the loudest footsteps on the golf course, Woods, who overcame two early bogeys with a 4-under 68.

Two of Thursday’s leaders lost some ground. Mickelson dropped to 4 under, three strokes behind, with a 1-over 73, and he wouldn’t get that close again. Four bogeys and a double bogey sliced DeChambeau’s standing from tied for the lead to trailing by four.

Coming in at 3-over 147, the 36-hole cut left 65 players with their clubs still in their hands – the most since the cut was established in 1957. Four of those still playing were amateurs, the most in 20 years.

Friday always has a bittersweet footnote in the great players who will not be around for the weekend. The cut was less brutal than usual, but it did include world No. 1 Rose. Also missing the cut was 1991 Masters champion Ian Woosnam, who announced his retirement as an active Masters competitor after signing his card.

Homeward Bound

The bittersweet moment of every Masters Tournament is the counting of the roll of favorite players who did not make the cut.

The wrong side of the cut was 1-over and those sent packing were Gary Woodland, Graeme McDowell and Matt Kuchar. Maybe not leaving for the weekend because they live in the region were Kevin Kisner of Aiken and Augusta native and 1987 Masters champion Larry Mize. Fred Couples, who once tied the record for the most cuts made at the Masters, took an early exit after a 6-over finish, and two-time champion Jose Maria Olazabal, who finished at 14-over also missed the cut.

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Day Three

Johnson made his move on Saturday and looked like a man determined to put any doubt behind him when he posted another tournament-low round of 65 to stake out a four-stroke lead at 16-under. Like on Thursday, Johnson made an early statement with an eagle on No. 2, followed it with three birdies on the front nine for what normally would have been a roar-filled 31, came in with the required birdies on Nos. 13 and 15, and built a four-stroke lead. Johnson took the lead at No. 2, the beautiful Pink Dogwood, and never looked back for the next 34 holes.

Smith was among the best of the runners-up, although he would have brought forth few roars had there been patrons present, opening with 12 straight pars before birdies at Nos. 13, 14 and 15 and carding a 69 to claim what normally would have been an excellent score of 12-under after 56 holes. Tied with Smith at 12-under were Im after a solid single-bogey 68 and Ancer, who made three birdies in his 3-under 69 to earn a share of second, four shots back.

Thomas looked like he might keep pace with a birdie of his own on No. 2, but a score of 34 on the front left him already three behind, and a four-bogey back-nine 37 relegated him to 10-under after the day and almost out of sight. The other second round co-leader, Jon Rahm, finished a shot behind Thomas after an even-par 72, which included a double bogey on the par-5 No. 8. Also at 9-under were Muñoz after a 3-under 69 and Reed after a 71.

By the time that most of the “virtual gallery” were settling in at home in front of their televisions, many of them still in inclement weather in the Northeast, Johnson had broken free of the pack in sunny Augusta.

One player who was making a move on Saturday was Frittelli, finishing the day at 11-under after shooting an excellent 67. The only other 67 of the day came from McIlroy, who was trying to keep his Grand Slam bid alive after opening with a 75 and following that with a 66. With his sights now on a bigger prize than just making the cut, McIlroy thrilled his many fans by getting to 5-under on Saturday’s round when he made birdie on the diabolically difficult No. 12. But going for it on the risk-reward classic No. 13, the Irish gambler couldn’t pull it off, made the bogey he couldn’t sustain, and finished at 8-under, only half the way to Johnson’s 16-under.

Other second round hopefuls, Pan, 74, Reed, 71, Matsuyama, 72, and Cantley, 73, were blitzed by Johnson’s blistering pace. Also falling away among those who started the day in contention at 7-under were Rose, 76, Willett, 74, and Fleetwood, although he did shoot a 1-under 71 to post a three-round 8-under in a tie with McIlroy.

Woods would shoot 72 to sit at 5-under and Mickelson shot a 79 with a triple bogey on No. 15 to end the day at 2-over.

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Day Four

More than any other Masters tradition, a near- mathematical certainty is that the champion comes from one of the last two groups to tee off on Sunday. That tradition didn’t seem to be in any danger in 2020.

Johnson made his third and fourth bogeys of the tournament, the fewest of any player in the Masters’ 84-year history, at the fourth and fifth holes on Sunday, but three birdies on the front kept him in the lead, and a three-birdie stretch, using a total of three putts, on Nos. 13, 14 and 15 made his back nine a walk in the park. He would shoot a 4-under 68 for the day, for a 72-hole total of 20-under 268 (winning just over $2 million). When his birdie putt dropped on No. 15, Johnson became the first player in history to reach 20-under, and after he finished with three pars to post that score to win, he broke the tournament record of 270 set by Woods in 1997 and tied by Jordan Spieth in 2015.   

The other two contenders at the start of the day made plenty of noise in front of Johnson, but it just wasn’t going to be enough to slow down the record-making machine playing along the same fairways.

Smith made four birdies on his front nine, and when he got it up-and-down for birdie at the devilish No. 9, he had pulled to within one stroke of Johnson. But able to produce no more than a bogey and a birdie on the back nine, Smith could not keep up with Johnson’s fireworks and finished in a tie for second, five behind at 15-under. His 69 did give Smith an all-time Masters record as the only player to produce all four rounds in the 60s. Im, in his first Masters and just 22 years old, also shot 69 on Sunday.

In another era, when telephone calls required switchboards, Woods would have lit them up when he dropped three shots into the water on the infamous No. 12, taking a septuple-bogey 10 on the par-3 hole. With his extraordinary concentration, the defending champion then made birdie on five of his last six holes, including the last four – a first in Masters history – to finish with a 38 on the back nine.

Johnson came into the 2020 Masters Tournament on a five-tournament run as the No. 1 player in the world and has held that spot throughout the winter as of Feb. 21, 2021, following his tie for eighth at The Genesis Open, the last contest on the West Coast.

Johnson seems as much at ease playing as world No. 1 as he did leading from Round 1 of the 2020 Masters Tournament through to a record-shattering victory in the 84-year history of the storied event. Anyone who watched him striding around the back nine at Augusta in November saw a then-35-year-old man in control of himself, and on that week at least, in control of the world of golf.

Article appears in the April 2021 issue of Augusta Magazine.

By Stephen Delaney Hale
Photos Courtesy of Augusta National Golf Club

The people of Augusta have come to rely on the Masters Tournament for its annual economic boost. Last March, when it became apparent that the tournament had to be either canceled or postponed, Augusta National Golf Club took the more daring, and more costly, option of moving the tournament to the fall. As a result, the city still got its tournament, and the game of golf still got its most spectacular show.

But a lot had to be left behind.

There would be no Par-3 Contest, no beer tents, no massive pine-pollen storms or other things special to the Masters Tournament in springtime in Augusta. Yet the Masters proved to itself and its sport and beyond that the will of the committed, and the efforts of men and women of goodwill, can triumph when there is a thoughtful plan and the courage to see it through.

The first Masters Tournament was held in 1934, then each year after and canceled only from 1943 to 1945 due to World War II. The 2020 tournament was the 84th edition. What may yet prove to be the greatest pandemic in the history of the world could not stop the playing of the Masters. People just refused to let it go. But as the victorious Duke of Wellington said of Waterloo, it was a close-run thing.

The fall version of the Masters Tournament was very different from the beloved springtime event. While many of the November changes had participants and observers alike turning hopeful eyes toward a return to normalcy for 2021, some of those changes brought unexpected and pleasant surprises.

THE BIRDS: The chirping of the birds was still audible in November, and even seemed to be amplified over the television, because it was nearly the only noise to be heard.

THE GALLERIES: The massive crowds of April are generally estimated to be at about 35,000 to 40,000, although the tournament managers have never given an attendance number. There were no galleries in November due to COVID-19.

THE ROARS: April brings massive roars emanated by those galleries roughly three or four times an hour, and even more often and more loudly on the weekends, when a golfer pulls off yet another amazing shot. More than any other tournament, the Masters is known for its roars. Longtime patrons can keep score by the direction and intensity of those roars. There were none in November.

THE GUESTS: In 2020, the players were limited to bringing just one significant other and an employee because of the pandemic.

THE MEDIA: The press center that bustles with activity in April was noticeably quieter in November as many media members worked remotely for safety.

THE FOOD: In November, there was nobody selling beer or those great (and really inexpensive) sandwiches and other treats.

THE LAUGHTER: In November, very little laughter was picked up by the remote television network microphones placed around the course. In April, that laughter is a constant background hum.

THE SPECTACLE: The dazzling spring sight of 35,000-odd spectators generally attired in their best sports casual is part of the fun of the April event. There was no colorful fashion show in 2020.

THE FLOWERS: No blooming azaleas could be seen in November, nor could any of the other 17 vibrant plants whose names have been given to one of the 18 holes on the course. Augusta National is widely recognized as being among the world’s most beautiful spots, and in the springtime, it explodes in color.

THE COLORS: The stunning contrast of the unbelievably green expanse of grass with the brilliant white of the huge sand bunkers was there in 2020. But instead of blending with the hundreds of colors of spring,  they were mixed with an abundance of fall hues. Many people agreed that it was beautiful in its own way – for just one year.

THE COURSE: Augusta National isn’t going anywhere. It was “found” by co-founders Bobby Jones and his business partner, Clifford Roberts, in 1931 as they rode out from Atlanta hunting for a place to build Jones’ “dream” course. Jones later said that when he turned off Washington Road in Augusta onto what was the former Fruitlands Nursery, he found his course already lying there among the giant Longleaf pines. “Perfect! And to think this ground has been lying here all these years waiting for someone to come along and lay a golf course on it,” Jones said when he viewed the property for the first time.

THE PINES: The Longleaf pine/wiregrass ecosystem was the dominant landscape of what became the eastern United States before Europeans stumbled upon the area. The trees are so tall and so straight that tens of millions of them were cut down to make telegraph/telephone poles and frontier houses. In a few places the ecosystem was protected, usually by private ownership, and most of the Longleaf pines on the golf course are over 150 years old.

THE ECONOMY: The city of Augusta is not merely linked to the Masters Tournament in people’s minds around the world, it’s a major part of the city’s economy. Thousands of well-heeled visitors who flood the city with cash and credit cards every spring, are not a bonus to the local economy. According to a study from Augusta University, the Masters millions that flow into the city in April are part of the very city itself. Like the outlying cotton fields, the Savannah River and nearby Savannah River Site that has employed 10,000 to 20,000 well-paid technicians, engineers and scientists for seven decades, that Masters money is a necessity for many. The Broad Street bars were bare in November, and the professors were proved right.

THE PAR-3 CONTEST: Augusta National,  the Big Course, has a little brother tucked out of the way, and each year the players, media and patrons, flip from the crushing anxiety of preparing for what might be the biggest moment in their professional lives to a laughing walk in the park and a celebration of how lucky we all are to be here. We weren’t so lucky in November. There was no Par-3 Contest.

THE GREENS: In November, the famous undulating greens were still fearsome putting surfaces. They would not have been had the membership attempted to postpone the tournament until a summer date. The club closes a few months after the tournament each year and reopens for members in the fall. The wickedly quick bentgrass greens don’t fare well in summer heat.

THE GREEN JACKET: The donning of the green jacket by the new champion, helped by the previous year’s jacket winner. In November, world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, was helped into his jacket by 2019’s champion, one of the world’s all-time greats, Tiger Woods.

THE FIRST: Each year, April’s Masters Tournament is the first of golf’s four major championships. It is followed by the U.S. Open; The Open Championship held in Great Britain, where the sport was born, and the PGA Championship, which together make up the mythical grand slam of golf. Although the career Grand Slam is a totally imaginary thing made up primarily by the media and Arnold Palmer after he got his, winning all four in a career grants induction into greatness. The July timing of The Open Championship in 2020 put it squarely into the mouth of the pandemic on the east coast of England, and it could not be saved. But plans are that it will be back, same time of year, same place – Royal St. George’s Golf Club in County Kent near the English Channel-  in 2021.

Last year was the first time The Open had been postponed since 1940-45, when it was lost to World War II, and 1915-19 when it could not go forward during the first World War and another pandemic that caused millions of deaths worldwide. (These major championships are made of stern stuff. If you want to postpone one, you had better bring a very big problem with you.)

The Thrill: While it was there among the players, the palpable vibe of the spectators was not felt in November. There was still anticipation and excitement, but not to the same level felt in April, when high expectations and the sheer joy to be there felt by thousands of spectators make everyone walk a little faster entering the gates.

“You walk through the gates at Augusta, there’s that energy, that anticipation,” Rory McIlroy said in November, making his 10th appearance at the only major keeping him from the career grand slam. “There’s still a golf course there. There’s still a golf tournament to be won, and you’ve got to make the most of it.

“They’re playing,” he said. “And that’s the most important part.”

Article appears in the April 2021 issue of Augusta Magazine.

By Stephen Delaney Hale  |  Photos provided by The Augusta National and The Augusta Chronicle

If you are invited to play in the Masters, you are already a great golfer. Here are our picks for players who are not favorites this year, but either have the record here to earn a nod or an emerging game that could bloom among the azaleas this April.

World rankings as of the last week of February2021

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Collin Morikawa | World Golf Ranking 6

Just three years after being  world No. 1 in the amateur rankings, Collin Morikawa, 24, is already No. 6 on the world stage and the owner of a major championship trophy. Morikawa graduated from the University of California Berkeley in 2019 with a degree in Business Administration. He won five collegiate tournaments there and was successful in multiple international amateur events.

In his fourth and fifth starts on the PGA Tour in 2019, Morikawa finished tied for second at the 3M Open and tied for fourth at the John Deere Classic before breaking through with a victory in just his sixth event on Tour at the Barracuda Championship. After losing a playoff at the 2020 Charles Schwab Championship to Tour star Daniel Berger, Morikawa missed his first cut on the PGA Tour at the 2020 Travelers Championship, ending a streak of 22 consecutive cuts made. Only Tiger Woods’ amazing stretch of 25 cuts made to begin his PGA Tour career was longer.

Taking on another star on Tour, Morikawa defeated Justin Thomas in a playoff at the Workday Charity Open for his second PGA Tour victory. In only his second major championship start, Morikawa won the 2020 PGA Championship. His winning final round of 64 tied the lowest final round score shot by a PGA Champion, matching Steve Elkington’s score 25 years earlier. The win made Morikawa the third youngest winner of the PGA Championship at 23 and the fourth to win it before turning 24. He made the cut with a tie for 44th in his first Masters in November but the tournament has a history of identifying champions before the rest of the world.

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Patrick Cantlay | World Golf Ranking 8

Patrick Cantlay has moved up a spot to seventh in the WGR since the beginning of the wrap-around year with a win at the ZoZo Champions at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif., in October. To win Cantlay had to edge out top players Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas by a stroke.

He was second in early 2021 to Siwoo Kim at the American Express Championship in La Quinta, Calif. and tied for third at The AT&T Pro Am at Pebble Beach. He made his biggest move up the world rankings in 2019 when he put together a string of great tournaments starting with a tie for ninth at the Masters, ties for third at both the RBC Heritage and the PGA Championship before winning the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, hosted by Jack Nicklaus. To win it Cantlay shot a near perfect 8-under 64 to real in former major champion Martin Kaymer, who had a four-shot lead when the day began. Cantlay also finished second last year at the BMW Championship during the playoffs and at the Shriner’s Hospital for Children Open.

He had a successful amateur career that was first noticed when he won the California High School Championship as a senior. His amateur career highlights are too numerous to list but suffice it to say that he was the low amateur in the 2011 U.S. Open and the 2012 Masters.

In fewer than three full years on Tour, Cantlay has two PGA Tour victories, three second place finishes and tied for third twice.

Of his three Masters appearances, Cantley finished tied for 47th as an amateur in 2012, missed the cut in 2018 and tied for ninth last year. He ranked fourth on the 2019 PGA Tour money list. From his early success, and recent high finishes, Cantley has the air of a rising star.

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Web Simmons  |  World Golf Ranking 9

Webb Simpson is looking familiar, like a golfer on his way to a second comeback. He really hasn’t gone anywhere but he has had two runs where he’s been a major force on the PGA Tour and looks to be fashioning a third. He posted two wins in 2020, at the Phoenix Open and at the Heritage in Hilton Head. Simpson also posted a third at the Sony Open in Hawaii and a tie for third near his home in Charlotte at The Wyndham in North Carolina, a familiar course where he won his first PGA tournament in 2011.

He finished well in the postponed major championships last year with a tie for eighth at the U.S. Open and a tie for 10th in the Masters in November. In his first three starts in 2021 he already has a tie for fourth at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Simpson has one major championship victory, at the 2012 U.S. Open at famed Olympic Club in San Francisco. He won four times in his first three years on Tour from 2011 through 2013.

His next breakthrough came five years later at The Players Championship in 2018 and now is making the broadcast window nearly every week. To go along with his seven PGA Tour victories, Simpson has finished second after losing a playoff five times. With his last two Masters ending in a tie for fifth and a tie for 10th, no doubt due in large part to his mastery of the short game, Simpson is just the sort of “dark horse” this list is made for.

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Jordan Spieth | World Golf Ranking 62

Once regularly positioned at world No. 1, Jordan Spieth has suffered a three-year slump that most golf fans are hoping he finds his way out of soon.

The popular Texan has revived his fans in two starts early in 2021 when he threatened to win on both Sundays, finishing in a tie for fourth at the Phoenix Open and a tie for third in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

A few years ago Spieth had an extraordinary run in Augusta, finishing second to Bubba Watson in 2014, winning the green jacket in 2015 and coming in second again to Danny Willett in 2016.

Late last decade it seemed the high school class of 2011 had taken over the PGA Tour, with Spieth, Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger, Emiliano Grillo, Patrick Rodgers and Anthony Paloucci – all now 27 and all close friends, having “grown up together” playing junior golf tournaments and fierce college golf competitions.

Thomas and Berger have remained near the top of the Tour and golf fans hope they will see Spieth back where he belongs starting at the 2021 Masters Tournament.

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Phil Mickelson  |  World Golf Ranking 89

Rickie Fowler, 31, formerly a factor in seemingly every tournament and consistently among the most popular figures on tour, has fallen to No. 23 in the world. But he is showing recent signs of his former form.

Fowler’s last victory on Tour was in February 2019 at the wild and woolly Waste Management Phoenix Open, where he was a superstar among the millennial crowd. Two tournaments later, Fowler posted a second place at the Honda Classic, lifting him to No. 7 in the world rankings. He had reached a career high of fourth in the rankings in January 2016 after his victory in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

Fowler has five wins on Tour, including two very important wins in 2015 at The Players Championship and in the Deutsche Bank Open during the playoffs. He has 11 top-10 finishes in 40 starts in major championships, including two last year: a tie for ninth at the Masters and a tie for sixth at The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. Two years ago, he was the obvious gallery favorite as he finished second at the Masters to Patrick Reed. He has had five ties for ninth or better in major championships in the past three years. Fowler has been a popular favorite since he won Rookie of the Year on the PGA Tour in 2010, especially among the younger fans. Wherever he plays, youths come out dressed in his trademark orange outfits and follow his group all day.

All of this points to a crowd favorite whose game is returning. You’ll have a lot of other patrons cheering with you if Fowler is your pick to win the 2020 Masters Tournament.

Article appears in the April 2021 issue of Augusta Magazine.

By Stephen Delaney Hale
Photos Courtesy of Augusta National Golf Club and The Augusta Chronicle

Sports speculation is a favorite pastime around the world.

Every sport has their own prognosticators, but Masters fans invented their own prediction mechanism, the Calcutta Party, very early on in the life of the tournament. First of all, it’s a party! It can be among your golf group, your bridge club or even your polo club (we did that in 2006).

You start by plying a significant size crowd with cocktails. Then you get a popular member of the group who knows enough about golf and the Masters and is enough of an entertainer to keep everyone’s attention. Usually, the emcee hands out a list of this year’s invitees and then begins an auction of the players. The key is that once you pick a player (or group of players) you have your favorite(s) for the rest of the week. It focuses your mind. You cheer a little louder for “your guy.”

The Calcutta Party is an Augusta tradition. 

As the tournament approaches, Masters fans – and “experts,” spend countless hours picking their favorites, and talking it over with other “experts” hoping to find the inspiration to pick the winner this year.

Here are our Top 10 picks to win a green jacket at this year’s tournament. These ten men have proven their mettle, won’t get swallowed by the moment or have been playing exceptionally well in the past several months.

World rankings as of February 21, 2021

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Dustin Johnson | World Golf Ranking 1

The sweet swinging golfing great from Irmo, S.C., Dustin Johnson virtually ran, make that calmly walked away, with the 2020 Masters Tournament win. When you are the premier athlete in your sport, greatness begins to reveal itself. Much like Tom Brady controlled the 2021 Super Bowl, Johnson was in constant command of his game, strolling into Sunday with a four-stroke lead.

The Masters marked the fifth time in his last seven Tour starts that Johnson held the 54-hole lead/co-lead. Since Augusta, Johnson achieved another huge success in early February with his second Saudi International win.

It is exciting to wonder if we have already witnessed the beginning of another record of excellence, a Tiger Woods-like dominance, another Nicklaus or Jones. Johnson is just getting so good at what he does that other players see that calm measured walk and have images of Clint Eastwood whistling and coming for them.   

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Jon Rahm | World Golf Ranking 2

Spainard Jon Rahm is playing very well coming into the 2021 Masters. He finished T7 at the November Masters Tournament after being in a four-way tie for the lead with Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas and Cameron Smith on Friday. Elsewhere on the PGA Tour, Rahm won twice last year, was second twice and third once. At the time of the Phoenix Open this year, Rahm had been ranked 2nd in the world for the prior 18 weeks – except for the two weeks in which he was ranked No. 1. Rahm had a spectacular 2019, winning at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans over the emerging Englishman Tommy Fleetwood and his longtime mentor and countryman Sergio Garcia.

Back in Europe, Rahm repeated victories in The Irish Open, defended his title in The Spanish Open and in back-to-back years won the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. 

After his second World Tour Championship, Rahm was named 2019 European Tour Golfer of the Year. In previous Masters Tournaments, Rahm finished 4th in 2018 and 9th in 2019.  A former Arizona State Sun Devil, Rahm lives in Phoenix, with his wife, Kelley Cahill. At Arizona State, he won 11 tournaments, a mark second only to Phil Mickelson’s 16 wins for their shared alma mater.

 

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Justin Thomas | World Golf Ranking 3

Justin Thomas has been the most consistent winner in the world of golf over the past seven years, taking home at least one trophy every year since he became a full-time PGA Tour member. He has won twice in each of his last three seasons and five times  in 2017.

Thomas began 2020 with a victory in the year’s first tournament, the Sentry Tournament of Champions, and won again in August at the World Golf Championships – St. Jude Invitational. Thomas lost on the third hole of a playoff to Collin Morikawa in the Workday Charity Open at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio. 

In October, Thomas finished in a tie for second with Jon Rahm, both a stroke short of winner Patrick Cantlay. He finished third behind Tony Finau and playoff winner Webb Simpson at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and his lone tie for third in 2020 came in a star-studded season finale Tour Championship at East Lake Country Club in Atlanta.

Thomas had five more finishes in the top ten last year including a fourth at the Masters and a tie for sixth at the U.S. Open. Getting Thomas in your stable at your Calcutta party will be an early week victory for you.

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Xander Schauffele | World Golf Ranking 4

Xander Schauffele had entered three tournaments by mid-February this year. He chalked up a tie for fifth at the Tournament of Champions and tied for second in the other two, behind Patrick Reed in the Farmers Insurance Open, and one stroke behind Brooks Koepka at the Waste Management Phoenix Open with Kyounghoon Lee.

In his first four seasons on the PGA Tour, Schauffele has won five times, including the Tournament of Champions in 2019, The WGC-HBC Championships in 2018, and twice in 2017 at The Greenbriar Classic and the Tour Championship.

Second in the 2019 Masters, a stroke behind winner Tiger Woods and tied with Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka, Schauffele has had several good finishes in major tournaments in his short career. In 12 career major starts, Schauffele has finished in a tie for sixth or better six times.

His 2019 performance at the Masters seems to show that Schauffele is already a big-time player, even if he doesn’t yet have a big-time name in the sport. A win in the 2021 Masters Tournament will change all that.

 

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Tyrrell Hatton | World Golf Ranking 5

Tyrrell Hatton has missed the cut in two of his four Masters Tournament entries and his best finish here is a tie for 44th in 2018. But 2021 could be the year all that changes.

Ranked No. 5 in the world in late February, Hatton is one of the world’s leading golfers boasting victories on both the European and PGA Tours last year. The 30-year-old’s winning form of 2020 has already returned in 2021 with a January victory at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, his fourth Rolex Series win on the European Tour. In 2020 the Englishman finished atop one of the best fields in golf to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. His victory at the European Tour’s Flagship event, The BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, resulted in his first Top-10 spot in the World Golf Rankings.

Hatton turned professional in 2011 and joined the European PGA Tour in 2014. That was the beginning of a continuous upward trajectory with his victories at the Italian Open and back-to-back triumphs at the world’s oldest and most prestigious match play titles, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, making him an obvious member of the winning 2018 European Ryder Cup Team. In 2019, Hatton won his second straight Turkish Airlines Open.

He is considered a key asset on the European Ryder Cup Team set to be played at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.

Most Masters veterans say it takes a while to get your legs under you at Augusta National and the same is true of learning to win in professional golf. Hatton has done the latter that suggests that he is on his way to the former.

 

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Rory McIlroy | World Golf Ranking 6

In danger of forfeiting the title to Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy has been widely considered the player of the decade ever since he “almost” won the 2011 Masters Tournament. Nobody needs any extra motivation to win the Masters, but McIlroy has it more than anybody else.

He has won the other three majors and needs a Masters win to become the sixth player in history to win the grand slam of golf. He led going into the back nine in 2011 and then famously failed down the stretch.

Since then, he scored four major victories, including a few months later at the 2011 U.S. Open by eight strokes at Congressional Country Club. He has also won the PGA Tournament twice, in 2012 and 2014.

In 2019, McIlroy was voted the PGA Tour Player of the Year and won The Players Championship and the Tour Championship. In that order, the two tournaments would almost surely be rated fifth and sixth in prestige after the four majors if there were such a ranking.

The Players Championship has the strongest field in all of golf and the Tour Championship invites only the top 30 golfers who still have clubs in their hands after the season-ending elimination playoffs named The Fed/ExCup. The Tour Championship, held at Georgia golf icon Bobby Jones’ home course East Lake Country Club in Atlanta, is ‘the finals’ of the Fed/ExCup.

He also won the 2019 (Harry) Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average on Tour throughout the year. He joined Tiger Woods as the only golfers who have twice won both the cup and the championship in the same year. Another reason it is difficult to get McIlroy at your Calcutta is because just about everybody loves the guy – that’s what polls of the other PGA players shows nearly every year. As proof of his popularity, he was elected by his peers as chairman of the Tour’s Player Advisory Council for 2021.

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Bryson Dechambeau | World Golf Ranking 10

In his first tournament of 2021 the long-hitting and unorthodox swinging Bryson DeChambeau began with a tie for seventh at the Tournament of Champions. In what the PGA Tour is listing as a 2021 event due to COVID-19, DeChambeau won the U.S. Open by six strokes at famed Winged Foot Golf Club. It was his first major championship victory and seventh PGA Tour win for the 28-year-old from California.

By winning the national professional USGA title, DeChambeau became just the third player in history to win it as well as the other two national championships, the U.S. Amateur and the NCAA Division I Collegiate Championship. He joined the company of Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods by accomplishing that trifecta.

Despite his obvious talents to match Augusta National’s toughest tests, DeChambeau has struggled in his four starts at the Masters. His best finish so far was a T-21 in his first appearance in 2016. When he won the U.S. Open last year, DeChambeau led the field in driving distance and in strokes gained putting.  Last year the consistent DeChambeau turned in a streak of seven consecutive finishes at T-8 or better, concluding the string with a victory at the Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Golf Club in July.

DeChambeau is reaching distances off the tee never before seen on the PGA Tour. Not long ago it was Tiger Woods who broke all the driving distance records and he’s won the Masters five times. Before Woods, it was Jack Nicklaus who was the unchallenged driving distance champ and he has won six green jackets. DeChambeau has a lot of room in his closet to date, but there is a great distance between his tee balls and those of his playing partners.

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Patrick Reed | World Golf Ranking 11

Patrick Reed won the Farmers Insurance Open by five strokes over Viktor Hovland at the end of January. The 2018 Masters champion, Reed played college golf for two years at Augusta University and helped lead the Jaguars to the NCAA Division I championship in both 2010 and 2011.

He turned professional and earned his 2013 playing card through the Tour’s “Q-School.” Then in August he won his first PGA Tour event at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C. in a playoff against Jordan Spieth.

At the 2018 Masters he was paired with Rory McIlroy in the final group. He would dispatch his rival early and later withstand charges by Rickie Fowler and two-time Masters champion Jordan Spieth to don the coveted green jacket.

His win here seems at odds with his other finishes in Augusta in which his next best tournament was a tie for 22nd in 2015. In 24 major championship starts, Reed has only three other top-10 finishes. He has seven professional wins, including the 2019 Northern Trust Open and tied for second in the first tournament of 2021.

When Reed gets hot it seems he cannot be beaten. It appears as if he will’s the ball into the cup. Certainly, he has to be among the favorites to put it all together at the 2021 Masters.

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Brooks Koepka | World Golf Ranking 12

Most golf fans have probably assumed the burly Brooks Koepka, with the soft touch around the greens, has been a regular winner on the PGA Tour. But the four-time major championship winner has been slowed by injuries for most of the past two years before breaking through at the Phoenix Open earlier this year.

Koepka took the Phoenix title in style from Xander Schauffele and Kyoung-Hoon Lee, starting the final round five strokes back and winning by one with a final round of 65. It was his first win since the FedEx St. Jude Invitational in 2019.

The West Palm Beach, Fla. native took his game to the professional level at the European Challenge Tour in 2012, where he won his first tournament. Koepka has won 14 professional tournaments worldwide, including seven on the PGA Tour. He began his remarkable record of major championship victories at the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills, Wis. and sucessfully defended his title in 2018 at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island, making him the first golfer to win consecutive U.S. Opens since Curtis Strange in 1988 and 1989.

Koepka won his fourth major at the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black on Long Island. The PGA of America awarded their 2019 Player of the Year award to Koepka based on his three victories, including a major and a WGC victory. 

After an unpredictable 2020 season, Koepka is certain to be among the favorites when the field tees it up on April 8.

 

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Tiger Woods  |  World Golf Ranking 48

Tiger Woods’ name was set here among our top picks to win the 2021 Masters Tournament the week of his terrifying traffic accident in Los Angeles, the same week that this magazine went to press. We chose to honor his brilliance on the golf course and all that he has meant to Augusta and to the Masters by saving his spot among our favorites.

Of course, we are saddened that he won’t be competing in the 2021 Masters – we don’t know about the future. But Eldrick Tont “Tiger” Woods retains his place among our greatest Masters champions. We pray for his recovery and for his family. We look forward to cheering for him any time he returns to Augusta and we hope that is for many years to come.

 

 

Article appears in the April 2021 issue of Augusta Magazine.

By David Westin  |  Photos provided by The Augusta Chronicle

Patron roars are not uncommon during the final round of a Masters Tournament. They signal a superb shot, and the sound reverberates through the pines at Augusta National Golf Club like a code.

Chants – as in repeating a word or phrase over and over – just don’t happen at the sedate course, where etiquette is the order of the day, thanks to the decree of former Augusta National co-founder Bobby Jones. Augusta National will never be compared to a boisterous NBA arena.

All that inhibition went out the window when Tiger Woods capped one of the greatest comebacks in sports history by winning the 2019 Masters.

The deafening chant of “Tiger, Tiger, Tiger” was heard over and over after Woods, playing in the final pairing of the day, tapped in on the 18th green and started a joyous walk to the scoring area to sign his scorecard. To reach the scoring area, located on the bottom floor of the clubhouse, Woods had to walk behind the ninth green, across the first fairway and then cross a patrons walkway to the left of the No. 1 fairway. Ropes on either side and security in front and behind him kept him from the patrons, some of whom did get a fist bump from the man whose continued participation in the Masters appeared to be over two years before.

It was a fitting finish to a tournament that had little in the way of normalcy, right down to the early afternoon finish, when the tee times were moved up because of the threat of severe afternoon weather. The tournament was over by 2:30 p.m., which is before the final group would have normally started. Sports fans who didn’t get the Saturday evening word about that early start were surprised when friends and neighbors told them what happened early Sunday afternoon. At least they could watch an encore showing of the event after the live one was over on CBS.

Surprises lurked around every corner at the 83rd Masters, from a first-ever final round matinee, to the way that Woods, who thought his career was over two years prior because of chronic back problems, won his fifth Masters title and his 15th major championship.

Never before had Woods won a major by coming from behind after 54 holes. He’d either been tied for the lead after three rounds or out in front of his previous major wins (four Masters, four PGA Championships and three U.S. Opens and British Opens.)

This time, Woods was two shots behind leader Francesco Molinari going into the final round. He shot 2-under-par 70 and won by a shot over three players, finishing at 13-under 275 at Augusta National.

“I’m not going to say it was just like old times, no,” Woods said. “It was very different. And just the way it played out. I mean, it was so different as a whole. You know, because we teed off in threesomes. There was a two-tee start. We went off early. These are things that have never happened in Augusta’s history.”

Some things didn’t change: Woods wore a red mock turtleneck shirt in the final round, just as he had on the day of his previous Masters victory in 2005. And his ball-striking harkened back to his prime: He led the field in greens in regulation, hitting 58 of 72, which tied for the fourth-best in Masters history (he also hit 58 when he won in 2001).

And his game was air-tight once he earned a share of the lead after the 12th hole when Molinari made a water-logged double bogey.

After blowing his tee shot into the right trees on the 11th hole (Woods still made par) until missing his drive on the 18th hole (a bogey), Woods did not miss a shot on the back nine.

That did not surprise Jack Nicklaus, who was watching the drama unfold on television.

“You watch it all day long and you think, this is a man who is possessed,” said Nicklaus, who is the only player with more green jackets (six) and more majors (18) than Woods. “He is possessed to win the golf tournament. He is absolutely under total control, and he was going to get it done. And he did.

“You watch how smart he played,” Nicklaus said. “Every shot I saw him play was a smart shot. When you got a guy who plays smart shots like that, plays them well, and knows what he’s doing and plays them with confidence, he should be your winner.”

Woods was playing his 86th career round at Augusta National, starting in 1995 as an amateur. His other victories came in 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2005.

“I just kept saying, I’ve been here, it wasn’t that long ago,” Woods said. “Just go ahead and just keep playing your game, keep plodding along and keep doing all the little things correctly. Miss the ball in the correct spots, be committed to it, even if the wind is puffing up and down, keep committed to it and committed to the shot shape, and I was.”

Six players had a piece of the lead in the final round until Woods exhibited his famed “killer instinct” once the lead was his with a birdie on the 15th hole. He never gave it up.

“The whole tournament, how many guys had a chance to win on that back nine, after Frankie (Molinari) made a mistake at 12?” Woods asked. “He just opened Pandora’s box to who’s going to win the championship, and I just happened to be one of those guys.”

Molinari was still tied with Woods going to No. 15, but the Italian made double bogey there. Woods birdied that hole and No. 16 and parred the 17th hole. That gave him a two-shot lead heading into the 18th hole, which allowed him to win even with a closing bogey.

The victory was hailed as one of the greatest comebacks in sports history because of the injuries (four back surgeries and the same number of knee operations) and personal problems Woods had overcome. In terms of the greatest Masters’ surprises, it is considered right up there with Nicklaus’ win in 1986 at age 46. At the time, it was Nicklaus’ first win in nearly two years and his first at Augusta National since 1975. Nicklaus is the oldest Masters champion, followed now by Woods.

Here’s why Woods’ comeback to his old form was so hard to fathom: At age 43 at the time, Woods hadn’t won the Masters in 14 years. His latest win set the mark for longest time between victories at Augusta National, and only Nicklaus had gone longer between his first and final Masters win. And Woods’ last major championship victory had been nearly 11 years ago. Before winning the Tour Championship the previous September in 2018, Woods hadn’t won any golf tournament in six years. He’d missed two years of competition because of back problems, including the 2016 and 2017 Masters. It was at the 2017 Champions Dinner before that year’s Masters that he confided to Gary Player that he feared his playing days were over because of his back problem.

“I could barely walk. I couldn’t sit. Couldn’t lay down. I really couldn’t do much of anything,” Woods said.

Later that month, he had his back fused, a last-ditch effort not just to get back on the golf course, but to improve the quality of  his life.

Off the course, he had been embroiled in a 2009 sex scandal that led to a divorce a year later. Then, on Memorial Day in 2017, he was arrested for driving under the influence. He had five different drugs in his system, two of them prescription painkillers.

On the golf course, with his fused back allowing him to play again, Woods had started to show flashes of the “Tiger of Old” in 2018.  He nearly won in Tampa, Fla., a month before the Masters. Though he didn’t contend at the Masters (a tie for 32nd), he had a share of the lead on the back nine in the British Open (he tied for sixth) and finished solo second in another major, the PGA Championship. A month later, he won the season-ending Tour Championship for his first win since 2013.

“It was one of the hardest (majors) I’ve ever had to win just because of what I’d been through,” Woods said of the 2019 Masters. “Going into the Masters, I felt that my swing had finally turned the corner because I was trying to make sure that I could hit a high draw with driver, 3-wood, 5-wood, any club in the bag, and I somehow found it. The short game came around, I found something in my grip there, and it just started coming – pieces started coming together.”

Still, there were doubters that he could come all the way back and win the Masters again.

The top current players, many of whom were inspired to take up the game by watching Woods win the 1997 Masters by 12 shots, weren’t among them.

“The way he played last year, I think we knew it was coming sooner or later,” Molinari said after the 2019 Masters.

Brooks Koepka, then the No. 1-ranked player in the world, said on Tuesday before the 2019 Masters that “We all know Tiger is back.”

The early final-round start didn’t bode well for Woods because he wouldn’t be able to rest his tender back after finishing off a third-round 67 after 6 p.m. on Saturday. Instead of a normal 2:40 p.m. final round starting tee time, Woods would have to go off at 9:20 a.m., meaning he would have to get up in the early-morning hours to get his back ready.

“That’s the fickle nature of having my back fused,” Woods said. “Some days I have more range of motion. Some days I don’t. Some days I ache more, and sometimes I don’t. That’s just – there’s more volatility, put it that way. There’s more days I feel older than my age than I do younger than my age. That’s one of the trickier things. And then you add the golf component to it.

“You know, being a little bit older and with the back the way it is, these are all – there’s a lot of concerns, and when it comes to what do I need to do to get ready and be ready to go and sometimes the quick turnarounds may be a little bit more difficult.”

As it turned out, Woods’ back never caused him any pain in the final round.

After it was over, Koepka, who was among that group that tied for second place, said, “We already knew he was back, but I think he put an exclamation point on it.”

Joining Koepka outside the scoring area to congratulate Woods were two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, second-place co-runner-up Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler and Ian Poulter.

“That was a nice touch,” said Joe LaCava, Woods’ caddie.

If Woods’ 2005 Masters victory was for his ailing father Earl, who died less than a month later, this was for his two children – daughter Sam and son Charlie, neither of whom had seen him win a major championship. When Woods won his previous major, the 2008 U.S. Open, his oldest child, Sam, was 1 year old. Charlie was born in February 2009.

“My kids were there for the very first time at the big event (a Masters tournament round),” Woods said. “They went to the par-3 course, but they had never been to the big event. And then for me to come back and win on top of all that, it just added to it.”

In fact, a soccer tournament in Florida nearly kept Woods’ children home, by their choice.

“It probably wouldn’t have happened if Sam had gotten to the final of her state soccer tournament, which was on a Sunday,” Woods said. “Because they didn’t qualify for the finals of the state cup, I asked them if they wanted to come up. Charlie said, ‘No way, unless my sister comes.’ And had to convince Sam to come, and they decided to come up.

“To have them there was so special because to us in our family, Augusta has meant so much to our family,” Woods said. “My dad was there when I won my first one, my mom (Kultida) has been there for each and every one. So to be able to share it with the next generation, to share it with my kids is just surreal, to be honest. To have them see their Pops win, just like my Pops saw me win here, it’s pretty special.”

Article appears in the April 2021 issue of Augusta Magazine.