The 2023 Masters was more than the first major golf championship of the year played on the hallowed grounds of Augusta National.
It was a kaleidoscope of events unlike the Masters of past years.
Let’s take them one by one.
The Champion.
Jon Rahm came from behind to win going away. For the Spaniard, it was his first Masters title, second major crown, and it came 40 years after his hero, the late Steve Ballesteros won.
Now there are four golfers from that country who have captured the Masters, including Jose Maria Olazabel, and Sergio Garcia.
After Norway’s Viktor Holland set the early pace, it came down to a mano-a-mano duel between Rahm and Brooks Koepka.
Koepka, who previously had won four major championships, rebounded in impressive fashion from an ugly knee injury, the latest of his knee problems.
He led by as much as four strokes, and had a two stroke edge on Rahm entering the final day.
But Koepka imploded, and Rahm was remarkably consistent, steady and focused, giving Koepka no room to make up difference between the two, which ultimately amounted to a nine-shot swing.
The final leaderboard showed Rahm winning by four shots over Koepka and Phil Mickelson, with Jordan Spieth quietly playing the best of anyone in the final round, five behind, after a sizzling 66.
The Weather.
A huge element in this year’s Masters were the weather conditions, ranging from thunderstorms, to long spells of a heavy downpour to unseasonably chilling temperatures.
It played havoc with the last three days of the championship.
Twice, play was suspended due thunder and lighting late in Friday’s second round.
In a scary development, a couple of trees fell near the spectator area at the 17th tee.
Fortunately, no one got hurt.
After some schedule-scrambling and a full day of make-up play completing the second round and third rounds, severe rain forced Saturday’s play to be scratched mid-afternoon on Saturday, setting up a marathon final day, with action starting early on the first and 10th tees.
That produced a grueling 30-hole day for for most of the competitors, finishing the final 12 holes of the third round, leading up to the final 18.
The was no rain on Sunday, but the temps fell to the mid-40’s.
Imagine the patience the players had to have, and the adjustments they had to make, in performing on the great stage of Augusta, attempting to challenge for a major golf title.
The LIV Story.
As it turned out, the battle between the two Tours, and the rancor between golfers on both sides, never materialized.
There was really no story there.
At the champions’ dinner during the week bringing together all the past Masters’ winners, the anticipated bad feelings of the two sides erupting, was avoided.
There were 18 LIV golfers in the field, including eight former champions, but there were no incidents.
Greg Norman, a former Masters winner was not invited.
Who knows how disruptive he might have been with that platform? Why take a chance? And the Masters committee didn’t.
There was hope in the LIV quarters, that one of their own would shine, boosting their Tour, and a few did just that.
Koepka, of course, was atop the leaderboard most of the week, but little was made of his status.
Without a question, the most ignored story on the final day centered around Phil Mickelson, who was the first to bolt from the PGA Tour to LIV, and in the world of traditional golf has become an ogre of sorts.
Mickelson, now 52, and a three-time Masters champion, staged a brilliant -7 final round for a 65 that actually had him with a chance had Rahm faltered late.
He finished tied for second, four shots back.
Remember when Phil Mickelson was right behind Tiger Woods in shot-by-shot coverage in their tournaments?
Those days are gone.
Mickelson is old news now when it comes to golf coverage.
When you consider how one of the top performers, Dustin Johnson, a member of the LIV Tour, along with Bryson DeChambeau failed to make the cut, it underscores the way of life in professional golf.
Out of sight, out of mind.
It’s not about the star-power of the players, it’s about the players, who may be stars, contending for a championship.
It’s all about the game.
The McIlroy meltdown.
So this was the year Rory McIlroy was finally going to win his first Masters.
He’s won all the other majors.
He finished second last year.
He’s been playing well.
But things happen to Rory McIlroy, and they happen in the Masters and in most of the big tournaments.
He doesn’t deliver.
He was five over par in the second round and failed to make the cut for the second time in three years.
What gets into his head, that prevents him from playing the golf he is obviously capable of playing?
Somehow, some way, something always happens.
It happens a lot.
The clock is running.
Nick Faldo had an interesting opinion.
He wondered why McIlroy had agreed to being interviewed live while he was playing the second round.
Faldo wondered why McIlroy would do anything while playing that could affect his concentration.
A similar scenario occurred with Jordan Spieth, like McIlroy wearing an ear-pod to engage in conversation.
To me, it appeared it definitely affected Spieth’s focus.
Bad move.
Good for the game?
No. Let the players play.
The Amateur
In the Butler Cabin after every Masters, the new champion is presented the green jacket by the previous winner.
And the amateur with the lowest score is interviewed as well.
This year’s top amateur was a 23-year old fifth-year senior from Texas A&M, Sam Bennett who did so much more.
Bennett, who lost his father two years ago to Alzheimer’s, was a huge crowd favorite throughout the four rounds. He started Sunday in the final group, before finishing tied for 16th, two-under-par for his first Masters showing.
Sam Bennett challenged the best in the game with remarkable poise, delightful temperament, along with a strong game.
We have not heard the last of him.
The Tiger Saga.
Tiger Woods withdrew the final day after aggravating his plantar fasciitis. That’s a painful foot injury, and it’s no wonder.
Tiger’s swing looked good enough, but walking up and down the hills of Augusta was clearly painful for Woods, particularly with all the extra steps on drenched turf and all the interruptions in play.
Woods did make the cut, barely.
But the toll on his surgically-repaired body was too much to take.
For him. And for those of us watching, as well.
The big question?
Will he be back?
Tiger Woods is a fiercely determined athlete.
Will he feel better next year? Another year older?
I have my doubts. But you never know.
Here’s one thing I’d like to see,
Prior to the start of the Masters, the Augusta chairman introduces Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Watson, and…..yes….Tiger Woods, to hit the first tee shots, before the Masters gets underway.