The Masters: 36 random thoughts and takeaways from Augusta National

The 88th Masters is in the books. Pretty good, wasn’t it?

You’ve probably got some thoughts. I know I do. Thirty-six of them, in fact. And rather than turn any of them into one blog or op-ed, I figured I might as well just share them all here.

So, without any further ado…

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1. As recently as February 12, 2022, Scottie Scheffler was a zero-time winner on the PGA Tour. He’s now got two majors, two PLAYERS Championships, a World Golf Championship, and four others for good measure. What he has done over the last two and a bit years is nothing short of astounding.

2. If Mr and Mrs Scheffler have a little girl, I’m willing to bet they’ll name her ‘Holly’ after the 18th at Augusta National. If nothing else, it’s a better guess than ‘Flowering Crab Apple’.

3. Scottie has now won $15,093,235 from nine starts on the PGA Tour this year. That should take care of a few nappies.

• How much did each player take home from Augusta National?

4. He has also yet to shoot an over-par round in 2024. Wowzers.

5. On a slightly more serious note, some have described Scheffler’s latest win as dull, boring, a bit flat. But that’s the thing about dominance; it can often take on the appearance of ho-hum banality. That’s two things: testament to Scottie’s extraordinary talent and absolutely none of his concern.

6. Ludvig Aberg might well be the next player to complete the career grand slam and I’m not even kidding. Rumour has it The Swedish Dreamboat once arm-wrestled Superman. I’m not going to say who won, but the loser had to wear his underwear on the outside for the rest of his life.

7. You (probably) hadn’t heard of Aberg when Jon Rahm won last year’s Masters. He’s since won on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour, won the Ryder Cup, and finished runner-up on his major debut. Generational.

8. Why did Collin Morikawa decide to take on the pin on 11? Also, why does he spell his name with two Ls?

9. Tiger Woods breaking the Masters’ consecutive cut record is (a) very impressive and (b) something he probably never grew up dreaming about, so let’s not get too excited about it. He isn’t.

• Tiger Woods breaks another Masters record (but he doesn’t want this one)

10. Jordan Spieth is 30-years-old and already has a Hall of Fame-worthy resumé. But that was also true when he was 23. The three-time major champion’s career has stalled to the point where it is no longer a surprise when he misses the cut as he did this week. His frequent brain farts and bad decisions are costing him weekend work never mind titles. Perversely, the kind of sporting immortality that only the career grand slam can offer is potentially only a month away, yet it seems almost impossibly out of reach and begs the question: have we already seen the best of Spieth?

11. Rory Daniel McIlroy, we need to have a chat. The career grand slam-chasing Irishman was not his usual self this week. His body language was uncharacteristically sullen, his decision-making was characteristically suspect and his expected challenge never really ignited. In the ten times he has come here trying to complete the slam, he has seriously contended only once. Tiger Woods believes he’ll eventually get the job done. Jack Nicklaus agrees. But I’m starting to lose faith. And I can’t help but wonder if Rory is, too.

12. He did finish top of the Average Driving Distance leaderboard, though. So there’s that.

13. Predictably, the knives are out for Rory’s caddie Harry Diamond. “It’S aBoUt TiMe He GoT hImSeLf a PrOpEr CaDdIe” etc. One, Harry is a “proper”caddie. Two, and hear me out here, what if the problem is Rory rather than his caddie, his clubs, his coach, or whatever else? If (and when) Rory and Harry do split, the queue to hire Harry will be every bit as long as the queue to pick up Rory’s bag. Believe me.

14. Also, if Rory “should sack” Harry, presumably, Spieth “should sack” Michael Greller, too? Or does that not suit the agenda?

15. Does Justin Thomas regret splitting with ‘Bones’?

16. The Par-3 Contest has become too nice. The kids are, without exception, delightful. Little cherubs, all. We need a Damien Thorn-type to breathe new life into it.

• An hour at the Masters Par-3 Contest: I’m sorry, I tried…

17. Jack Nicklaus made the cut in 37 Masters, won it six times, finished runner-up four times and third a further two. He made a grand total of $772,000. Everybody who finished in the top-five this week got more than that. Bet they’d rather have Jack’s career, though…

18. The Golf Channel’s ‘Live From…’ show is the best golf production going. Rich Lerner is all certitude and gravitas personified, and Brandel Chamblee and Paul McGinley are the two best analysts in the game. I really wish Sky Sports would invest in something similar for UK-based golf fans rather than yet another hour of Micah Richards laughing uncontrollably at a Roy Keane snarl.

19. As well as being a fabulous golfer – and a thoroughly nice young man – Neal Shipley has the best hair in golf. Even Robert Rock is well jel of that flow.

20. I did, however, spend most of the week thinking ‘The Big Ship’ was English. I guess I just figured that you don’t get many Americans called ‘Neal’ – and I was right. According to MyNameStats.com, there are currently 67,982 people in the US with that name, making it the 656th most popular given name in the country. So there.

• An Audience with Tiger Woods: How a dream became normality for golf’s newest cult hero

21. Of the many players plundered by LIV, Bryson DeChambeau may well be the biggest loss to the PGA Tour. The guy is box office.

22. Green jackets >>>>> Malbon vests.

23. All jackets >>>>> Malbon vests.

• How to buy Jason Day’s controversial Malbon sweater

24. Have you ever known such a fuss over a bloody gnome?

25. Related: you can buy 1,601,601 Masters gnomes for the price of one Harry Maguire. If Erik Ten Hag isn’t on the blower to Fred Ridley about a straight swap, he should be.

• The crazy numbers behind the Masters gnomes

26. Amen Corner always delivers, doesn’t it? No finer three-hole stretch of golf on the planet and I will absolutely die on this hill thankyouverymuch.

27. On 12, specifically, Augusta chairman Fred Ridley compared the suggestion that the hole should be lengthened to “asking to touch up the Mona Lisa”, which was an interesting choice of phrase. Perhaps that’s why she’s smiling like that…

28. The whole Greg Norman ‘thing’… To see a legend of the game – and he is a legend of the game – reduced to gatecrashing The Masters like Michael Scott showing up at Jim’s house party was just sad. No other word for it.

• ‘My hands hurt!’ Greg Norman pays tribute to Masters patrons

29. Jose Maria Olazabal finished on the same score as last year’s winner Jon Rahm and last year’s runner-up Brooks Koepka. That’s the same Jose Maria Olazabal who has made the cut only twice in the last nine years at Augusta and who won his first Green Jacket seven years before Rahm was born. Undeniably in the top-five most impressive performances of the week.

30. This week was the 90 straight major in which Adam Scott has featured. He has played in every single one – Every. Single. One. – dating back to the 2001 Open Championship. Nicolai Hojgaard was four months old. Akshay Bhatia wasn’t even born.

31. Pimento cheese sandwiches are one of those things that people are just pretending to like. See also: air fryers.

32. Viktor Hovland (MC) making swing changes after having the best year of his career in 2023 is the worst decision a golfer has made since Zach Johnson left Keegan Bradley out of the US Ryder Cup team.

33. Actually, no. Zach Johnson telling patrons to “f*** off” is the worst decision a golfer has made since Zach Johnson left Keegan Bradley out of the US Ryder Cup team.

• Paige Spiranac blasts Zach Johnson for Masters outburst

34. The ‘no mobile phones’ policy remains one of the single best things about the Masters. Every major championship should follow suit. And every concert, for that matter. Nobody wants to watch your grainy footage of Imagine Dragons, Caroline.

35. Nobody missed Talor Gooch this week. Admit it, you hadn’t even thought about him until just now, had you?

36. Only 359 more sleeps until we get to do all this again.

Want more thoughts from the team at Augusta National? Tune in to the The bunkered Podcast!

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor