Scott Peek

Every April, I try to clear my calendar from Thursday to Sunday for The Masters Tournament. It’s one of the rare sporting events that still truly feels special to me. The lucious fairways, the azaleas and the fans watching the tournament for the golf without phones in hand.
Very rarely will I find a complaint watching The Masters, yet this year I left with one gripe. While the United States Golf Association’s decision to roll back golf balls has received heavy criticism from the golf community, Gary Player said it best during his interview this year. Most, if not all of the premier, major tournament venues across the country were designed hundreds of years ago, when professional players weren’t hitting their drives 300-plus yards. It’s simply too much to ask for these courses to complete redesign their clubs to lengthen every hole just for a single tournament a year, which is why I now agree that the golf ball should be rolled back exclusively for pro’s. Watching Bryson DeChambeau bomb a 350 yard drive and hitting a 7-iron into a par 5 simply takes the skill out of the game.
That said, Sunday’s final round was as good as it can get. Watching Rory Mcilroy and Justin Rose battle it out for the green jacket was truly enthralling to watch, even though I only caught the end of it because of practice. Although I was rooting for Sam Burns to pull off his first major win, I personally would’ve rather seen anyone else win it than Rory. Cameron Young gave me real hope after his third round 65. Going into the final round, I was sure Rory would choke the win, especially after he fell back a couple of shots early. Young played beautifully early in his final round, even holding the lead for a while. Although he came up short, watching the World number two and three ranked players in the final round was awesome.
Then there’s Scottie Scheffler. Going into his third round sitting at even par, Scottie firing off a seven under 65 in his third round was expected. You quite literally can never count out Scottie of any tournament, especially The Masters. His ability to find a way to climb the leaderboard late on the weekends is the reason why he’s been ranked world number one for 175 weeks in a row.
In my eyes, Justin Rose is maybe the most deserving player of the win. Although I’m honestly not the biggest fan of his game, it’s hard not to want him to finally get his green jacket. After Rory dropped back on his front nine and Rose led through the turn, I thought this would finally be his year. If there’s one player who you know can perform at The Masters, it’s him. He’s finished runner-up three times already. Once in a playoff to Sergio Garcia in 2017 and last year to Rory when he completed his career Grand Slam. He also finished tied for second with Phil Mickleson at 14 under par in 2015, with Jordan Spieth being crowned the winner. The man is 45 years old and still competing at this level. To me, the golf gods owe him one at Augusta before he calls it quits.
As for Rory, credit where it’s due. He now joins the very exclusive company of players like Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the only players to ever go back-to-back at Augusta National. Rory now stands amongst three of the greatest players to ever live and it’s hard to argue with the history he just made.