Well hello there! This is another edition of Kaitlyn’s Corner, and this week, I’m recapping the ever-so-exciting, ever-so-encapsulating, ever-so-iconic 2023 Masters Tournament. Between the crappy weather, tree collapses, shocking injuries, and triumphant comebacks, I’d say this was one of the more exciting golf tournaments of the year thus far.
It’s no secret that ASU’s own Jon Rahm was the winner of this year’s tournament (sorry not sorry to shout out ASU) – and what a whirlwind it was. He ended up shooting a -12, which is crazy considering he was not the leader going into Sunday morning–but hey, that’s the beauty of golf, right?
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Rahm a few times, and boy was it exciting to see someone you’ve actually interacted with win a tournament as big as The Masters. I will admit, however, I did have my money on someone else, but I’ll keep that one to myself.
It was really cool for me, personally, as both a big Rahm and Brooks Koepka fan. Look, I know what you’re thinking but let me explain! I think I’ve mentioned before that I grew up in Florida, specifically West Palm Beach. You know who else grew up in WPB? Brooks. In fact, he went to my rival high school–so ever since then, I’ve been a huge fan. So you could imagine my excitement, and anxiousness, going into Sunday knowing it could be anyone’s game.
After coming off his first big win the week before, Brooks was looking like his old self all week, but he wasn’t able to keep the mojo going on Sunday afternoon. Maybe the Easter bunny forgot to visit him the night before? Either way, he didn’t make one birdie until the 13th hole and by that time, it was game over; Rahm had already taken the lead and there was no turning back.
If you remember in his “Full Swing” feature, he had mentioned that he forgot who won The Masters the year prior–it was Scottie Scheffler of course–but I couldn’t help but think about that meme that was definitely going to be circulating the internet. Spoiler: it totally did.
Circling back to the play itself, there were a lot of surprise spotlight players, like Mr. Phil Mickelson himself–another ASU guy. Sheesh, there must be something in the water out here, huh? Anyway, despite all of the LIV drama, it was kind of exciting seeing the 52-year-old, three time Masters winning champ come back to Augusta and play his best golf in the past year. I saw somewhere people were calling him “vintage Phil,” which seemed pretty fitting.
And how about the amateur Sam Bennett? The guy is 23–the same age as me–and was in contention to win The Masters in the beginning rounds?? I was extremely impressed. Despite him ending up T16 at -2, he totally showed up and proved to everyone that he’s the real deal. Other players with notable finishes included Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed, who both were tied at -7, Cameron Young and Viktor Hovland both tied at -6, and defending Masters champ Scottie Scheffler was tied with three other players at -4.
Overall I’d say The 2023 Masters lived up to the hype, as the expectations are extremely high each year. Even though I didn’t win any money on my anonymous player, I had a blast watching every minute of it (even the early mornings thanks to the suspended rounds).
Let me know your thoughts on The 2023 Masters!