Majestic fairways, lasting traditions, and coveted green jackets can all be found at the most prestigious golf tournament in America. The Masters is one of the four major championships in professional golf. The tournament is held annually, the first full week of April at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Golf legends like Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods have won this tournament multiple times, making it one of the most historic in the world. “The Masters is the ‘super bowl’ of golf. I love watching the best players in the game trying to win the biggest tournament of the year,” said Pleasant Valley senior, Michael Showers.
To kick off “Masters week” the players attend several traditional events in preparation for the actual tournament. These events include a par 3 contest, where the golfers compete by playing all of the par 3 holes with their families as caddies. The champions dinner is another valued tradition, where past winners of the tournament come together and eat a dinner crafted by the previous year’s champion (all wearing their green jackets of course).
After the fun masters traditions comes the main event. The tournament is played from April 6 to April 9. The field of players includes top ten world-ranked Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas, and Jason Day. “It’s fun to see the best golfers in the world compete on the biggest stage in the world,” says Allison Miller, senior.
The drama of the 81st annual masters tournament is anything but ordinary, and started on day one. World number one, Dustin Johnson, withdrew from the tournament regarding a fluke accident in which he fell down a flight of stairs and hurt his back. Taking his own health into consideration, Johnson decided not to risk further aggravation of the injury.
Despite the world’s number one golfer not being in contention, the competition was still stiff. After the first day of the tournament, Charley Hoffman was leading by 4 strokes. With perfect weather on Friday, many golfers went low including, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, and Sergio Garcia.
With winning on their minds, players drove into Saturday’s “moving day” hoping to move their scores in a lower direction. Two of golf’s most famous names, Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson, were paired together, making their group one of the most popular to follow.
Going into the final round of the tournament, Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose had a share of the lead with Fowler and Spieth close behind. With many players still in contention to win, the battle for the green jacket was fierce. Throughout the entirety of the final round, the title of “leader” switched from player to player. Proving to be a difficult final round, Spieth and Fowler shot 75 and 76 to end the event. Towards the end of the round, Garcia and Rose broke apart from the rest of the field. The two golfers battled it out, forcing each other into a sudden death playoff. With a birdie opportunity in his hands, Garcia took advantage and sank the winning putt to become the 2017 Masters champion.
Masters week was anything but ordinary. Thanks for the memories, Augusta, see you next year.
