Breakfast Ball #12: The Countdown to Augusta Reaches the Teens

We are 18 days from the start of The Masters 😄 I am recounting iconic European moments from the Masters every day until the start of the tournament. Take a look on our Twitter!

In This Week’s Newsletter:

“The Course is Perfection and it asks Perfection”: What Makes Augusta National so Special?

The Masters is a special event. Regardless of current events in the golfing world, or in the world at large, it provides a respite from day to day life. While so much is changing around us, the Masters remains an ever present model of consistency. One of the reasons for this is that it has been held at the same venue for the past 90 years since the first event in 1934.

Augusta National Golf Club was founded by Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts in 1932. Bobby Jones was an incredible golfer in his own right, becoming the first player to win the Major Grand Slam in 1930 (at the time this consisted of the British Amateur, British Open, US Amateur, and US Open). Jones went out on top, retiring from competitive golf 6 weeks after completing the grand slam. As a result, he was a global sports star, but wanted to play golf in peace and quiet with his close circle of friends. In a desire to do so, he founded Augusta National.

Over the years, Augusta has had its fair share of controversy. Co-Founder Clifford Roberts once said that “as long as I am alive, all the golfers will be white and all the caddies will be black”. However, as the world has (mostly) changed in its attitude toward all human beings, Augusta has too. The first black golfer to play in The Masters was Lee Elder in 1975, 2 years before Roberts’ death. The club admitted their first women members in 2002, and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship was established in 2019.

Tradition is becoming rare in today’s world, and the Masters has it in spades. While some of Augusta’s older traditions were egregious and rightfully axed, those that have remained have done so for a reason. My favorite? Every year, a champions dinner is held the night before the start of the tournament. Only past champions are allowed to attend, and the champion of the previous year chooses the menu. Jon Rahm’s 2024 menu has been released and it looks quite fantastic.

Tradition is really what makes Augusta so special. Yes, it is beautiful and the most pristine golf course on Earth. Yes, the design and architecture is unique and provides a challenge like no other. But the reason Augusta has stood the test of time is because it hasn’t really been changed by time. We all remember when the magic of the Masters was broadcast into our living rooms for the first time. We continue seek that magic each and every year, knowing that it will produce drama like no other.

Other traditions include:

• A par 3 competition has been held the day before the start of the tournament on the onsite 9-hole par 3 course since 1960

• The previous year’s champion presents the famed green jacket to the new champion each year

• Only 4 minutes of advertisements per hour are allowed during the broadcast

• No mobile phones are allowed across the property, except within the press rooms

• Food prices are extremely low

• Players must return their green jacket to the course one year after winning The Masters, at which point players can only wear it at Augusta

Jesper Svensson Wins his First DP World Tour Title, Seamus Power Struggles on Sunday in Florida

Sweden’s Jesper Svensson won the Porsche Singapore Classic after a 3-hole playoff against Kiradech Aphibarnrat. Svensson only graduated from the second tier Challenge Tour in November, and this result moved him to third in the current DP World Tour (DPWT) rankings. He is 28 years old and played his collegiate golf at Campbell University in North Carolina. With PGA Tour cards being distributed to the top 10 players at the end of the DPWT season who don’t currently have one, Svensson has put himself in a good position to go from the Challenge Tour to the PGA Tour in just over 12 months. Svensson needed birdies on the last two holes to shoot a 9-under 63 and get to a playoff, then birdied the third playoff hole to win the tournament.

Matthieu Pavon 🇫🇷 and Paul Casey 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 finished 5th and 6th respectively, three and four shots off the winner. Shane Lowry 🇮🇪 was battling jet lag as he had a very erratic week on the course. He still had a chance to make some waves, but played the last 7 holes of the tournament in +5 to finish T29, nine shots off the winner.

American Peter Malnati won the Valspar Championship by two shots ahead of Cameron Young on the PGA Tour. Seamus Power 🇮🇪 was in the final group on Sunday, starting the day two shots off the lead. However, it was a very difficult day for Power, who shot +5 to finish T26. He has shown flashes of great golf this year, but has been unable to string 4 consistent rounds together. He has shot a round of 74 or more in each of his last 5 tournaments.

Other Results:

• Matti Schmid 🇩🇪, Thomas Detry 🇧🇪, and Matt Wallace 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 all finished in the top 20 at the Valspar

• For anyone who has watched Full Swing on Netflix, Alex Fitzpatrick 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 has had a solid start to his first full season on the DP World Tour - he is currently 39th in the rankings, with five top 20s in eight starts

Coming up this week on Tour:

• The PGA Tour Moves to the Texas Children’s Houston Open

• The Hero Indian Open is the DP World Tour’s next stop

If you have any feedback for the newsletter or would like to get in touch, I would love to hear from you! Email [email protected] or message us on Twitter/X at @BlueHorizonGolf. Thank you for reading!