The Masters, played at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, lines up to be one of the most dramatic sports tournaments every year. This year was no different, and many NASH golf fans took notice.
“The entire final round had me on the edge of my seat, not getting bored for a single second,” said NASH senior Logan Lyle.
Many storylines were set even before the tournament began, with the most popular being Rory McIlroy’s pursuit of a career grand slam. The grand slam is when a player wins each major championship, which only five players in history had done before this year.
“Rory was the person I wanted to win the most. I think most people were rooting for him to win,” said senior Jackson Walsh.
The other main story line was Scottie Scheffler, the reigning champion, ranked first in the world, who was trying to go back to back and win his third Masters championship.
Round one got off to a hot start for Scheffler, shooting 68 and finishing the first round in second place. Leading was the Englishman Justin Rose with an opening round 65. McIlroy found himself tied in second with only five holes left in his round, but he made two double bogeys at the end of the round to drop seven shots behind the lead.
Round two continued to not disappoint. Scheffler stayed solid with a second round 71, dropping him to fifth place. Rose kept him at the end of round two at 8-under total. Two players made a surge to the top: Fan favorite Bryson jumped into second place, and McIlroy shot the low round of the day, finding himself in a tie for third place.
Round three was once again all McIlroy, shooting the best round of the day and jumping into first place, leading by two shots over DeChambeau. This would lead to a rematch of the US Open from last year, where DeChambeau prevailed to beat McIlroy by one shot.
But at this year’s Masters, Rose seemed to be the best player by far through the first two rounds. Round three, however, seemed to take him out of the tournament. Rose dropped to sixth place but also seven shots behind the leader.
“I never watch golf, but I knew what was at stake, so I had to watch what could be greatness” said senior Jack Kymetic.
Round four started off better than anyone could have expected with McIlroy dropping his two-shot lead after only two holes. He did not take long after that to get comfortable, taking a five-shot lead with nine holes left to play.
Rose may have started the day seven shots back and seemed to have no chance of winning, he did not give up. On the 16th hole, he took the solo lead over Rory after he went through a four-hole stretch of 4-over.
To finish off his round, Rose made a long birdie putt to give himself a chance to win. McIlroy had other plans, hitting some of the most clutch shots on the 15th and 17th holes to take the one-shot lead over Rose.
Hitting his drive right down the middle and walking up the fairway of hole 18, McIlroy seemingly had overcome his many failed opportunities to complete the grand slam. But although he was in perfect position, he choked, hitting a bad second shot and making a bogey to tie Rose.
“I could not believe it. My whole family stopped what they were doing to watch him win,” said senior Charlie Burbick. “But getting to watch a playoff made an already phenomenal tournament even better.”
2017 was the last time the Masters went into a playoff, and the man who lost in that playoff was none other than Justin Rose. Making it his second playoff appearance in the Masters championship, he had now created an unexpected storyline for himself, too.
After both players hit good tee shots in the fairway, again both hit good shots onto the green of the first playoff hole. McIlroy’s shot was better, hitting it to two feet and putting pressure on Rose to need a birdie.
Once again Rose missed the birdie putt, making this his second lost playoff in Masters history and his third 2nd place finish.
After making his birdie putt to win, McIlroy dropped to his knees realizing what he had finally accomplished. He’d made history, not only winning his first major tournament since 2014 but also becoming only the sixth person to complete the grand slam, etching his name in golf history along the likes of Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Gene Sarazen, and Tiger Woods.
“The entire round was thrilling from beginning to end,” senior Gabe Porter said. “This was definitely one of the greatest Masters I have ever watched.”
