[PHOTO: Getty Images]

One hour of golf. That’s all it took to unravel Jasper Stubbs’ dreams at the Masters tournament two weeks ago.

But the Melbourne amateur is not bitter. Far from it. He’s vowed to take the learnings he has from his first major and return full circle to the famous Georgia golf tournament.

For the 22-year-old Stubbs, it is now time for reflection upon his missed cut, and for getting back to work.

As the Asia-Pacific Amateur champion, he knew from last October that he was entitled to his spot in the Masters, and his whole family made the trip to the US for the occasion.

Stubbs had endured his first practice round in front of a full house, an awe-inspiring experience on the Monday. “I was probably more nervous teeing off Monday in my first practice round because that was the first time everyone was there, and it was 50,000 people. By the time Thursday came around, I’d done it before so I wasn’t as nervous. A different kind of nerves.”

On Tuesday, he took on the traditional ball-skipping punch shot across the pond at the 16th and almost holed it. Another huge crowd response ensued, and plenty of “Go Stubbsy!” shouts given the presence of half a dozen of his fellow members from Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club.

On the Wednesday, he played the Par-3 Contest and had his brother Fletcher caddie for him in the famous white overalls. His sister Piper flew in from elsewhere in the US, where she is on a college scholarship.

The fun was only beginning for Fletcher Stubbs. “I was never going to finish out the Par-3,” Jasper said. “I was always letting my brother hit one. So he hit for me on nine.”

Augusta National was everything he expected and more. “With the wind and heat it was tough to keep it perfect, but you tee off first thing Thursday, they’d had rain overnight and it was millimetre-perfect, every blade grass and those greens were rolling as good as anything you’ve ever played on.

“As soon as a divot’s taken it’s sanded back in straight away by someone. You never see a weed. One of the cool things is when you play 12, it’s all divots but by the next day, it’s all replaced with new grass ready to go.”

Then the tournament. Stubbs was just two-over through 14 holes in round one and playing nicely alongside former winner Zach Johnson and Canadian Corey Conners. A strong drive on the par-5 15th left him 198 metres to the flag over the pond. Stubbs hit 5-iron straight at the flag, but it landed, backed up off the ridge in the green and rolled into the water.

“It was probably a metre-and-a-half from looking like a 3. I thought I hit a good shot. To walk away with 7 was pretty annoying,” he said.

At the par-3 16th he hit a bad shot, pulling his short iron tee shot into the pond left, for a second consecutive double-bogey. Half an hour on, he was licking his wounds having given back six shots to par in the final four holes for an 80.

“I went out there and played 14 pretty good holes of golf on Thursday and then it just unravelled a bit. A couple of small margins on those last few holes that I missed, they went the wrong way and it cost me big time.”

Friday dawned and while the weather was difficult to say the least, with strong winds, Stubbs backed up with courage, shooting a 76 that sat comfortably with almost anyone in the field.

He birdied the first hole, and hit his highlight shot of the week – a lasered iron shot to the front-right pin at the par-3 16th that led to a birdie. “To shoot four-over in that second round was pretty much the average score on that second day,” Stubbs said. “I played quite well. I didn’t even feel like in either the first or second round that I played that badly. I just had that one hour of bad golf and it cost me for the week.”

Stubbs has a big year ahead: the Golf Australia Interstate Series for Victoria on the Gold Coast early next month, a trip to the UK to play The Amateur, the St Andrews Links Trophy, the European Amateur and the Open Championship (another bonus of his Asia-Pacific Amateur victory).

He will go with a whole new set of knowledge.

“There’s always learnings and when you go to an event that might be a little out of your reach, that’s when you can learn the most. Because I’ve just played with the best players in the world, the top 85 in the world basically, and I felt like if I take out a couple of holes then I was pretty much on par with how they can play.

“It’s nice to know that but also that hour of golf is still in there, so my biggest learning is going to be how do I get that out of there and how I push to where Scottie Scheffler is pushing his golf.”

Stubbs has a plan for his future, and it’s not that surprising what it entails. He wants to get back to Augusta one day as a pro, and the journey starts now.

“It’s an amazing week,” he said. “I’m not even really worried about the score I had. It was just a week I’ll remember forever. It’s given me more motivation to get back there. That’s the big take-away for me.”

The post Back to reality for Jasper Stubbs after the Masters appeared first on Australian Golf Digest.

[PHOTO: Stephen Szurlej]

Scottie Scheffler dominated the final round of the 2024 Masters, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a better moment from that day than something that happened before the world No.1 even teed off at Augusta National.

Of course, we’re talking about former world No.1 Tiger Woods and Verne Lundquist having that touching interaction on the 16th hole. It was an appropriate spot considering it was there in 2005 when Woods pulled off arguably his most famous shot and Lundquist uttered his most famous call.

Anyway, as Woods walked to the 17th tee on Sunday, he stopped to shake hands and chat with the legendary CBS announcer who was calling his 40th and final Masters broadcast later that day. In case you happened to miss it, here’s a look:

Tiger Woods took a moment during his round to share a handshake with longtime broadcaster Verne Lundquist

Lundquist will be retiring from his coverage at the Masters after this year's tournament. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/J8fZKxv8Va

— ESPN (@espn) April 14, 2024

So good. So what was said between the two? Lundquist joined TNT Sports’ Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley on the latest episode of The Steam Room podcast to discuss.

“I ventured down to 16 and he was playing 14 at the time and he was having a horrible day. Five-over and wound up dead last in the tournament,” Lundquist said. “But even though he was five-over, he walked off the green at 16 and as he approached, I just said, ‘Tiger, thank you.’ He reached over and shook my hand and we chatted. In all candour, I can’t remember what we said, except I thanked him for the kind words that he had, and he said, ‘We’re gonna be tied at the hip forever,’ because of that shot and because of what I said.”

We get it, Verne. Those things happen so quick it’s hard to remember what exactly was said. Also, you’re 83 so you get a pass. But Verne vividly remembered something else that happened moments later that will really stick with him.

“The thing I most treasure about it,” Lundquist continued. “He went over and teed off at 17, I was still standing under the tree. And as he walked down the 17th fairway, he just looked over and gave me a thumbs up. I will treasure that forever.”

Sometimes it’s the simple things that make the biggest impact. Like when Rory McIlroy tipped his cap at Tiger Woods at the 2022 British Open, causing the 15-time major champion to start crying.

But Lundvist fully believes that unlike himself, Woods will definitely be back to create more memories at the Masters.

“People say, ‘Do you think he’ll come back?’ Hell yes, he’ll come back,” Lundquist added. “He’s not gonna let people remember that he was 60th in a field of 60.”

Good point, Verne. Thanks for sharing. And thanks for all the memories.

[h/t Awful Announcing]

The post Verne Lundquist shares what Tiger Woods did during their touching Masters interaction that he will ‘treasure forever’ appeared first on Australian Golf Digest.

World No.1 Scottie Scheffler cemented his stature as the game’s current dominant golfer with a second victory at the Masters Tournament in three years. It was also his ninth career PGA Tour victory and third title in four starts. His four-stroke win over Ludvig Åberg came just weeks before the arrival of his first child with his wife, Meredith. This is his blog from Augusta National.

[PHOTOS: Getty Images]

It’s hard to put into words how special this win is. It’s been a long week, a grind of a week as the golf course was so challenging, and to be wearing this green jacket again and getting to take it home is extremely special.

When I look at the tournament from two years ago, I’d built myself a lead on Friday afternoon and was able to play with the lead and play comfortably, whereas this week, I felt like I was battling the whole week. I got out there on Thursday, and it was so windy, and I was able to shoot a great score. The next two days were really just a fight. I can’t even describe how difficult the conditions were on Friday afternoon. It was a long week and I had to battle some ups and downs. 

Just like any human would, your mind starts to wander a little bit out there on the golf course. We’re out competing for four or five hours at a time and you’ve got to let your mind wander. I tried to soak in the stuff around me… I looked up at the trees at times and I looked up at the patrons occasionally to try to soak in some of their energy.

I did not let myself get attached to the lead. I just tried to keep pushing. I think if I had played a little bit defensively, it would have been a significantly different finish. I went for the green in two on 13, and was able to make birdie, and I attacked the pin on 14 and made birdie. Went for it again on 15 for a nice par, and I hit a really good shot on 16 to make birdie again. If I was just trying to make pars on the back nine, I would have been standing on 18 having to make par and hoping Ludvig would only make a par.

The Sunday morning this time around was definitely different than two years ago too. Instead of just me and my wife, Meredith at the house, I had a couple of my buddies with me, and we sat and relaxed, and I tried not to think about golf. But it was increasingly difficult. They were a great support for me and while it was a long morning, it was well worth it. I told my buddies I was a bit overwhelmed, and I wish I didn’t want to win it as badly as I did. I think it would make the mornings easier. However, I love winning and I hate losing. When you’re here in the biggest moments, when I’m sitting with the lead on Sunday, I really, really want to win badly. 

My buddies then told me my victory was secure on the cross (Note: Scheffler’s faith is Christianity). That’s a pretty special feeling to know that I’m secure forever and it doesn’t matter if I win this tournament or lose this tournament. I get to come out here and compete, have fun, enjoy it; and then at the end of the day, win or lose, my identity is secure. So when I’m out there, I try to compete to the best of my abilities. I feel like that’s how I was designed. I’ve been that way since I was a young kid.

I wish I could soak this in a little bit more. Maybe I will when I get home. But at the end of the day, I think that’s what the human heart does. You always want more, and I think you have to fight those things and focus on what’s good.

I feel like I’m playing really good golf right now. I feel like I’m in control of my emotions as I’ve ever been, which is a good place to be. I feel like I’m maturing as a person on the golf course, which is a good place to be. I think it’s hard to argue with the results of the past few weeks. I’m going to go home and reflect on this win and soak it in as best I can. I try not to think about the past or the future too much. I love trying to live in the present. I’ve had a really good start to the year, and I hope that I can continue on this path that I’m on.

I’m going to continue to put in the work that’s got me here and keep my head down. When I step up on the tee at a tournament, being able to tell myself that I did everything I could to play well and the rest isn’t up to me.

I will definitely enjoy the birth of my first child. My priorities will change very soon. My son or daughter will now be the main priority, along with my wife, so golf will now be probably fourth in line. But I still love competing and I don’t plan on taking my eye off the ball anytime soon, that’s for sure.

Fans can watch Scottie Scheffler and the world’s best golfers compete on the PGA Tour in this week’s RBC Heritage on Kayo.

The post Player Blog: Scottie Scheffler appeared first on Australian Golf Digest.

Two days after the conclusion of another splendid Masters, some not-so-splendid news involving a former Augusta National Golf Club worker emerged.

The Chicago Tribune reported an ex-employee was charged in federal court in Chicago with stealing millions of dollars in Masters merchandise and memorabilia over a 13-year span. A one-page ciminal information was filed on Tuesday outlawing the charges.

Rory McIlroy shuts down LIV Golf rumours: ‘I will play the PGA Tour for the rest of my career’

Robert Globensky, a 39-year-old from Augusta, was alleged to have moved “millions of dollars’ worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and historical memorabilia” from the club from 2009 to 2022. It’s not clear what his role at Augusta National was.

Globensky is said to have taken stolen items to Tampa, Florida, bringing in charges of transporting stolen goods across sate lines as well. It’s not clear what those items were or why charges were filed in Chicago.

Augusta National has been involved in a number of legal battles through the years, including suing an auction house over the sale of a green jacket and cracking down against those scalping Masters tickets.

In regards to Globensky, an arraignment hasn’t been set, and the Chicago Tribune notes that defendants “typically plan to plead guilty” in cases where charges are brought by information instead of by a grand jury.

If found guilty, Globensky would have to return all the stolen goods or money made from them.

The post Former Augusta National worker charged with stealing millions in Masters merchandise and memorabilia appeared first on Australian Golf Digest.

[PHOTO: Ben Walton]

Now that a few days have passed, it’s been enough to validate that the sensation was real – yes, that was a feel-good Masters. The biggest reason being that Scottie Scheffler was in such command he finally convinced even the most stubborn doubters just how good he is.

But it was also welcome to come away feeling, if not quite good, at least better about pro golf.

Masters 2024: Scottie Scheffler did what was expected, which you’re not supposed to do

It’s been a while. I’ve been worried to the point of resignation that the fracture in the professional game caused by the profligate poaching of PGA Tour pros to the Saudi-funded rival league, LIV Golf, was pointing golf towards the same spiral as boxing, track and field, bowling and even tennis as another sport to lose its hold on the public. But yes, while the CBS’ final-round ratings followed the trend in 2024 of being down from the previous year, some interactions and observations from being at this year’s Masters eased my mind.

It began with Fred Ridley. Whether the Augusta National chairman is or isn’t the most powerful organisational leader in golf, his annual Wednesday press conference has become pivotal. Last week as he addressed thorny, unresolved issues with a calm understatement that belied urgency. By the end of his remarks, the way forward seemed more clear.

He also pushed back against growing criticism of the Official World Golf Ranking by calling it a “legitimate determiner of who the best players in the game are”, and defended the OWGR’s crucial decision to deny LIV events ranking points by characterising the upstart league as “for the most part, a closed shop”.

Masters 2024: As Scottie Scheffler charged, his challengers suffered these Augusta gut-punches

Ridley addressed the media from a podium set beside an arresting portrait of Bobby Jones. Known for his unerring judgement in all things golf, Jones inspired Herbert Warren Wind to write, “Of all the people that I have met in sports – or out – Jones came the closest to being what we call a great man.” Jones’ questioning expression as captured by painter Thomas Stephens seems to issue a challenge to uphold the game’s highest standards, one carried on through Ridley’s words.

Attending the press conference in a front-row seat was Augusta National member Tim Finchem, Jay Monahan’s predecessor as PGA Tour commissioner. Turning 77 this Friday, the green-jacketed Finchem understandably demurred going deep on the current crisis, but what he generously offered was nonetheless profound.

“The scale is larger, but what’s happening isn’t new,” he said, citing Greg Norman’s attempt to start a renegade World Tour in 1994, which Finchem quelled by making clear any PGA Tour member who joined would face suspension or worse. “Golf wasn’t that different then, or even 10 years ago. And I don’t think it will be that different 10 years from now. It’s golf.”

The result has been a niche sport that purists appreciate for the skills required but which has always been carried by a few charismatic stars and a wealthy demographic. Eventually it provided its athletes with the longest potential careers in sports, the best pension and the kind of elevated image that draws corporate partners. Before LIV appeared in 2022, whatever player complaints there were about the PGA Tour were drowned out by gratitude for two decades of rising purses built on shrewd leadership and the transcendent aura of Tiger Woods.

Of course, the “irrational threat” – to use Monahan’s phrase – of the most aggressive financial incursion any sport has ever seen by an upstart rival league caused amnesia in more than a few players who left, and a demand for dramatic change among many who stayed. Now, however, the purses of the tour’s signature events are squeezing sponsors, and a board that has given players more control than ever has been tasked with putting together a complicated merger that no longer promises a quick resolution.

It’s been depressing, and thus bracing to hear Finchem’s view that, somehow, this too shall pass. Which brought to mind that pro golf going forward should rely on the best of itself.

That was well defined by Tom Watson, after he, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player finished their duties as honorary starters. “We all knew the stakes,” Watson said of the trio’s and Woods’ pursuit of greatness. “We all played the game. And that made us all kind of the same.”

Which was, in a word, great.

Which gets us back to Scheffler. Watching how he plays, how he carries himself, how he thinks, is to watch a golfer on the verge of mastery. At the same time, it’s fair to wonder whether he wants all that comes with it enough to be great. Maybe the 27-year-old No.1 is indeed too nice, too well-balanced.

Or maybe he’s uncannily extra balanced, with that rarest ability to be Everyman and The Man at the same time. That was how I was leaning listening to him, in his post-victory interview, explain the duality of who he is.

“I feel like playing professional golf is an endlessly unsatisfying career,” he said. That sounded jarring, almost foreboding. Then, with admirable introspection, Scheffler elaborated. “I really want to win. I feel like that’s how I was designed. I’ve been that way since I was a young kid… I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, either… I love winning. I hate losing – I really do. And when you’re here in the biggest moments, when I’m sitting there with the lead on Sunday, I really, really want to win badly.”

Scheffler has shown us through tough losses that the fight itself is a big part of his good. And the way he won the Masters showed us that he can be great.

That allows those who’ve been worrying about the greatest game of all to feel much better.

The post Scottie Scheffler and the Masters should leave you feeling better about pro golf’s future. Here’s why appeared first on Australian Golf Digest.

Neal Shipley will officially go down as the low amateur at the Masters, but unofficially, he was also the high golfer in terms of viral moments from Sunday at Augusta National. And during an appearance yesterday on US talk show “The Pat McAfee Show”, the Ohio State University grad student explained what was going on during two moments that have turned him into an internet meme.

Let’s back up to his press conference that ended with this awkward exchange regarding Tiger Woods, with whom Shipley played the final round. A reporter asked Shipley about a note he saw Woods pass Shipley on the eighth hole and here was Shipley’s response:

#NoteGate — A reporter said he saw Tiger Woods write something down & hand a note to Neal Shipley in the 8th fairway.

“No no, that didn’t happen”

pic.twitter.com/1D4FBOH3Ak

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) April 14, 2024

Leading to this creative piece of editing:

Who Neal Shipley looked at after being asked about the Tiger note pic.twitter.com/vZolzsUsHB

— Shooter McGavin (@ShooterMcGavin_) April 15, 2024

Then there was Shipley’s appearance in Butler Cabin with winner Scottie Scheffler, defending champion Jon Rahm, CBS’ Jim Nantz, and Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley that had people wondering what the young man was looking at off camera:

What the heck is Neil, low amateur, looking at while the Chairman of Augusta is addressing him pic.twitter.com/okSX87BmJW

— Stephen Roche (@StephenRoche100) April 14, 2024

So what was up with “notegate”? During his hilarious spot with McAfee, Shipley reiterated there was no note from Woods, and that he was only looking at the moderator because he was so confused where the question was coming from:

What about that note from Tiger

"This guy from Yahoo Sports asked that question and I was so confused..

That just didn't happen and nobody in the press room really knew who he was"

Neal Shipley #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/5i8KxKooS3

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 16, 2024

“I looked over at the moderator like, ‘Who the hell is this guy?'” Shipley says in the clip. “Because it just didn’t happen. I was so confused and so shocked in the moment.”

Masters 2024: The internet really wants to know what Neal Shipley was staring at in Butler Cabin

So there you have it. Shipley also admitted, “My boys were really giving it to me. Which I appreciate. Gotta keep my feet on the ground.”

OK, so why were his eyes darting around Butler Cabin? Shipley said he was so nervous about saying something stupid, particularly cursing. And that caused him to look at the teleprompter to make sure he wasn’t missing his cue to speak during the traditional ceremony.

You've got GREAT periph

"I was so nervous and I didn't wanna say something stupid..

I kept looking at the teleprompter and I looked like a dumbass" ~ Neal Shipley#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/jnlqtQkDYf

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 16, 2024

Makes sense. That was quite a spot for the young man to be in. But again, he heard about it (“I was getting roasted in the group chat”) and he understands why (“I looked like a dumbass”). Shipley even mocked himself by looking off to the side at one point during the interview.

And you know what? Now he’s an even bigger legend than before. Well played, Neal.

The post Neal Shipley explains those weird Masters videos, admits to looking like a ‘dumbass’ in hilarious talk-show appearance appeared first on Australian Golf Digest.

[PHOTO: Ben Walton]

Something you’ll often hear in sports – all sports, not just golf – is that it’s impossible for any athlete to be as dominant as the best players were in bygone eras. The talent pool is too deep. Advanced statistics have stripped away the inefficiencies. Better coaching and equipment have closed the gap. Reasons, reasons, on and on.

Sometimes, the reasons even make a lot of sense.

I think back to 2015, when people would explain why no horse would ever win the Triple Crown again. The contenders would skip the second leg (Preakness) if they lost the first leg (Kentucky Derby), the logic when, and therefore return fresher than the horse vying for its third title at the Belmont.

And then, it happens. Horse racing got its first Triple Crown winner since 1978 in American Pharoah, and then three years later Justify accomplished the feat.

Spells of dominance don’t happen often because spells of dominance are hard to produce, but it doesn’t then follow that they’re impossible to repeat again in the future. Things change in sports. Vacuums open, and new players rush in to fill them – and learn to dominate in innovative new ways.

Golf is in the midst of that moment right now.

Scottie Scheffler is the first player since Tiger who is clearly the best player in the game – and then proves it. He was obviously going to win the Players Championship, and he did. Then he was obviously going to win the 2024 Masters, and he did.

“He’s on an historic heater,” said Dr Bhrett McCabe as we watched Scheffler drive his ball into the greenside bunker on Augusta National’s third hole in the final round, then blast his ball to tap-in range to extend his lead to three shots.

“He’s not Tiger, but he’s generational. He’s operating on a completely different level.”

1. Progress is slow, simple and boring

For as flashy as Scottie’s slip-sliding footwork is, that’s really not the reason why it’s good. The reason why he’s good is far more boring than that.

Scheffler has had the same coach for the better part of 20 years – the legendary coach Randy Smith, a genius of the craft. Look back on his swing from his junior golf days and it’s really not that much different. Sure, there are little things, but there would be no mistaking that this is the same golfer.

Scottie Scheffler hitting a wedge (age 17) vs. Scottie Scheffler hitting a wedge (age 27) pic.twitter.com/lkj4Hvaz3W

— LKD (@LukeKerrDineen) April 15, 2024

The lesson here is that there was no breakthrough moment to Scheffler’s career. He just lives on a constant state of making tiny little improvements. He’s never not changing, and he’s never making wholesale changes. He checks his grip religiously. His alignment and weight shift, too. He makes sure his swing doesn’t move too severely in one direction or the other.

“It’s a big part of my practice, and usually what I do at the beginning of my practice each day is focus on my fundamentals,” he told me at the start of the week. “When my swing gets off, it’s usually something that’s very basic about what I’m doing.”

Slow, simple, boring, consistent. Lots of little upgrades. That’s what moving from good to great looks like.

2. Embrace a results mindset

The nature of professional golf is that you’re trying to cash cheques, and win, every single week. All while trying to get a little bit better. Or, at the very least, make sure you’re not getting any worse.

It leads to a lot of pros embracing what I call a “results mindset”. When they’re adopting a change – to their swing, equipment, or anything else – they become acutely aware of the early returns. The results may not be perfect every time, but ask yourself:

• Do you like what you see on those good shots?

• Can you work with the discomfort of making the change?

• Do you feel like you can do, physically, what you’re being asked?

• Are the bad shots better?

If the answer to one or any of those questions is no, then pros will quickly scrap it and look for something new.

“If I don’t see the shots I want to pretty much right away, I’ll discard that until I find something that gives me the results I want to see,” Bryson DeChambeau says. “That’s what gives me confidence. I’m in a place now where I’ve figured some stuff out with my golf game, golf swing. I’m just in a comfortable place where I know I can keep doing the same thing every single week.”

3. Find a new feel for the same thing

Perhaps the most difficult thing for coaches out here is figuring out a new way to say the same thing. The day-to-day of coaching a tour player doesn’t involve too many wild swings.

“Often, as coaches, we’re here to present the information,” says Dana Dahlquist, Golf Digest No.9-ranked coach in the US. “The player then needs to take that information and find a way for it to translate it to the golf course.”

It’s something the rest of us can learn from. The thing you’re working on may not (and probably shouldn’t) change much, but the feeling you’re using to get there probably will.

“Sometimes you search. You’re just trying to find a feel,” Collin Morikawa explains. “Once you find a feel, you can repeat and just put it on repeat all throughout the week.”

4. Embrace the new school waggle

You know one thing I notice all the time these days? That golfers’ waggles look different now.

I’d say a vast majority of players, before their shots, rehearse one move that they’re trying to improve in their swing. Rory McIlroy’s backswing rehearsal is an example, or Max Homa’s upper body tilt towards the ball. So is Ludvig Aberg’s pre-shot setup spacing routine.

The goal, explains Aberg’s coach Hans Larsson, is to make the technical feel natural.

“It solves a technical issue in his golf swing, but he has no idea. When he’s over the ball, he wouldn’t even notice he’s doing it,” he says.

5. Oversimplified head tilts

I thought Michael Breed killed it with his Masters On The Range commentary this week. One thing I found particularly interesting was his analysis of “head tilts”.

Oversimplified, tilting and turning your head in one direction or the other changes the direction your eyes are pointing. That’s important, because your “club path will generally follow where your eyes are pointing”, Breed says.

Breed says a “draw eyeline” is when your eyes are tilted and pointing to the right of your target. A “fade eyeline” is when your eyes are looking to the left of your target. Scheffler uses a draw eyeline to match-up his fade swing, Breed says. McIlroy is an example of a prototypical right-to-left draw swinger.

.@MichaelBreed is killing it with his Masters On The Range coverage.

Cool segment just now on the differences and similarities in Rory and Scottie's head movement.

"Rory creates a draw eyeline. Typically, the club would follow the eyeline out to the right." pic.twitter.com/1uMlbmanLP

— LKD (@LukeKerrDineen) April 14, 2024

6. Look for the patterns

McIlroy didn’t have his best Masters, but I thought we could learn a lot from this quote of his anyway.

One of the keys to getting better? Looking honestly and earnestly at your game. Your goal is to spot the trends, both good and bad. Zoom out on your game and ask yourself: what’s happening?

“Patterns emerge the more that you play,” he says. “I feel like I’ve got a big enough data set of rounds to sort of know how to manage what I’m doing.”

7. Good bogeys vs ‘brain-dead bogeys’

This week, I learned that pros think there are two kinds of bogeys in this world: good bogeys and “brain-dead bogeys”, as Brian Harman put it.

Good bogeys are when you find yourself in some kind of trouble, and turn it into a bogey instead of a double or worse. Hit your ball into the trees, punch out sideways, hit your ball on (or near) the green and two-putt? That’s a good bogey.

Brain-dead bogeys are when you don’t find yourself in trouble and make bogey anyway. A drive down the middle, an iron shot near the green, a substandard chip and three putts? That’s a brain-dead bogey.

Good bogeys are fine. They happen. Brain-dead bogeys (or brain-dead double-bogeys for the rest of us), those are the round-killers.

8. Aggressive doesn’t mean dumb

I was standing with famed caddie Fanny Sunesson, who caddied for Nick Faldo for all three of his green jackets, on Augusta National’s par-3 fourth hole as Max Homa rolled through. The pin was tucked on the back right of the green, and we watched Homa drop a 170-metre iron on a dime, 10 feet away.

“He probably didn’t mean to take that line,” I said.

Fanny looked at me with surprise.

“Yes he did,” she said.

I was confused. If Homa missed short, right or long, he’d be short-sided. Why would he risk that, instead of just aiming for the middle of the green?

The reason why aiming for the pin on the right of the fourth hole was the smart play, Sunesson explained, is because it’s the only flat spot on a big, severely sloped green. The rest of the green may as well not be there.

“The slope is so severe, if you hit the slope the ball doesn’t stay there, it kicks down to the left,” she said. “You don’t want to miss right, but you really don’t want to hit that slope, because it’s a far more difficult shot from over there.”

It was a fascinating insight into Augusta National and also underlined a level of detail that often goes overlooked by the rest of us.

9. Don’t let nerves change your process

I was following Aberg during his final round when I bumped into his coach Larsson. Amazed at how calm this 24-year-old playing in his first major looked as he was contesting for the Masters lead, I asked a simple question:

“Is he even nervous?”

“Of course. Everybody is.” Larsson said.

“But the biggest shift in sports psychology from when I was growing up is accepting that nerves will happen no matter what you do. People used to tell you: when you’re nervous, lie down, take deep breaths, try to stay calm, go to your happy place. But emotions will happen, you can’t control that.”

He continued: “It’s OK that you feel differently, but you must keep acting the same. Doing the same processes that you’ve practised. Give your brain something to focus on, otherwise it will go into instinctual survival mode. It will find something to focus by assessing potential threats to how you feel.”

Aberg didn’t win this time, but he’s doing everything right, and it keeps getting more impressive. Majors are in this guys future – and soon.

10. Golf-swing slumps don’t last forever

Finally, 23-year-old Nicolai Hojgaard had his best finish in a major – T-16 in his first Masters, spending much of the first few rounds fluttering around the lead. It was a far cry from when I was chatting with him a month earlier, and asked him about his golf swing.

“My swing feels a bit s–t, to be honest,” he said.

A bit similar to Morikawa, playing poorly doesn’t last forever. Keep working on it, and pretty soon, you’ll find a feel that will make you feel like the good golf will never end.

The post Masters 2024: 10 things I learned from pros at Augusta appeared first on Australian Golf Digest.

Jon Rahm did not have a very fun time at this past week’s Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. And it wasn’t just because he barely made the cut and struggled his way to a T-45 finish.

Yes, Rahm failed to post a singe round under par, and at times looked miserable doing it, but there was another reason the Masters was unsettling for the defending champion. In an interview with Spanish newspaper El Mundo, the 29-year-old said he wasn’t exactly feeling the love from some of his former PGA Tour acquaintances whom he had not seen since making the move to LIV.

“Yes, I have noticed hostile attitudes,” Rahm said. “But I expected it, my friends have continued to be my friends, but some with whom I had a very cordial relationship have not even looked at my face.”

Rahm gave no indication of who he was referring to. Though one man we can definitely rule out is Scottie Scheffler, who Rahm was chuckling with during the green jacket ceremony following Scheffler’s victory. No ill will there, it would appear.

Rahm says he was much more surprised by who it was that iced him as opposed to the icing in general.

“If someone changes their opinion [of me] it’s your issue, not mine,” he said. “I knew what was going to happen but I didn’t know who.”

The writer of the El Mundo article, Hugo Costa, alluded to the fact that Rahm did have a “good relationship” with both Max Homa and Patrick Cantlay prior to leaving for LIV and that those two “could have had gestures of contempt” towards the Spaniard at the Masters. Rahm did not call out anyone by name.

Rahm won’t play again for two more weeks, when LIV returns to Australia for LIV Golf Adelaide at The Grange Golf Club. As for when we’ll see him again against the PGA Tour’s best players, that won’t be for another month, when the PGA Championship returns to Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, May 16-19.

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Neal Shipley turned heads on Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club for literally turning his head on two separate occasions.

The first came during Shipley’s post-round press conference after he had secured Low Amateur honours. At the Masters, when you are brought into the interview room, the presser is conducted by one of the club’s members, who sit directly beside the player taking the questions.

At the very end of the interview, Shipley was asked about a note Tiger Woods handed to him at some point during the round. What happened next was about as awkward as it gets:

Really weird sequence pic.twitter.com/SLkbAiTnAN

— Matt Graeff (@mattgraeffgolf) April 14, 2024

As you can see, Shipley’s head immediately darted to his right upon hearing the question. The green jacket sitting next to him offered no guidance, but Shipley was quick on his feet and denied any note handoff.

Some might say “nothing to see here,” others might think he was told to keep his lip zipped regarding whatever this so-called note was from Woods. Knowing how Augusta National operates, will never actually know what this was about.

Later in the evening, Shipley found himself back in front of the cameras in the oddly-intimate setting that is Butler Cabin, where the Low Amateur gets to sit beside the current and former Masters winners, as well as chairman Fred Ridley and CBS’ Jim Nantz. While Ridley was congratulating Shipley, cameras captured his eyes looking at something off camera, and the internet is dying to know what it was:

What the heck is Neil, low amateur, looking at while the Chairman of Augusta is addressing him pic.twitter.com/okSX87BmJW

— Stephen Roche (@StephenRoche100) April 14, 2024

Yet again, this is a simple nothing-to-see-here situation or something much weirder is taking place off camera. At Augusta, things seem to always fall somewhere in between.

Naturally, the memes began flowing like the salmon of capistrano:

Neal Shipley rn pic.twitter.com/kqK5YJnftm

— Fore Play (@ForePlayPod) April 14, 2024

Neal Shipley in Butler Cabin pic.twitter.com/gUSknA81eG

— Shooter McGavin (@ShooterMcGavin_) April 15, 2024

What the hell was Neal Shipley looking at? #themasters pic.twitter.com/bGgccPTf6s

— DrunkByTheTurn (@DBTTofficial) April 14, 2024

Neal Shipley in Butler Cabin https://t.co/g2Emz83iiN

— Mark Fox (@ThePluggedLie) April 14, 2024

Who does Neal Shipley keep looking at??? pic.twitter.com/A4IfWZM28X

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) April 14, 2024

You play a round with Tiger Woods at Augusta and then become a meme. What a day for Neal Shipley pic.twitter.com/dyGK0yMkKV

— Ali Hampson Silk (@alihampsonsilk) April 14, 2024

That’s exactly right, Ali. That’s the power of playing with Tiger Woods, at the Masters, and earning Low Amateur honours. One minute your just another guy and the next you are going mega viral for simply looking at things. What a week for Neal Shipley.

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[PHOTO: Maddie Meyer]

Scottie Scheffler offered an interesting phrase in talking about his second Masters victory in three years. “Attached to the lead.” It is the notion that you can fall so in love with where you are in the moment that you lose sight of the task ahead.

In describing his neck-stomping, back-nine play in the final round, Scheffler said, “I did not ever let myself get attached to the lead. I just tried to keep pushing. I think if I would have played defensively it would have been a significantly different finish.”

The great ones never settle, and Scheffler powered forward as if his mind and body were turbo-charged. Locked in a four-way tie after he bogeyed the seventh hole, Scheffler stormed into the lead with three straight birdies from the eighth through 10th and never looked back in shooting a four-under-par 68 for a four-shot victory over Ludvig Aberg.

“Around this golf course, you have to stay aggressive,” Scheffler said. “You have to hit the right shots. There’s no way around it out here. You can’t play too defensive, and you can’t play too aggressive.”

Masters 2024: Caddie Ted Scott had no idea Scottie Scheffler would be THIS good

Scheffler’s strong run started with a birdie at par-5 eighth, with him saying afterwards that it was his most important hole. After a 292-metre drive, he was left with 230 metres uphill and powered a 3-iron that went through the right section of the green. He called his third-shot chip “extremely difficult” because the green was sloped away from him, but he pitched past the cup to 10 feet.

As he did for most of the week, Scheffler showed his newfound confidence with the putter. “It was a putt that you had to really start on line and hope it held its line. I poured that one in,” he said.

That would start a string of three straight birdies, with Scheffler smashing a 320-metre drive down the hill at the ninth. He was left with 81 metres and a mere lob wedge – the kind of position that will make past Masters champions shake their heads in both admiration and disgust. From there, Scheffler lofted his approach that hit past the flag and nearly trickled back into the hole, stopping six inches away.

Anybody think it was over at that point? It was.

The birdie gave Scheffler the outright lead, and he added to it at the difficult 10th hole with 134-metre pitching wedge to nine feet for a third consecutive birdie.

Masters 2024: The clubs Scottie Scheffler used to win at Augusta National

“I knew there was birdies out there on back nine,” Scheffler said. “I had a lot of really talented players trying to chase me down, and I knew pars weren’t going to get it done.”

The only hiccup would come on the challenging 11th, with Scheffler missing the green right and failing to convert his nine-foot par putt. When he got through the treacherous little par-3 12th with a two-putt par, it was attack, attack, attack from there.

Much of how well Scheffler played came in the fact that he drove it so beautifully and stayed away from big misses. Finding the fairway allowed him to go for the green in two at both of the back-nine par 5s; he birdied the 13th with a two-putt and saved par at 15 when his approach found the right greenside bunker. In between, Scheffler scored a clinical birdie at 14 when shaped a 141-metre wedge that landed pin-high left and used the slope in running down to two feet.

Masters 2024: As Scottie Scheffler charged, his challengers suffered these Augusta gut-punches

So, to review: Scheffler shot 33 on the inward nine and produced six birdies in the last 11 holes, none of those requiring a putt of longer than 10 feet. That’s how dialled in he was.

“You just have to hit the right shots,” he said. “And, fortunately, today I was able to do that.”

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