Masters Sunday

The aura that surrounds Masters Sunday is unlike any other sporting event out there. Not necessarily because it trumps excitement level or boasts overwhelming viewership statistics, but because there is something intangibly special about the tournament. Watching these professionals battle it out on the back 9 in the late afternoon golden hour, where every stroke is amplified provides a storybook atmosphere that separates this stage from every other sports play. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday are entertaining as well. Watching the field fluctuate in fluid fashion is satisfying in its own right. However, the tournament in all its glory doesn’t start until Sunday. And this Sunday was no different. Well, it was slightly different. It was better. 

There were a few early contenders in the beginning stages, Hoffman being one of them with a blistering 65 on the first day. He slowly faded away, and other players around the top of the leaderboard came and went. It was the typical rearranging that happens any given year, and unsurprisingly so. The course this year was eating up the faint of heart with slick greens and every golfer’s nemesis — wind. Yet, there was one player who wasn’t getting blown off the podium. Someone who, this time around, would don an entirely new persona. Throughout his entire career, the phrase “slow and steady” would be the last three words that came to mind as a characterization. Heating up and cooling off faster than a mid-season Warriors’ team, Sergio couldn’t get out of the woods and top Tiger in any of their early career matchups. But things change, and this time we saw an entirely new Sergio.

The club waggles and well-tailored Adidas clothing were still there, but his volatility vanished. Never wavering more than one stroke from his previous day, Garcia came into Sunday tied for the lead with Rose and seeing green. What happened next was what everyone wanted, a battle. Stroke for stroke, the two were knocking down shots and conversely missing puts in eery unison. Watching these two joust on turf was exhilarating, and that’s not a term often conjured up to depict golf. Maybe it’s the stark, on-going contrast as a viewer between being completely silent to exuberantly cheering for amazing shots that provides the roller coaster thrill. Or maybe it’s because I love golf. Or…maybe…it’s because Masters Sunday really is that freaking awesome. Whatever the case may be, the action was enthralling from tee to green. And then came the 18th hole.

Watching as both golfers hit their tee shots through the daunting chute on the par 4 “Holly”, enthralled doesn’t begin to describe where emotions had elevated to. They both played the last hole well, and then both missed makable birdie putts that sent this saga into extra holes. It’s often said that golf is a game of inches, and that couldn’t be closer to the truth. Rose hit an errant tee shot on the 19th, caused by the ever-so-slightest variation in his swing, and that was beginning of the end. Sergio striped it down the middle, stuck it close, and walked up to the green with a cushion as he was putting for birdie while Rose was putting for par. Rose misses. Sergio lines up. He sinks it. And with the roar of the crowd echoing throughout Augusta National, drops to his knees. It was magical. After 73 winless starts in a major, the green jacket was finally his. He was smiling throughout the rest of the evening. If I were to guess, he’s probably smiling right now. Why? Because I haven’t stopped either.

P.s. This is usually where I chime in with some shoe knowledge. There are a few places to take this. The transition from spikes to rubber soles on golf shoes, the feeble attempt to make the golf shoe more "sporty", or the possible need for some more signature golf shoe silhouettes. But this time, I'm gonna leave the spotlight on Sergio. He deserves it.