By MAKENNA WILLIAMS
Sports Editor
The annual Masters tournament took place from April 11-14. The masters tournament is the first golf tournament every year, which is held in Augusta, Georgia. The Masters was founded by Bobby Jones who was an amateur golfer with the help from Clifford Roberts, an investment banker. Jones is the only golfer to achieve a grand slam in golf, which is when a player wins the British Amateur, the British Open, the United States Open, and the United States Amateur. In 1934, For the first five tournaments, it was officially titled as the “Augusta National Invitation Tournament,” although it was always referred to as the Masters unofficially. Horton Smith won the first tournament, one stroke ahead of the runner-up and he walked away with $1500.
Beginning in 1949, the winner of the masters tournament is awarded a green jacket, only a first time winner and current champion may remove his jacket from the club premises. A golfer who wins the tournament numerous times uses the same green jacket granted at his first triumph, unless he has to be re-fitted with a new jacket.
Another Masters tournament tradition is that every Tuesday before the tournament, where only past champions and certain board members can attend, the most recent champion must pick the menu and pick up the bill at the end of the night. There was some controversy over the Augusta National Golf Club in 2003, Martha Burk who is an American political psychologist and feminist attempted to hold a protest at the masters in 2003, in order to force the club into accepting female members. Burk intended to protest outside Augusta National’s front gates on the third day of the event, but her permission application was refused. The golf club did not admit a female member until 2012.
To add in some family traditions, the par-3 contest became a tradition in 1960. The contest has its own nine hole course with a par of 27. The event usually takes place on the Wednesday before the tournament begins, in this contest to make it more than just another golf game, players are allowed to have their children and wives as their caddies to make it more of a family oriented event. During the 2024 contest, Ricky Fowler, Jordan Speith, and many other players even allowed their children to participate and make putts for them once the ball was on the green. The players’ wives and children all wore the normal caddy jumpsuits with the players name on the back.
After four rounds of golf, Scottie Scheffler earned his second win at the 88th Masters Tournament. The par for the Augusta National golf course is 72, Scheffler managed to shoot 11 under par after recording three birdies to secure his top spot on the leaderboard. Ludvig Aberg, was the runner up in the tournament shooting 7 under par. Sunday’s triumph was monumental, especially because since WWII, only Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Seve Ballesteros, have won two Masters before the age of 27. Scheffler is now on that shortlist. In a post-tournament interview held by CBS, Scheffler sent a loving message to his wife, who is currently pregnant with their first child at their family home in Dallas, Texas. Scheffler stated he “was prepared to leave the masters,” if his wife went into labor. After the win he stated, “I love you sweetheart, I’m excited for the next few weeks. Hopefully I can get home as soon as I can. I love you and I’m coming home.” The next tournament will be the RBC Heritage tournament, which is taking place in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, on April 18-21, where Scottie Scheffler will look to be victorious once again.
