Final notes from the ‘26 Masters
By Terry Moore
Rory Mcllroy
Final notes from the Masters
Key cumulative stats for the tournament:
Top 5 in Greens in Regulation:
1 Schauffele, Xander, 56 greens hit out of 72
2 Spieth, Jordan, 55/72
3 Burns, Sam, 54/72
4 Young, Cameron 53/72
T5 Rose, Justin, 52/72
Total Putts
1. Campbell, Brian 103
2. Morikawa 108
T-3. Mcllroy 111
T-3 Matsuyama 111
T-3 Penge, Marco 111
Driving Accuracy
1. Rai, Aaron 50 fairways hit out 56
T-2 Young, Cam 47/56
T-2 Scott, Adam 47/56
T-2 Fleetwood, Tommy 47/56
T-2 Taylor, Nick 47/56
Driving Distance
1. Mcllroy 334 yards avg
2. Gotterup 330
3 Brennan 328
4.Knapp 326
Total Birdies
1.Mcllroy 24
T-2 Henley 21
T-2 Matsuyama 21
T-3. Knapp 20
T-3 Aberg 20
Comments:
As McIlroy said Sunday night, he won the Masters with his putting, short game and scrambling. As the stats indicate, he was T-3 in putts made. But for the week, he was next to last in driving accuracy, finding 31 out of 56 fairways.
Jordan Spieth, tee to green, excelled all week. He was second in GIR with 55 out of 72, hit 41 out of 56 fairways, and averaged 306 yards off the tee. But he tied for last in total putts made, holing 125 putts, 14 more than McIlroy. Surprisingly, Spieth was only 3 out of 9 in sand saves. After his round on Sunday, he said, "I just made three putts outside of six feet today, and I didn't make any of the other days…I think I left 20 something putts short this week. I feel like I'm playing great golf. I don't feel like my results are showing it. All you got to do when that happens is stay the course. The results end up coming. Sometimes the game takes a while to pay off." Some observers wonder if Spieth might switch to a mallet putter, which is so favored among Tour players.
In his total birdies, McIlroy had 10 birdies on the par fives, 10 on the fours, and 4 on the threes.
Prize Money
McIlroy earned $4.5 million. For making the cut and finishing last, Charl Schwartzel earned $52,300. All pros who didn't make the cut earned $25,000.
Amateurs
Six amateurs competed this year, but none made the cut. Ethan Fang and Jackson Herrington both shot 152, four shots off the cut line.
Bad form at the Masters
Goeff Yang, the new Chairman of the Competition Committee. issued a code-of-conduct warning on Sunday to Sergio Garcia after the former Masters champion hammered his driver twice into the ground, frustrated after a bad drive on the second hole. After the round, he refused to comment and offered no apology. On Tuesday on X, he finally did so:
“I want to apologize for my actions on Sunday at The Masters tournament. I respect and value everything that The Masters and Augusta National Golf Club are to Golf. I regret the way I acted. It has no place in our game. It doesn’t reflect the appreciation I have for The Masters, the patrons, tournament officials and golf fans around the world.”
On Thursday, Scotland's Robert McIntyre was reprimanded by course officials for his gesture ("giving the finger" directed at the green) after incurring a quadruple bogey on the 15th hole. Respected golf writer Martin Dempster of The Scotsman later came to his defense, saying the criticism of his fellow Scotsman was overblown. Dempster added: "MacIntyre would absolutely hate to think that people likened him to Sergio Garcia, who showed his nasty side yet again by taking a chunk out of the tee then smashing his driver against a water cooler and breaking it."
Earlier in the week, non-competing honorary invitee and former Open Championship champion Mark Calcavecchia was escorted off the course for using a cell phone, which is strictly prohibited and enforced by the Masters. Years ago, commentator Charley Rymer was similarly dismissed from the premises and had his credentials revoked.
Breaking a driver accidentally
What happened to Aldrich Potgieter, who had an 84 on Thursday? One of the Tour's longest hitters, he was warming up before his round when he broke his driver. The PXG rep handed him a "dup." Unfortunately, it was heavier than his regular driver and threw him off. He hit only 5 out of 14 fairways, next to last out of 90 golfers teeing off Thursday. After putting a better driver in his bag on Friday, Potgieter shot 75 and missed the cut.
How do I know this anecdote? I sat next to a green-jacketed member at the 14th green on Friday, and he shared the information. He sponsored Potgieter's caddie when he played on the Korn Ferry.
Most poignant Interview of the pre-Masters press conferences
Gary Woodland
Hands down is Gary Woodland, who has battled PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) triggered by his brain operation a few years ago. When asked what advice he would give to others facing a similar affliction:
"Talk to somebody. We live in a world, as men and especially as an athlete, that you put your head down and you fight through it. I've done it my whole life. This is honestly one battle that I'm not able to do on my own. I tried, and it wasn't working.
“And talking has helped me so much. I had a big battle Friday of Houston (where he won). I got hyper vigilant on the 9th hole, and I battled the last 10 holes thinking people were trying to kill me. I have security with me. The TOUR's been amazing.
“But I talked to TOUR security that night and I told them what I was going through, and every time I looked up on the weekend, my security team was behind me. Any time I got startled on the weekend, I turned around -- last year, I didn't talk to TOUR security. I fought this on my own. It was awful. Turning around and knowing that I'm safe, having somebody there with me, it's the only reason why I won like two weeks ago.
"To talk to somebody. You don't have to fight this on your own."
Images courtesy of the Masters (top) and the PGA Tour