Now the dust has settled around Augusta National, we can look back at the 86^th instalment of The Masters – which certainly didn’t disappoint. The tournament provided many thrills and spills which saw a resurgent Rory McIlroy, Tiger return and Scottie Scheffler showed why he’s at the summit of the sport.

So, who was The Masters champion?

Man of the moment Scottie Scheffler was the player who ended up donning the illustrious green jacket on Sunday, and who in their right mind would’ve doubted him? Scheffler has won a staggering four times out of his last six starts, earning him a life changing $8,872,200. The new Masters champion barely put a foot wrong all week until he four putted the last hole of the tournament; even with the four putts, the American won by three shots. Watching Rory McIlroy roaring his way back into contention on Sunday was incredible viewing. The former world number 1 shot an 8-under 64, matching the record for the lowest score shot in the final round at The Masters. One of the standout moments from the tournament was when Rory McIlroy holed this spectacular bunker shot on the undulating 18^th green; however, not to be out done, his playing partner Colin Morikawa followed suit and holed out from the very same bunker in extraordinary fashion too. Quite. Simply. Amazing.

Amen Corner strikes again! 

Amen Corner at Augusta National is known as one of the hardest stretches in golf. Consisting of the 11^th 12^th and 13^th holes, Amen Corner is notoriously difficult and has claimed many victims in pursuit of success at The Masters. The latest to join the list is Australian Cameron Smith; standing on the 12^th tee box, Smith was just three shots behind Scheffler. Smith proceeded to find the water on the par 3, going onto make a crippling triple bogey, putting him out of contention. Although, the Aussie isn’t the only player this has happened to! Cast your minds back to 2019, when Francesco Molinari found the water on the 12^th hole allowing Tiger Woods to go on and win. Notably in 2016, Jordan Spieth went one better and found the water twice in pursuit of defending his crown from the year before…this wasn’t a pretty sight! 

Tiger returns

Arguably the greatest player in the history of golf made his high anticipated return, 408 days after suffering a career-threating car crash. Tiger Woods arrived at Augusta on the Sunday full of optimism and excitement that mirrored the fans, as reports were surfacing saying Tiger was hitting the ball great in practice. Tiger proved this right as he shot a 1-under 71 to keep himself in contention. Rounds of 74, 78 and 78 followed and showed Tiger still has plenty of work to do. However, an exciting announcement followed the end of his final round on Sunday; the 15-time major winner confirmed he will play at the 150^th Open Championship at his “favourite course’ The Old Course at St Andrews – we can’t wait!  

So there you have it, the 86^th Masters reviewed; yes it may have been slightly one-sided but, it certainly didn’t lack excitement. If you enjoyed reading this piece, check out our other articles.