I shot a 74 at Augusta National the day after Rory McIlroy's win. Despite nerves, I played better than expected without feeling overwhelmed.
Key points
The author shot a 74 at Augusta National.
Rory McIlroy won his second green jacket the day before.
Nerves were a significant factor before the round.
The author managed to stay composed despite challenges.
Augusta National tests players' skills and decision-making.
Mentioned in this story
Rory McIlroy
Augusta National
I shot a 74 at Augusta National the day after Rory McIlroy won his second green jacket. Thatâs not a sentence I expected to write.
Augusta National has a way of exposing everythingâyour swing, your decision-making, your patience. As a 1 index capable of breaking par but also shooting in the 80s, I didnât feel like I played perfectly, but I also didnât feel overwhelmed. In fact, I played about as well as I could have hoped.
Hereâs what went right.
I handled the nerves before I ever hit a shot
The most nervous I felt all day wasnât on the first teeâit was Friday afternoon when I found out Iâd won the media lottery. Those nerves sat with me all weekend, and by the time Monday arrived, they had almost burned themselves out. So when I drove down Magnolia Lane, trying to slow the moment down, and stood on the first tee, I wasnât fighting the adrenaline as much as I expected. I made bogey after punching out of the trees, and it didnât spiral. At Augusta National, thatâs everything. One bad swing can turn into three quickly.
This sounds obvious, but it isnât at Augusta National. There are misses that still leave you in the hole, and others that donât. I managed to stay on the right side of that line most of the day, even when I wasnât perfect. And then there was the moment that reminded me itâs still just golfâI hit what felt like a perfect drive and walked up to find my ball sitting in a divot. At Augusta National. For a second, it almost felt wrong since the place is flawless. The course doesnât eliminate bad breaksâit just magnifies how you respond to them.
1 / 13
Augusta National GC
Augusta National GC
Dom Furore
2 / 13
Q&A
What score did the author shoot at Augusta National?
The author shot a score of 74 at Augusta National.
How did the author feel before playing at Augusta National?
The author felt nervous before playing, especially after winning the media lottery.
What challenges did the author face while playing at Augusta National?
The author faced challenges with nerves and the pressure of the course, but managed to stay composed.
What did the author learn from playing at Augusta National?
The author learned the importance of managing nerves and decision-making on a challenging course like Augusta National.
Related Articles
Sports·Recap
No. 13 Minnesota Eliminates No. 4 UCLA To Join Oklahoma In Final Four
Minnesota takes down UCLA to join Oklahoma in NCAA Gymnastics Final Four!
Yahoo Sports··1 min read
NHL·Recap
Hockey recap: Griffins top scorer John Leonard signs extension with Wings
John Leonard signs one-year extension with the Detroit Red Wings!
Yahoo Sports··1 min read
Sports
Hunter Goodman powers the Rockies past the Astros 3-2, snapping a 6-game skid
Hunter Goodman powers Rockies to a 3-2 win over Astros, ending a six-game skid.
Yahoo Sports··1 min read
Sports
Dudinha: âIf I click with the style of play, everything flowsâ
Dudinha discusses her strong start with San Diego Wave and dreams of the 2027 Women's World Cup.
Yahoo Sports··1 min read
NBA·Recap
Warriors HC Steve Kerr hails Stephen Curry's game vs. Clippers as one of the greats
Steve Kerr praises Stephen Curry's incredible performance against the Clippers
Yahoo Sports··1 min read
Sports
Padres beat Mariners 5-2 behind Tatis, Buehler for 8th straight win, 11th in 12 games
Padres beat Mariners 5-2, marking their eighth straight win!
No club has tinkered with its golf course as often or as effectively over the decades as has Augusta National Golf Club, mainly to keep it competitive for the annual Masters Tournament, an event it has conducted since 1934, with time off during WWII. All that tinkering has resulted in an amalgamation of design ideas, with a routing by Alister Mackenzie and Bobby Jones, some Perry Maxwell greens, some Trent Jones water hazards, some Jack Nicklaus mounds and swales and, most recently, extensive rebunkering and tree planting by Tom Fazio. The tinkering continues, including the lengthening of the par-4 fifth in the summer of 2018, the lengthening of the 11th and 15th holes in 2022, and the addition of 35 yards to the famed par-5 13th in 2023. View Course
My iron play kept me in control
If anything travels at Augusta, itâs solid iron play. My shot on 12 is the one Iâll remember most. The wind was swirling a little, the pin was tucked, and everything about the hole makes you want to guide it. Instead, I trusted the number, took an extra club, and hit a smooth shot to the center of the green. Walking off with par there felt like stealing something. The same thing showed up on 15, where the second shot doesnât quite look real when youâre standing over it. The green feels like itâs sitting on a ledgeâwater short, nothing comfortable long. Itâs not a shot you can ease into. You either commit, or you donât.
I adjusted to the greensâjust enough
Iâve seen Augusta Nationalâs greens on TV my entire life, and it still doesnât prepare you. Itâs not just how fast they areâitâs how extreme the changes are. Downhill putts feel like they could run off the property, and uphill putts require more commitment than feels reasonable. On the 7th, I trusted my caddie completely on a 31-footer. He pointed to a spot a few feet in front of me and said, âThatâs your hole.â Halfway there, he said it was going inâand it did. Birdie. One hole later, I thought I had figured something out. I hadnât. I three-putted for par. Thatâs Augusta. Youâre never fully comfortableâyouâre just managing it better than you were a few holes earlier.
This might be the biggest reason the round held together. I played Amen Corner in even par and still walked away thinking I could have been under. Thatâs the trap. Augusta doesnât reward forcing anythingâit rewards discipline. Taking the center of the green on 12, accepting par on 13, getting up and down when you need toâthatâs how you stay in control. That stretch doesnât always ask for brilliance. It asks for restraint.
I committed when it mattered most
By the time I reached the 18th, I was exhausted. The walk, the heat, the mental energyâit all adds up. But the hole gives you one last moment. The drive was perfect, and the approachâ130 yards uphillâcame down to one thought: one more committed swing. The ball landed past the hole and spun back to five feet. Standing over that putt, it felt bigger than it should. Itâs just five feet. It isnât. I backed off once, reset, and told myself to commit. The ball started on line and never left it. And just like that, it dropped. Birdie on 18 at Augusta.
The takeaway
Augusta National isnât about playing perfect golf. Itâs about limiting the damage and fully committing to the shots that matter. For one day, I managed to do both.