American amateur champion Sam Bennett, 23, finishes tied 16th after carding final round 74 to end his first Masters two-over par… but he won’t get any of the $261,000 prize money!
American star Sam Bennett finished tied 16th in his first ever Masters tournament as he claimed the Silver Cup for lowest-scoring amateur – but he won’t earn any money.
The 23-year-old college golfer hugely impressed at Augusta National this week after heading into the final round in tied seventh at four-under par.
In the end he slipped down the leaderboard as he carded a final round 74 to finish two-over. Jon Rahm won The Masters after the Spaniard blitzed past LIV rival Brooks Koepka in the final round to triumph by four shots.
Had Bennett not had amateur status he would have earned $261,000 as he shared 16th place with Tom Kim, Sungjae Im, Joaquin Niemann, Justin Rose, Shane Lowry and Hideki Matsuyama.
‘It was an incredible week, just getting an opportunity to play Augusta was a dream come true,’ he said at the tournament Sunday.
American amateur champion Sam Bennett holds the Silver Cup for lowest-scoring amateur
The 23-year-old college golfer hugely impressed at Augusta National, Georgia, this week
Bennett finished tied 16th in his first ever Masters tournament after starting strongly
‘Getting to see it on Sunday coming down the back nine, walking up 18 was by far the coolest experience of my life.
‘The Masters and Augusta was everything I’ve ever dreamed of.
‘I definitely need some time to decompress!’
Bennett, from Madisonville, Texas, made a name for himself at the first major of the year after a first-round 68 on Thursday and carding the same score on day two.
He flirted with the Masters’ 36-hole amateur record of nine-under set by Ken Venturi in 1956.
Bennett carded a bogey-free round on day one before revealing how his late father inspired him at one of the greatest events on the sporting calendar.
Mark Bennett died in 2021 at the age of 53 due to early onset Alzheimer’s. The last thing he wrote down was advice to his son in June 2020 during a tender moment at their family home in Texas: ‘Don’t wait to do something’.
And the younger Bennett lived those words to the full when he lined up alongside previous champion at The Masters in Scottie Scheffler and matched him the whole way round the course with a four-under 68.
Bennett has those words tattooed above his left wrist, exactly as his father wrote them.
Bennett, 23, has his father’s words of advice tattooed onto his left wrist for inspiration
Bennett draws inspiration from his late father, who died in 2021 at 53 from Alzheimer’s
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