The 2023 Masters, an Inside Job
by: Steve Small with ATS Sports
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The 2023 Masters was one for the history books. The incredible storylines surrounding the event added to the drama at Augusta National.
After the final round was over, Brooks Koepka took the podium to answer media questions. One question that came up was about the pace of play today [final round]. To which Koepka answered, “That group in front of us was brutally slow. Jon [Rahm] went to the bathroom 7 times today, and we were still waiting. So yeah.”
Let’s take a look at a few things.
Who was the group in front of Koepka & Rahm? Viktor Hovland & Patrick Cantlay. Both players stuck with the PGA circuit, and are pretty big names in the circuit. The PGA means a lot to both of them.
Rahm went to the bathroom 7 times during the round? 7 times is a lot. Maybe the pimento cheese sandwiches weren’t agreeing with him.
What are some of Brooks’ strengths? He’s a quick, consistent player who thrives in less than ideal weather conditions. He’s the kind of player that needs a flow to continue through the round to remain on point and consistent.
The only explanation I see from this weekend is the PGA fixing the Masters.
At the end of round 3, the leaderboard consisted of: 1. Brooks (-13) 2. Rahm (-9) 3. Bennett (-6) 4. Cantlay, Fitzpatrick, Morikawa, Hovland (-5) Henley, Rose, Mickelson, Niemann, Cam Young, and Jason Day (-4).
Everything fell right in place for the PGA. While they can’t control the weather, the weather worked out perfectly. It played right into Brooks’ hands, obviously as the leader after 3 rounds. Rahm played his part as well posting an impressive 9 under through 3 rounds.
Now, ask yourself. How embarrassed would the PGA be if a LIV player won the Masters? Especially when the PGA’s golden boy, Rory McIlroy, couldn’t make the cut. Embarrassing to say the least.
Ok, now we’re heading into round 4. The world #1 only 4 strokes back of Brooks who had won back to back tournaments on the LIV circuit before coming to the Masters. Rahm has been a ghost since the Waste Management open.
What the PGA did to perfection, was picking their catalyst. If you’re new to the PGA, welcome to the world of waiting on, and hating on Patrick Cantlay. He’s a slow golfer with little to no likeable qualities. So here’s the question, how can the PGA ensure they limit their embarrassment? Rory couldn’t make the cut, Tiger reaggravated a preexisting injury and had to WD. Ensuring the world #1 winning a green jacket would take a lot of attention off of Rory & Tiger.
How can the PGA ensure that Rahm wins the tournament? Take down Brooks. The LIV events are 54 holes opposed to 72 in the PGA, so Brooks is already a bit off having to finish out another 18. Now, as I mentioned earlier, Brooks is a fast player. He needs to be in a steady groove to string shots together. How can the PGA slow him down? The scapegoat that is Patrick Cantlay.
Cantlay & Hovland group was brutally slow. We saw moments where Hovland couldn’t wait on Cantlay anymore, he just continued walking up the fairway. Cantlay is slow, but he isn’t typically this slow. He was playing the same pace as I would, only difference is half of my time would be trying to find my ball in the trees. Augusta is a difficult place to play. But does it really take that long to get a shot off? Does it really take that long to read the green? Find your landing spot? Pick a club? Judge the wind? Come on now.
Cantlay totally shut down Brooks’ domination. Brooks looked like he got cold in round 4. He found a lot of sand on the approach shots, which wasn’t happening rounds 1-3. Now not only did Cantlay negatively affect Brooks’ physical play, but the delays also got into Brooks’ head. It doesn’t take much to get into his cranium, Cantlay was (and probably still is) living in there rent free.
Can we say it was coincidental that many of the lower seeded players fought their way up, while Brooks majorly fumbled the bag? The course didn’t look like it was playing very difficult on Sunday. How could Brooks have such a major collapse with a round of +3?
Take a look at the top 5 leaderboard. We have in order: PGA, LIV, LIV, PGA, LIV. LIV came to Augusta to make a point. The PGA couldn’t let LIV come in and make a big statement. Congratulations to the PGA on that.
Big congratulations to Jon Rahm. None of this is to take away his monster round 4 (-3 on the round). He deserves the green jacket more than anyone in the golf world.
