A&M's Sam Bennett fires 4-under first round at Augusta, tied for sixth

Press conference video courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics.

No matter how good your Thursday was, Sam Bennett’s was better.

The Texas A&M senior posted a 4-under-par 68 in the first round of the 2023 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. With play completed on Thursday, Bennett is tied for sixth.

That’s right, the amateur from Madisonville is on the first page of the leaderboard at golf’s biggest event!

Bennett is the first amateur inside the top 10 after the first round at The Masters since 2005 (Ryan Moore). Bennett’s 68 is the lowest opening-round score by an amateur since 2001 (James Driscoll).

“You know, it’s cool being an amateur, and I’m going to have fun, but I’m not trying to treat it like a hit-and-giggle,” Bennett said Tuesday. “I’m here to compete and test my game.”

Well, it would seem he aced that first test (albeit without an actual ace on any of Augusta’s par 3s).

Teeing off at 12:36 p.m. CT, Bennett’s day got off to a fantastic start as he sunk a lengthy birdie putt on the first hole.

On the very next hole — a 575-yard par-5 — he chipped in from off the green for an eagle.

Another long putt for birdie on the par-4 sixth moved him to 4-under, where the Aggie would stay for the remainder of the afternoon.

Indeed, his first round at The Masters was without a single blemish as Bennett did not card a bogey on Thursday.

That includes saving par with a wonderful chip-and-putt sequence at the picturesque “Golden Bell” — Augusta’s 12th hole — before another save to survive Amen Corner on the subsequent par-5 after his second shot found a sandtrap behind the green.

Finding 13 of 14 fairways off the tee and 13 of 18 greens in two shots or less, Bennett proved to be the best amateur on the course on Thursday. In fact, he leads the next closest amateur (ironically, 2022 US Amateur runner-up Ben Carr and Harrison Crowe) by seven strokes.

At the turn, the Aggie carded a 4-under 32, which equaled the lowest front-nine score by an amateur in the 89-year history of The Masters.

Playing with defending Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and six-time PGA Tour winner Max Homa, Bennett (and caddie Brian Kortan, Texas A&M men’s golf head coach) received plenty of air time, but he was more than just background noise.

Bennett’s first round was among the top storylines of the day, finishing the round tied for the lowest score of his group with Scheffler. Homa finished at 1-under.

Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and Brooks Koepka lead the field at 7-under.

Bennett, Scheffler and Homa are slated to begin their second round at 9 a.m. CT on Friday.