Masters amateur Sam Bennett is given a hero’s welcome as he arrives back at Texas A&M by private jet from Augusta – and he’s set to play another 36 holes TODAY in university competition!
It has been a week to remember for American golf amateur Sam Bennett, and he was given a hero’s welcome as he arrived back at Texas A&M after finishing tied-16th at The Masters in Augusta.
The 23-year-old was one of the standout stories of the week as he shocked the world to put himself in contention for a major win, sitting in third place heading into the weekend.
He dropped down across Saturday and Sunday to finish 16th overall, but it was still a remarkable achievement for a player so inexperienced, and he was welcomed back to Texas with open arms on Monday morning.
In a clip posted to Instagram, Bennett is greeted by fist-bumps and a loud round of applause as he walks into the terminal building after a whirlwind week in Georgia.
Incredibly, after touching down by private jet at the Astin Aviation building, it was reported that Bennett is set to play in the university’s Aggie Invitational in Bryan, Texas, where the players are scheduled for a grueling 36 holes on Monday.
Sam Bennett arrived back in Texas wearing a Masters jacket after an amazing week at Augusta
That is followed up by a further 18 on Tuesday, with the players carrying their own bags – a far cry from the scenes at Augusta National for The Masters.
When asked about the tournament after his final round at Augusta, Bennett said: ‘I don’t have many more college tournaments left, so I’d like to play in my home event.
‘I came back to school to be with my team and do that, so I think I want to play.’
His Sunday evening at Augusta ended with him sharing 16th place with Tom Kim, Sungjae Im, Joaquin Niemann, Justin Rose, Shane Lowry and Hideki Matsuyama… but unlike them, he didn’t scoop the $261,000 prize money.
Bennett’s amateur status cruelly means he is not able to win any money from golf yet, and he’ll have to wait until he goes pro before he is able to start earning.
American amateur champion Sam Bennett holds the Silver Cup for lowest-scoring amateur
Bennett draws inspiration from his late father, who died in 2021 at 53 from Alzheimer’s
Bennett, 23, has his father’s words of advice tattooed onto his left wrist for inspiration
After his bogey-free round on day one, Bennett revealed 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.
