A day after contending at Masters, Sam Bennett cheering on college teammates

BRYAN, Texas - Less than 24 hours after tapping in his final putt to secure low amateur and a T16 finish at the Masters, Sam Bennett was scheduled to tee off nearly 1,000 miles away in the Aggie Invitational Monday morning.

Oh, the life of a college amateur that shocked everyone, except himself, with his historic run at Augusta National.

Bennett continued to surprise, maintaining after a 30-hole marathon Masters Sunday that he still intended to play the two-day, 54-hole tournament. Even for a self-professed lover of college golf, it seemed a bit much.

Bennett’s body told him the same. By the time his 8:30 a.m. tee time rolled around, Bennett had withdrawn.

“I wanted to tee it up, but my body wasn’t quite ready to play another 36 (today),” Bennett said Monday.

That didn’t stop him from being there to cheer on his teammates. Bennett took a late flight home, greeted by a group of eager supporters Sunday evening. The next day he was out at the Traditions Golf Club in Bryan, Texas, as a fan.

Bennett followed the action from a golf cart, stopping to hug his teammates, tell stories and sign a few autographs. To Bennett, it was just returning the favor after a week of raucous support.

“My teammates are awesome,” said Bennett, who will return to competitive play at the SEC Championship later this month. “It’s one of the reasons I came back. They’ve been very supportive during my time here.”

The Aggies were rooting hard for their teammate to make history and become the first amateur to win the green jacket. When they were not on the range or sweating through qualifying, they huddled around a TV in the locker room watching the Masters. They were the 12th man of Aggie lore behind the kid from Madisonville, Texas.

“We were all here at the facility feeling the pressure through him. We were hooting and hollering and yelling at the TV,” said Aggie freshman Joe Stover. “A lot of people were doubting him, and he just said, ‘Forget that,’ and lit it up. It was one of the most enjoyable things ever to watch.”

Bennett arrived at Magnolia Lane in relative anonymity. He wasn’t the most heralded amateur even though he’s the reigning U.S. Amateur champion. He wasn’t outdriving the likes of Rory McIlroy. He outdrove only 11 players in the field, averaging 283 yards per drive.

Instead, the “forget that” attitude took center stage. Bennett outplayed his playing partners – 2022 Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and six-time TOUR winner Max Homa – for the first two days with solid, controlled golf. He proclaimed his good golf was good enough to win on the eve of a third-round final-group pairing with Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka. A weekend 76-74 stifled those chances, but Bennett’s self-belief was evident.

“As a golfer, Sam’s tenacious. He never wants to lose at anything. Whether it is golf, table tennis, or whatever he is doing,” said Traditions Golf Club general manager Bill Slade, who has known the Bennett family since Bennett's parents, Mark and Stacy, joined Traditions when Sam was 13. (Mark died in June 2021 after an eight-year battle with Alzheimer's disease.) The club is a 45-minute drive from their home in Madisonville, and Sam would hone his craft at Traditions during the school year after basketball and football practice.

Slade knew what the rest of the world found out by the week’s end. Bennett’s uber-competitiveness was enough to propel him against the best in the world. It is a trait that has long been evident to those who know him best. So has his genuineness and respect for the game and those around him.

“He loves everybody,” Stover added. “For me as a freshman, it’s really cool to have an older guy on the team in that position. He doesn’t treat others like he is better than they are. He is just a super down-to-earth dude.”

Bennett hasn’t forgotten what it’s like to be that freshman. He was once where Stover was, competing against talented upperclassmen like now-Korn Ferry Tour winner Chandler Phillips.

“I know how difficult it is to be in their shoes. I know how tough it is being a nervous wreck in qualifying with your coach watching. It’s tough being young. I want to help them, and I like to see them progress,” Bennett said.

Bennett had already locked up low amateur by moving day at the Masters, breezing through the first two rounds with just one bogey. The 23-year-old was the lone amateur to survive the cut. He even was in the final group to start the third round. His 36-hole score of 8-under at the Masters was the best of any amateur in a major championship since Ken Venturi’s 9-under at the 1956 Masters. And while Bennett knew little about Venturi’s accomplishments, the student body at College Station sensed history in the making.

“Obviously, University of Texas golf has gotten a lot of attention with Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler,” said junior finance major John Gonzalez, an avid fan of Aggies men’s golf. “But I think Sam is at the forefront of creating something special at A&M. Not only for the golf program but for the community. I think he’s a fantastic representative for the school.”

It is a memory Bennett, his teammates, the Texas A&M community and the golf world will not soon forget.