Sam Bennett writes a new story at the Masters Tournament

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Sam Bennett would like to talk about his golf.

He knows his family’s story of heartbreak and loss is equal parts compelling and inspiring. He’s glad that discussing it has helped others who’ve experienced similar hardships.

And he knows it will always be a part of him. It’s there on his left arm, tattooed in permanent ink.

Grief permanently alters a person. The pain may become less acute, but it never disappears.

But when you’re competing in the biggest tournament of your life, playing alongside major champions in the late-afternoon tee times that attract the most attention, the loss of your father two years ago is not just another interview topic, the same as discussing your club selection on the 13th hole.

“It's been talked about for a while and, you know, it's a great story … I hear it every day, but I want to try and move on from this,” Bennett said Friday after shooting his second consecutive 68 at Augusta National. “It's a good story, great, incredible, but I want to start talking about golf.

“I'm more than what's happened to me and what I've been through.”

Now, after his successful week at Augusta National, Bennett has authored a story that will deflect attention from his past. He arrived at Augusta National Golf Club as one of the most accomplished players in the amateur game. He’ll leave as the most recognizable, the result of several hours as one of the main characters on the most-watched golf broadcast of the year.

The kid from the Masters. That’s what Sam Bennett will be known as after finishing T16 at Augusta National. He started Sunday in the final group after the weather-delayed third round stretched into an extra day. He ended it by receiving a standing ovation from the patrons lining the 18th hole. He had to wipe tears from his eyes as he reflected on his father, the struggles he said he still faces and the fact that it was Easter, a holiday defined by hope.

“If you had told me I was going to be here when I was a kid,” he said, “I would have thought you were crazy,” he said.

The grit and guile that Bennett displayed at Augusta National are trademarks of his game. While the lowercase ‘a’ next to his name implied he was in a different class than his opponents, Bennett never expressed any doubts.

“Because I know my good golf is good enough,” he replied after being asked why he could hang with the likes of Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm, the only players ahead of him at the tournament’s halfway point. When well-intentioned friends and family encouraged him to win low amateur at the Masters, Bennett quietly recoiled inside.

“I’m like, ‘That’s it?’ That’s only seven guys,’” said Bennett, winner of last year’s U.S. Amateur. “There’s a green jacket on the line.”

Amateurs play a sentimental role at the Masters. Their presence is an homage to the club’s co-founder, Bobby Jones, who was the greatest amateur in the game’s history. It has been years since one seriously contended at the Masters, though.

Bennett wasn’t the one expected to generate headlines this week, though. Much of the pre-tournament attention focused on Vanderbilt sophomore Gordon Sargent, the reigning NCAA champion and first amateur in more than two decades to receive a special exemption into the Masters.

Sargent impressed with his incredible ball speed, which he displayed in practice rounds alongside the likes of Max Homa, Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy. They raved about the 19-year-old, only adding to the expectations.

Bennett was the only amateur to make the cut, however.

And unlike the other weekend competitors at Augusta National, Bennett had a college coach reminding him of homework assignments. He ate dinner at Five Guys and had to shop at DICK’S Sporting Goods for extra layers when the weather turned cold.

Bennett thrives on being the underdog, however. It fuels him. The skinny kid from tiny Madisonville, Texas, grew up on a scruffy public course. In the Trackman era, he’s taken just one golf lesson in his life. He’s accustomed to being outdriven.

“I don't have 190 ball speed. I don't have a pretty swing like some of the other amateurs,” he said Friday. “It's golf, not golf swing. I've done the right things this week. I was prepared. I was more experienced than the other guys, and yeah, I sit here with a chance to go on the weekend and do something special.”

He did. Bennett was the first amateur inside the top three after 36 holes at the Masters since Ricky Barnes in 2003. Bennett was still in the top 10 (T7) when the final round began.

He played the first two rounds with defending Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and Homa, the No. 5 player in the world, and beat them by seven and eight shots, respectively. Bennett played alongside Rahm and Koepka in the final group of the third round. He shot 74 on Sunday to fall two shots short of earning a return invitation to the Masters.

“This experience playing the weekend at Augusta is definitely going to help me be the golfer I want to be,” he said.

Bennett’s first-round 68 was the first bogey-free round by an amateur at Augusta National since 1965. Ken Venturi is the only amateur to shoot a lower 36-hole score at Augusta National. He shot 135 in 1956. Bennett made just one bogey over the opening 36 holes.

“Every shot gets your attention (at Augusta National), and when his attention is up, he’s good at what he does,” said Texas A&M head men’s golf coach Brian Kortan, who caddied for Bennett in the Masters.

Bennett’s Masters performance will pay dividends when he turns pro later this year. The exposure will undoubtedly attract sponsors and tournament invitations. It also will improve his standing in PGA TOUR University.

The top player after the NCAA Championship will earn PGA TOUR status. Nos. 2-5 will become exempt members of the Korn Ferry Tour, while 6-10 will earn conditional Korn Ferry Tour status.

Bennett was the top player in PGA TOUR University at the midway point of last season before withdrawing his name from consideration. He wanted to return to Texas A&M for a fifth year. He’d promised his late father Mark that he would get a degree. Another year on campus would prepare him for the rigors of pro golf, as well.

That decision made his Masters performance possible. It was winning the U.S. Amateur last August that earned him a spot at Augusta National, adding amateur golf’s most prestigious prize to an already-impressive resume. Bennett has twice been a first-team All-American and was the 2022 SEC Player of the Year. He made the cut in last year’s U.S. Open (T49), as well.

But now, Sam Bennett is “that kid from the Masters.” It’s a title he can wear with pride.