Putting A Bow On The 2024 Masters: Nine Parting Thoughts On Yet Another Memorable Week At Augusta National

Before the reality settles in about having to wait 364 days to experience another Sunday at the Masters, we have to put a bow on the 2024 edition and look back on yet another incredible four-day stretch at Augusta National.

Scottie Scheffler may have sucked the life out of the tournament when he birdied the Par 4 10th before going on to win his second green jacket by four shots, but by no means does that mean that this year's Masters was underwhelming.

The takeaways from the year's first major are seemingly endless, as per usual, but some stand out more than others. In this week's edition of Par Talk, we'll present parting thoughts from Augusta, notebook-ish style.

Scottie Scheffler's Soul Is His Greatest Weapon

The world hasn't witnessed a player hit consistently great golf shots at the clip Scottie Scheffler currently is since Tiger Woods in the early 2000s. His ability to look at a target and place his golf ball exactly where he wants to is downright magical. But even with his skill at executing golf shots, his most-lethal weapons aren't his golf swing nor any of the equipment in his golf bag.

Yes, Scottie Scheffler's competitiveness is off the charts, but it's his humility, selflessness, and peace off the golf course that allows him to step inside of the ropes and take care of business. The 27-year-old doesn't necessarily have an older soul, he just has the soul of a great person.

Shortly after slipping on a green jacket for the second time, he made it clear that golf would soon be fourth on his list of priorities behind his Christian faith, his wife, and the first child they'll soon welcome into the world. 

Plenty of people, whether it be Average Joes or elite athletes, can share a similar message, but with Scheffler it actually feels genuine.

And no, it is not too early to start talking about his run at a grand slam.

The Masters Is The Greatest Golf Tournament In The World, Period

There isn't another golf course on Earth that stands out as a main character more than Augusta National. This year marked the 88th edition of the Masters, and yet again the golf course itself stood firmly in the spotlight.

That's a remarkable fact in a day and age where change takes precedent over history and tradition, and while Augusta gets tweaked here and there year after year, it's a constant in the sports world that grabs our attention and doesn't let go for four straight days.

Anyone casting strays at the Masters or Augusta National should not be taken seriously.

Ludvig Aberg Is Here

During the 2023 Masters, Ludvig Aberg was still in college at Texas Tech and playing in a college event in Phoenix. Since then, all he's done is turn professional, win the European Masters in September, represent Team Europe in the Ryder Cup, and then win the RSM Classic in just his 11th start on the PGA Tour since turning pro.

The Swede arrived months ago, but after his performance in the Masters, we can confidently say he's arrived and has no plans of going anywhere anytime soon.

Given his accomplishments and the fact he looks like a man who was created in a lab with the express purpose of hitting a golf ball, expectations heading into the 2024 Masters for Aberg were high. It didn't matter that it was his first start in a major championship.

All he managed to do in his first trip around Augusta National was go toe-to-toe with the best player walking the planet for 64 holes before making one poor swing on the Par 4 11th on Sunday and finding the water hazard. Despite walking off of the 11th green with a double bogey, Aberg still managed to shoot a 3-under 69 on Sunday to finish solo second at 7-under par in his first major start.

Without Aberg applying very real pressure, Scheffler would have bested the field by seven shots.  

Max Homa Flips His Own Script

Max Homa is one of the most likable people in all of golf. He's an easy-going guy who has battled adversity, losing his PGA Tour card on two separate occasions, and has worked his tail off to become a Top 10 player in the world.

The only knock against the 33-year-old is his track record in major championships. Heading into the 2024 Masters, Homa was very much the complete opposite of a big-game hunter with just one Top 10 finish in his 17 career starts in a major.

Homa found himself tied for the lead heading into the weekend, and while many wrote him off to truly contend over the final 36 holes, he put a more-than-solid effort on the game's biggest stage against the No. 1 player in the world. 

His 73 on Saturday kept him within two shots of the lead heading into Sunday, and after cruising at 2-under thru 11 holes, he still had a legitimate shot at winning the green jacket. But then, the bad break came.

His teeshot into the Par 3 12th airmailed the green and found what appeared to be the firmest spot on the property as it bounced into shrubbery behind the green forcing him to take an unplayable and walk away with a double bogey.

Contending in a major championship for the first time, ball striking the hell out of it, and finishing T-3 should be a huge boost for Homa's confidence moving forward. Nobody would be surprised to see him find the winner's circle in a major, especially not after what he showed at Augusta in 2024.

We Sure Did Miss You, Bryson

Since winning the U.S. Open in 2020, Bryson DeChambeau hasn't found the spotlight on the biggest stage as often as many would have predicted. He finished T-8 in the 2022 Open and T-4 in the 2023 PGA Championship, but those are his two lone, somewhat memorable showings in a major over his last 11 appearances.

Him grabbing the lead on Thursday and being tied at the top of the leaderboard heading into the weekend was the perfect reminder that damn, Bryson DeChambeau is entertaining. You may find him goofy, maybe he's a bit over the top, but that doesn't mean he isn't incredibly fun to watch.

Sure, there were plenty of people who loved seeing him fade late on Saturday and not make a run at it on Sunday, but it was incredibly refreshing to have him back in the spotlight in a major championship.

Cam Young Is Quietly Lurking

Cam Young never truly sniffed contention and only posted one score in red figures, but still managed to finish in a tie for ninth. Since finishing T-3 in the 2022 PGA Championship, Young has now managed four Top 10 finishes over the course of his last seven major championship appearances, including a solo second in the 2022 Open.

The New Yorker is still only 26-years-old and is now not only checking plenty of boxes statistically, but backing things up with quality showings in majors.

Collin Morikawa Is Still A Dude

Outside his major championship debut at the 2019 U.S. Open, expectations had never been lower for Collin Morikawa heading into a major than they were ahead of this year's Masters. His all-world ball striking has abandoned him to start the year and his putting hasn't helped the cause either.

He arrived at Augusta well out of form with just one Top 10 finish in 2024 and two missed cuts in seven starts. Something clicked, maybe he remembered he is a two-time major winner, and found that gear we haven't seen out of him in months.

While his off-the-tee game let him down on Sunday, starting the final day just one off the lead and in the final pairing felt like a monumental win for Morikawa to re-gain his confidence. His round of 70 on Friday in incredibly tough, windy conditions was one of the more impressive rounds he's strung together in quite some time. Aberg was the only player on Friday to post a sub-70 score in the second round.

Tiger Woods' New Role

Tiger Woods hasn't been a factor for quite some time, and as I wrote about after his incredibly underwhelming weekend at Augusta, it's time we stop thinking of him as a player who can actually contend in major championships moving forward.

Woods' new role is to tee it up in major championships, make Thursdays and Fridays interesting to see if he can make the cut, and then the weekend expectation for fans should be nothing more than seeing glimpses of his magic while he finishes somewhere in the middle of the pack.

Everyone who possesses common sense realizes that the only expectation for Tiger Woods at this point is that there is no expectation. Being able to watch him play major championship golf at 48-years-old while his engine allowing him to do so is nearing empty is a gift, there shouldn't be anything else attached to it.

Rory McIlroy's Meaningless Weekend

There isn't much to say about Rory McIlroy when it comes to the 2024 Masters. In attempt No. 10 at winning his first green jacket, McIlroy no-showed.

Beyond the fact that he was a complete non-factor by Friday afternoon, what made this attempt so frustrating was his opening round of 71. Historically, McIlroy comes out of the gates slow, but a 71 kept him within striking distance heading into Friday.

Well, Friday came, and McIlroy posted a 5-over 77 that didn't feature a single birdie. Instead of taking advantage of the Par 5s at Augusta, which is a must, the greatest driver of the golf ball in the world played the Par 5s at just 2-under on the week.

Back to the drawing board for another year for Mr. McIlroy.