It’s that time again. The moment all of the golf world has been waiting for—the most exciting week of the year: Masters week.
The 2023 Masters Tournament began on Thursday, April 6, and finished on Sunday, April 9. After a four-day-long battle in Augusta, Georgia, Jon Rahm brought home a green jacket back to Spain. Rahm battled through the difficult week of weather delays and finished 12 under par for the tournament. It was the Spaniard’s seventh time competing in the Masters and second major championship win of his career. He is the second Spaniard to ever have two major championship wins. Behind Rahm, Brooks Keopka and Phil Mickelson tied for second at eight under par, and Jordan Speith, Patrick Reed and Russell Henley tied for fourth at seven under par.
During the final round, Maclay’s students and faculty were glued to their televisions. With the brand-new chipping and putting facility installed next to the tennis courts, golf’s popularity has skyrocketed on Maclay’s campus. Maclay boy’s varsity golf head coach Joe Kupiszewski believes Rahm is an awesome champion, but Kupiszewski enjoyed seeing amateur Sam Bennett near the top of the leaderboard for three of the four rounds.
“[The Masters] is great entertainment to watch, and because so many different types of players can compete it is always inspiring,” Kupiszewski said. “I love how creative they have to get. Regardless of how well you play, it seems that inevitably the golfers at the Masters find themselves in a situation where they really need to get creative with their short game. So, it always reminds me how important that part of the game is and something you can never practice enough. This leads me to an exciting development here at Maclay. We are fortunate to have a wonderful community supporting our golf program and cannot wait until our short-game facility is fully open and our golfers can have their own private practice area which I’m certain will lead to improvement in that aspect of their game.”
Junior Ellie Jane Riner was also pleased with Rahm’s victory, though, before the tournament commenced, Riner was hoping last year’s champion Scottie Scheffler would take home the win a second time.
“[Rahm] sets a great example for other golfers like me,” Riner said. “Watching the Masters inspires my own game by pushing me to spend more time practicing.”
Additionally, senior Lee Poppell, a member of the Maclay boys varsity golf team, will continue his career at Troy University this fall. Poppell was excited to see Rahm win his first Masters Tournament.
“Watching guys hit shots that I can’t make inspires me to want to go out to the course and try and learn them,” Poppell said.
Golfers on and off of Maclay’s campus will use the Masters as motivation toward their own golf game. The time and effort put in by each Masters participant, pro or amateur, does not go unnoticed at Maclay School and the golf community.
