As the 2024 Masters comes to a close, it turned out to be a banner two-week period for the city of Augusta — not just because it got the chance to host the 88th version of arguably the game’s most iconic event, but also because some of the most watched moments of the week involved a major local flair.
AN AUGUSTA RESIDENT MAKES UNLIKELY CUT
Luke List didn’t win a Green Jacket, but he was able to make a good showing in the 88th Masters. A good enough showing for him to make the post-second round cut despite initially thinking he had not.
“I packed up my whole locker,” List said after finishing his third round Saturday. “I was planning on missing the cut. Obviously, the conditions were tough. I thought it was going to stay at 5.”
In fact, earlier on it appeared that the cut would be even lower. Definitely not the 6-over that he settled in at. But that’s exactly where the cut remained.
“For that to happen, it was a bonus,” List said. “It happens in golf with those conditions, so I was very fortunate.”
List was literally at home, found out the cut was on his side, and made his way back to Augusta National. It was a rollercoaster of emotions for him, but he appreciated the the ability to get back to the course.
“I feel like I played really well (Friday),” List said. “I feel like I was really patient with the way I hung in yesterday and just didn’t get anything out of it. To miss like that, I felt it was stinging a little bit. Then to the full mix of emotions, to be able to turn around and be able to play today was very special.”
List got to play to the end Sunday, finishing T-38 carding a respectable 2-over 74 during the fourth round. But that wasn’t his biggest highlight. That came during Wednesday’s Par 3 contest that preceded the opening round of Masters play.
List hit a ball from the 140-yard No. 6 hole that landed on the green and spun its way back to the cup for a hole-in-one.
It wasn’t List’s first ace, though.
“A long time ago, 2005, I made one on No. 7 in the par-3,” List said. “So this was kind of, it was awesome to have my family there. It was neat. I didn’t see it go in, just heard the crowd. It’s organized chaos out there with the kids, but we had a good time.”
At noon, the 39-year old hovered around the 30th position for most of the final day of competition at Augusta National. But his place on the leaderboard wasn’t as important to him this time around as the experiences had with his family.
“It’s a special week, and this kind of gets everything rolling,” List said. “Living here in Augusta now, it’s really special being here. Just having the kids out and have everybody together, and it’s just such a unique celebration of golf and family, and they have always celebrated this Par-3 Contest, so just to have that, and with the crowd, it’s just amazing. So to make a hole-in-one, it’s really neat.”
A GAMECOCK GETS THE ROYAL FAN TREATMENT
In case you were able to catch the Augusta National Women’s Amateur last week before the Masters began in earnest, you may have gotten a glimpse at South Carolina junior golfer Hannah Darling.
And you probably also got a chance to hear her cheering section.
Darling didn’t win. But she was at the top of the leaderboard after the tournament’s first round. And she finished a more-than-respectable seventh place after carding a 1-under 215 over three rounds. But during her first round, she shot a 66, which turned out to be the lowest round of golf during the entire ANWA.
And with each great shot Darling hit, her fans let her know about it to the point where he was asked about it several times.
“We’re in Gamecock country right now, so we had all the Gamecock fans out here,” Darling said. “The whole South Carolina women’s golf team is out here as well. It’s just a lot of fun having these people here. I have my family here, and then I also have my overseas family here.”
The 21-year old is originally from Midlothian, Scotland, but has found a home, and quite the golfing niche, in the U.S. — particularly in Columbia, S.C. Her college career has given her two-time Golfweek and Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) First-Team All-American honors. She’s also a two-time finalist for the ANNIKA Award, given to the top women’s Division I collegiate golfer.
As of the week of ANWA, Darling was ranked No. 19 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, and was the only Scottish player in the ANWA field. Now with ANWA in her rearview mirror, Darling says her focus has turned back to the SEC tournament and regionals and nationals with South Carolina. As of Saturday, the second-ranked Gamecocks maintained a lead after two rounds of play at the SEC Women’s Golf Championships in Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida.
“Our team at South Carolina, we’re in a really good place right now,” Darling said. “So I’m really excited to see what the next few months hold.”
AUGUSTA UP-AND-COMER SHINES
One of the first stories we reported from our time at Augusta National this year was of the 12-year old Evans boy, Kipp Madison who won his division of the Drive, Chip and Putt competition.
It was notable because the young golfer was the first from the Augusta area to win the competition. And that means the city will now keep watch on him to see how he grows from here.
The early exposure to the Augusta National course and big stage provides lessons to a young golfer that are priceless in his or her development. He said as much when, after his win, he talked about the biggest lessons he learned and advice he’d give someone else around his age getting the opportunity to play this course.
“You just need to be positive even when you hit a bad shot because you can hit one bad shot and think there’s no way I can make it now,” Madison said. “You can always make it. You might just have to do a little bit better on other shots. Don’t force it in. Just let it ride. [The course] is so fast. It’s so quick. The chipping, whatever club you’ve been practicing with, definitely use that club.”
Some of what Madison said actually echoes what some of the pros have said about Augusta National this week, especially with the weather conditions, the wind, the hardening and quickening of the greens, etc.
Typically, Drive, Chip and Putt winners do move on to do some great things in the game. Take Patrick Welch for example. He competed in the competition as an eighth grader. Since then, he’s gone on to a more-than-solid college career at Oklahoma where he was a four-time All-America honoree, only the second in OU history to do that. He was a two-time All-Big 12 selection and finished No. 5 in the 2023 PGA Tour U rankings.
There are other stories like his. So it’ll be interesting to keep an eye on Madison after his backyard success to see if it parlays into something more.
