Smylie Kaufman completes first Masters Tournament
Smylie Kaufman finished his first trip to The Masters playing in the final pair alongside reigning champion Jordan Spieth on Sunday at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.
The Vestavia Hills native teed off just one shot behind Spieth, but did not have the round he would have hoped for. He completed his first run in the revered tournament with a 29th place finish at 7-over-par over the four days after shooting an 81 (9-over) on Sunday.
"It was so cool," Kaufman said following the final round. "That last round really stunk, but just the crowd and just how loud it was, the roars. I got to watch Jordan handle the pressure and just see what it was kind of like. So I'm just going to try to build on it moving forward and I'll see what I can do in the coming years here."
Danny Willett overtook Spieth in the final round to win the green jacket. Kaufman birdied the second hole, but was only able to card one other birdie on the afternoon.
"It could have been a different day. But I did get up on (Hole) 2 and stepped up with a pretty good putt," Kaufman said.
Kaufman did put up a 69 (3-under) on Saturday in third round action, good for the best round out of all competitors on Friday or Saturday. In that round, he posted birdies on holes 13, 14, and 16 to finish with a bang. He posted solid scores of 73 and 72 in the first two rounds, as the players battled difficult conditions all week.
He is excited about what the future holds at one of the biggest tournaments in all of golf.
"I think I got in my own head a little bit. I didn't do a great job with close reaction and I think I got in my own head a little bit with the putter. But everything else is awesome. I loved the atmosphere, it was cool. It's something I think I'll thrive in one day," he said.
The LSU grad also participated in the Par 3 Contest on Tuesday at Augusta and finished tied for ninth, including a hole-in-one on No. 8. See video of his ace below.
Click here to check out his scorecard for the event.