Aggies Sam Bennett Looks To Bring Home Green Jacket At The Masters

Sam Bennett will take Augusta for the first time in his career Thursday afternoon.

COLLEGE STATION -- Sam Bennett will have a chance to take home more than just a trophy back to Texas A&M come Monday. An opportunity to grab the green jacket is also on the line.  

As The Masters kicks off Thursday, all eyes in Aggieland will be on Bennett, who looks to become the first Aggie to win one of golf's biggest invitationals. Bennett will tee off at 12:36 p.m. C.T. on Thursday afternoon and play alongside Scottie Scheffler and Max Homa.

The trio will play 18 holes on Thursday before taking the range Friday at 9:30 a.m. C.T. ESPN+ and Masters.com will broadcast the tournament's first two rounds before CBS takes over for the weekend coverage. 

Bennett, a senior at Texas A&M, clinched his spot in The Masters after advancing to finals of the U.S Amateur last August. Bennett went on to win over Georgia Southern’s Ben Carr in the championship match.

This won't be the first major tournament in Bennett's promising career. Last summer, Bennett made the cut at the US Open after delivering several big swings to help him finish with rounds of 70-73-74-73. He finished tied for 49th overall with a +3. 

"Playing in the US Amateur, that semifinal match which got me in the Masters, that was a lot of pressure,” Bennett said. “Then playing the weekend at the US. Open in Boston, making that cut and having all the fans out there, I feel pretty comfortable with that. I won't let that get to me, and I feel like I'm experienced, and I've gotten to play in a lot of college tournaments leading up, so that's there, and I'm just ready to get out there and compete." 

Bennett toured Augusta late last month to lay the land and prepare for the tournament. A&M coach Brian Kortan will serve as his caddie for a second time. Kortan, who's in his third year of A&M's men's golf coach, also worked with Bennett during the US Amateur last summer.

"It's going to be awesome," Bennett said of Kortan's return to the bag. "It worked down in August. It's worked my whole career here. He knows his golf very well. I'm going to put a lot of trust in him. Just like I did at the Amateur, I'll be like 'Kortan, tell me what to do.'" 

Kortan said that Bennett will need to focus on "18 holes at a time" rather than spring to the next day, though he is ready for the next challenge in his career. 

"He's learned a lot over the years," Kortan said. "He's played a lot of golf for us, with the Aggies this year, but he would admittedly say his eye has been on this for a while. He's excited to finally get there and do this." 

The top 50 players and those tied after 36 holes will make it to the tournament's second stage starting Saturday. The final round will take place Sunday morning.

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