Sam Bennett Receives Hero’s Welcome in College Station, Texas
The Texas A&M senior’s incredible Masters debut earned him the prestigious Silver Cup and the adoration of Aggieland.
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Fresh off his stunning Masters debut, Sam Bennett received a hero’s welcome upon his return to College Station, Texas, this morning.
In a video shared to Instagram (below), Bennett can be seen receiving fist bumps and cheers as he walks through the terminal at Easterwood Airport.
By tying for 16th place, the 23-year-old phenom became the first amateur to finish in the top 20 at the Masters since 2005. Bennett also became the first amateur since 1956 to finish with a bogey-free first round and the third amateur in Masters history to have multiple rounds in the 60s, Sports Illustrated reports. As the event's low amateur, the Texas A&M senior also took home the prestigious Silver Cup.
The Texas native first burst onto the national scene after winning the U.S. Amateur last summer. The story of Bennett's father, who lost his life to early onset Alzheimer's in 2021, and the tattoo he got to honor him, have become inextricably intertwined with his own.
"It was just from growing up as a kid watching this tournament to losing my dad to the struggles I’ve faced and still face to be able to walk up that green on 18 on a Sunday, Easter Sunday, and just be appreciative of everything,” Bennett told The Eagle. “I thought—I mean, if you had told me I was going to be here when I was a kid, I would have thought you were crazy. So to be able to [say that] it's cool. Playing the Masters on Sunday, that’s what every golfer dreams of. I was just happy to be able to do that.”
Bennett originally planned to join his Texas A&M teammates in the Aggie Invitational shortly after landing.
“I don't have many more college tournaments left, so I'd like to play in my home event,” he told Golf Digest on Sunday. “I came back to school to be with my team and do that, so I think I want to play.”
After returning home, however, Bennett decided to withdraw his name from the grueling two-day tournament so he could get some well-deserved rest.
We know we haven’t seen the last of Sam Bennett!
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