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News, Blog and GuidesThe American golfer and the Texas A&M golf team varsity member, finished 16th overall and became the first amateur in the top 20 at the Masters since 2005.
Svetozar PavlovićceletozasvetaUpdate: Jun 13th, 2024 10:01 EDT
ANDREW REDINGTONAFP
Bennett is a young golfer from Madisonville, Texas. He began playing golf on a public nine-hole course in his hometown and attended Madisonville High School, where he became a state champion in 2017.
In 2018, Bennett enrolled at Texas A&M, where he achieved All-American honors as a junior and represented the American team at the 2021 Arnold Palmer Cup. As a senior in 2022, he earned the SEC Player of the Year award and was a finalist for the Fred Haskins Award, given to the most outstanding collegiate golfer in the country. Bennett also set a school record for the lowest scoring average. He was named to the 2022 Arnold Palmer Cup team and advanced to the final of the U.S. Amateur in August 2022 at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey. He defeated Ben Carr, 1 up, to become the first U.S. Amateur champion in Texas A&M history. This win exempted Bennett from the 2023 Masters Tournament and 2023 Open Championship.
Sam Bennett took the golf world by storm just shy of a year ago.He was the first amateur to finish top-20 at The Masters since 2005. Bennett is still grinding away on the Korn Ferry Tour.We caught up with Sam after his opening round of 72 (E) at the Club Car Championship.… pic.twitter.com/GmfetXm9QW
— Jeff Roberts (@JeffRoberts__) April 4, 2024
Bennett also qualified for the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club, where he cut, finishing in a tie for 49th place. He played his first PGA Tour event, the Valero Texas Open, in 2021 but unfortunately missed the cut.
At the 2023 Masters, Bennett made history as the first amateur in 30 years to play a bogey-free round of 68 (-4) and score two rounds in the 60s. He became one of the top three amateurs on the leaderboard after 36 holes, with an amateur’s lowest 36-hole score of 136 (-8) since 1956. Although he fell to seventh place on the third day, Bennett still became the first amateur since 1964 to be in the top 10 in the final round. He tied for 16th place after a two-over 74 in the final round, which was still a remarkable achievement as it was the best Masters finish by an amateur since 2005.
Sam Bennett as a pro golfer
Bennett couldn’t receive his $261,000 prize money from the Masters tournament due to his amateur status. Unfortunately, he didn’t qualify to participate in Augusta this year, as he finished just a bit outside the top 12 needed to earn an invitation back.
