Augenstein reflects on first Masters appearance

November 17, 2020 | 12:05 am

Updated November 17, 2020 | 10:06 am

John Augenstein wrapped up his first Masters on Sunday and after making his way back to Nashville, he was able to take some time and think about the weekend he just had.

Augenstein finished at +3 and 55th overall and despite not playing as well as he wanted the final two days, he said he still has a lot to take from the experience.

“On the weekend, my play was just not as sharp,” he said. “I think physically I was very good for 36 holes and more importantly, I was very good mentally for 36 holes. I kind of felt like Saturday I came out just kind of trying a little too hard. I was right there in contention and had a tough hole on seven, — my 16th hole in the second round — and came back with a birdie on the next, which is great.

“I was still sitting in a really good spot after 36 holes and I kind of felt like, unintentionally, I kind of felt like I needed to shoot a low number to get back in contention. That may be the case but as we all kind of now in anything, the harder you try, the worse it can get.”

Augenstein said he now knows he needs to be more self aware when those type of situations arise.

“I think it was a combination of being a little looser on the weekend, physically and mentally. I just wasn’t as good,” he said. “When you’re physically in a really good spot, you can get away with some bad mental decisions and when you’re really good mentally and not as good physically, you can also get away with it, but I didn’t do either as well as I could have. That’s a 75 and a 75. Overall, it was still a great weekend and I certainly learned a lot.

“In the end, I’m proud of how I played and clearly showed that I can contend at a major championship and I’m just excited for whenever I get another opportunity.”

Augenstein had an early tee time to start his week on Thursday but a weather delay pushed it back a few hours. With the weather, the course changed and many players, including Augenstein, took advantage of it.

“We all knew it was soft, we had so much rain,” he said. “When Augusta National is soft, you really need to try to take advantage of it. When any course is soft, you got to try to take advantage of it. I thought I did a great job that first round. I didn’t try too hard. I played the golf course disciplined in how I knew was the best way to play it. I made great decisions and I hit good shots as well … When you put those two things together, you’re going to shoot a good round.”

Augenstein finished 12 holes on Thursday before darkness ended the first day early. He was right back at it Friday morning and had a good start with an eagle. But he was even happier with how he continued after the 30-minute break, as he had to start his second round with not much prep time.

“I thought the biggest thing was coming out the next morning and making eagle on my first hole out and making a bunch of pars the rest of the way in, but being able to turn right back around and start again I thought was a big advantage because I was already in a rhythm,” he said. “Being able to get back up there, I’m already in a rhythm, I already know I’m swinging well, I know I’m playing well. I just finished on the back side and I turn around and tee off on 10 and play the back again.”

Augenstein said he ran into some trouble on his 16th hole during the second round as he tripled the par-4 7th hole.

“Talking to some of those guys after, I said jokingly ‘I think that might be the worst shot in Masters history,’” he said. “I had about four or five guys come up to me and say ‘No no, that may be the worst result in Masters history but definitely not the worst shot.’ It wasn’t that bad of a drive, I pulled it a little left and it hit a tree and kicked 100 plus yards backward and right over to six green. It was an out of body experience. I had never seen a break like that ever. 

“I’m not big on bad breaks. I think you should always own the golf shot you hit but I will concede the fact I think it was an awful break for it not being that bad of a shot.”

Throughout the week, Augenstein played with some of the best players in the world in Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Tony Finau as well as former Masters champions Danny Willett and Bernard Langer.

“I couldn’t have had any better pairings,” he said. “I knew Rickie a little bit, I knew Rory a little bit as well. I’d met them, they knew me. I was very comfortable. I would say the thing about Augusta National, everybody talks about experience, you need to know the course and I would dispute that a little bit. They didn’t play the course any differently than I played it. I don’t think it’s necessarily an experience of the golf course that’s so valuable, it’s the experience of hitting those shots that’s invaluable.”

Augenstein said while the course may look one way on TV, in reality, it’s much different.

He said there’s a severe slope on nearly every hole on the course. He added it was the shots those players made that put them in a different league.

“I thought what they did so well is they knew exactly how to hit that shot off of a 45 degree on the down slope on 10,” he said. “I went back and looked at some of my shots and on 13, it looks like you’re hitting off of a little bit of right to left slope but that ball is darn near equal with your eyes. It’s a severe right to left slope. That’s where experience is so important. They know exactly how that ball’s coming off. They’ve played that hole a million times and they know this shot is going to react this way, into this wind, to cover the creek in front of 13, to get it left of the hole on 10, whatever it is.”

When Augenstein made his way into the top five on Friday, he saw his name everywhere — as it’s difficult to not find a leaderboard at Augusta National.

But, when his saw his name, he said he only had one thought.

“Let’s make some more birdies and get on top,” he said. “I didn’t go into the week trying to win the golf tournament. If I could control everything I could control, I’d expect to be at the top … Everybody wants to win the golf tournament but you’re not going to win the golf tournament thinking about winning it. You’re just going to do as well as you can on every shot and control what you can control.

“When I saw my name up there, I didn’t flinch or take a picture. That’s where I wanted to be and that’s where I expected to be.”

Augenstein said Augusta is a special place but it’s also tough place to play.

“It’s simply the greatest golf course in the world because the genius behind it is every morning you know you can get it,” he said. “You know you can shoot five or six under but you’re also a fraction from shooting five or six over. That’s the genius of Augusta. You can score as low as any place but the margin for error is so tight. It’s just an incredible place and that’s why, in my opinion, the greatest golf course in the world.”’

With his Masters debut over, Augenstein said it’s now time to take a break and weigh his options on whether he decides to return to Vanderbilt for his final semester or take the next step and turn pro.

“I’m really tired,” he said. “I need some days to relax and rest. I’ll let the clubs collect dust for maybe a week or two or three or who knows. I don’t have a tournament, professional or amateur, anytime soon so I’ll just relax, think a little bit and talk with coach and make a decision on what’s next.”

November 17, 2020 | 12:05 am

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