June 12, 2020, is a date Sam Bennett will never forget. And it’s not just because it’s inked into his left forearm forever.
You might want to ink his name, too, after you hear his incredible story.
The Masters began on Thursday, and an unfamiliar name popped up, and rose in the ranks in Bennett who, as a U.S. Amateur champion (yep, AMATEUR), is getting a taste of the attention.
And he earned every ounce of it.
He birdied in the first hole for the second day in a row, and before the weather cut Friday’s round short, he finished at 8-under, and in third place.
Bennett’s inspiration was from his late father, Mark, who lost his battle with early-onset Alzheimer’s in 2021. The tattoo on his arm is a stenciled note from him: “Don’t wait to do something,” it reads. And the date, 6/12/2020.
"Don't wait to do something."
Sam Bennett's late father gives him inspiration before every single shot.
Today, he made history. pic.twitter.com/hhEFZFGv9n
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 6, 2023
“Last summer, me and my mom were doing yard work,” Bennett told the PGA Tour. “Dad was out there and — I’ve been struggling with some stuff mentally and this was when my dad can still, we can still kind of have a conversation, when he could still talk and it was the last piece of advice. He was like, ‘Don’t wait to do something.'”
Bennett said it was something that has stuck with him since.
“I was in Dallas at a golf tournament for, I think the Southern Am, I was like, ‘I’m going to get this tattoo.’ He wrote it out, it took him probably like 15 minutes to write it, and it was probably the hardest things he’s probably had to done in his handwriting. It means the world to me, you know. He was the reason I started playing golf and why I wanted to be good to impress him.”
He now uses it in his pre-shot routine. Right before he’s about to hit the ball, he looks at his tattoo, and says to himself, ‘Don’t wait to do something.'”
“He means the world to me,” Bennett said.
Bennett’s journey to The Masters had a stint at Texas A&M where he earned SEC Player of the Year accolades. He won the 2022 U.S. Amateur at Ridgewood where he played with the likes of Max Homa and Masters defending champ Scottie Scheffler.
The 23-year-old’s mother, Stacy, was in attendance in Augusta, Ga. and said the way Bennett plays, she sees pieces of Mark.
“He’s always just worked really hard,” she told Golfweek. “He’s pretty laid back like his late dad and he’s just enjoying it, just taking it all in. He plays really well when he’s relaxed and that’s what he has done.”
As far as his amateur status goes, an amateur has never won The Masters. Three amateurs have finished runner-up at the tournament, according to The Athletic. Ken Venturi (1956) finished second. Both Charlie Coe (1961) and Frank Stranahan (1947) were tied for second.
Will this be a first?
It’ll be interesting as Bennett already was part of a crazy Friday that included a falling tree. (For real)
Don’t worry, nobody was hurt.
Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm are atop the leaderboard heading into the weekend, but Bennett, as confident as ever, believes he can win it all himself.
[Golfweek] Photo Credit: PGA Tour, Twitter
