It was a beautiful New Orleans Sunday, and when I woke up later than I’d like to admit, day four of the 2026 Masters at Augusta National was rolling on my TV screen. I always thought golf was a boring sport, but I figured, what the hell, and I plopped myself down to watch. To my astonishment, I was completely hooked within about 15 minutes. 

The beautiful and vast greens and fairways of the Augusta National Golf Club were mesmerizing, each golfer’s focus was mind-boggling and the level of play on display was elite. Soon enough, I understood why so many fans impatiently wait for the magic of the Masters to return every year. 

Here are my takeaways from my first time watching golf’s most prestigious tournament:

Returning champion Rory McIlroy is different. 

It didn’t take long to figure this out, and even though he blew a six-shot lead through 36 holes — the largest halftime lead in Masters history — McIlroy still won. 

The Northern Irishman made double bogey early in the final round, but clawed his way back from two shots down, birdying the 12th hole, which I learned is notoriously impossible. He had Michael Jordan and Tom Brady-level of laser focus. He simply refused to lose and captured his second green jacket in two years.

 “I just can’t believe I waited 17 years to get one green jacket, and I get two in a row,” he said after the round. 

The rest of the field wasn’t exactly rolling over.

Part of what made Sunday so exciting was that so many guys had a shot right up to the very end. 

Scottie Scheffler — the world No. 1 — is ridiculous. He went bogey-free in his final two rounds, which is pretty much unheard of and a historical performance in its own right.

Justin Rose, the 45-year-old Englishman who somehow keeps contending at Augusta, became one of my favorites and was clearly beloved by fans. He had the lead on the back nine before bogeying on 11, 12 and 17. Rose has now finished second or third at the Masters four times since 2015. Rough. 

Then there was Cameron Young, the 28-year-old American, who started about as badly as possible — he was 4-over through just seven holes in round one, including three straight bogeys. 

But he held it together, and by Saturday he’d shot 12-under over rounds two and three combined — just one stroke off Tiger Woods‘ record for the best middle-two-round stretch in Masters history. He’s definitely on my list of players to watch in the years to come.

Sunday at the Masters is must-watch TV

I will most certainly be watching next year. Nobody told me that half the appeal of watching the Masters is just … staring at the course. The fairways are perfectly green and smooth. The azaleas are absurdly pink. Every hole feels like a painting. And for a sport I assumed was slow and uneventful, the drama was relentless. I don’t think I looked at my phone once.