It’s been two weeks since Jon Rahm donned the Green Jacket by winning the 2023 Masters. And we’ve still not had enough of the first Major of the year. There’s so much hype, expectations and anticipation that precedes the most coveted professional golf tournament in the world, that it’s nigh impossible for the event to match those. And yet, every few years, one edition delivers in such emphatic fashion, that the legend is once again enshrined into lore. And that, with absolutely no hyperbole, is precisely what the 2023 Masters Tournament will be remember as.

Absolutely magnificent. You can’t take anything for granted in this game. Even if you’re Jon Rahm, who believed that that it was his destiny to win the Masters. The champion shared a picture from 2013 of a fortune cookie note predicting that he would fulfil his dreams. Rahm had tweeted the picture back then with a caption that said “I am gonna win the Masters!” It took ten years, but Rahm is living the dream. Like Nicklaus said, “You’ve got to see it in your mind’s eye.” It was Rahm’s seventh appearance at Augusta where he’d finished no better than tied-fourth in the past. Rahm’s inspired play was complimented by third round leader Brooks Koepka’s missteps late on the back nine that helped him turn a two-shot deficit at the start of the final round to a four-stroke win. Koepka was one of 18 players from the LIV Golf Tour who were eligible to play at The Masters Tournament—a right that the Masters Committee, wisely, did not deprive them of. Of the 18, 11 players made the cut, including Koepka and Phil Mickelson who finished tied-second, and Patrick Reed who also made it to the Top-5. And what can you say about 52-year-old Mickelson.

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Ever since he became the oldest player to win a Major in 2021, ‘Lefty,’ has been in the news more for shooting his mouth than a low score. The six-time Major winner, unarguably one of the all-time greats of the game, found something in the final round to shoot a seven-under 65—his lowest closing round ever at Augusta. That come-from-behind performance included a blitzkrieg 31 strokes on the back nine that leapfrogged him up the leaderboard to second-place.

Mickelson’s $1.5 million cheque also put him right on top of the all-time money winners at The Masters Tournament with $9.7 million. He unseated his all-time bête noire—Tiger Woods. Small consolation but given the slump he’s been in, this performance has been a real shot in the arm for Mickelson.

The big stages—especially The Masters—bring out the best in Mickelson. He enjoys hitting miracle shots for the galleries, loves the attention he gets, and thrives in the limelight. One can’t help but wonder if he believes it was a bad idea to leave the popular PGA Tour for the LIV Golf Tour. He hasn’t yet found his mojo on the latter. But that’s a moot discussion. What was clear though, that all the players who play on the LIV Golf Tour, thoroughly enjoyed their outing at The Masters. And given that three of them finished in the Top-5, there’s no debate about whether the quality of their game has held up in the 54-hold format of that tour. But most of all, their presence made the Masters Tournament. This is what a full-field event with the best players in the world—irrespective of what Tour they play on—feels like. There’s just no substitute for that.

And for that, you’ve got to hand it to the Masters Committee for giving that to the fans. Thinking of Tiger, as I write this column, it was precisely on this day over a quarter of a century back—April 13—that the big cat announced his arrival on the world stage in bombastic fashion.

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That was one edition of the Masters Tournament, that was perhaps even more momentous than what we witnessed last week. In 1997, a 21-year-old prodigy, who’d turned pro a mere seven months before that coronation, decimated the best golfers in the world. Tiger’s 18-under par total was an astounding 12 shots clear of second-place finisher, Tom Kite’s tally. Tiger became (and remains) the youngest winner of The Masters. The rest is history—golf would never be the same again. In 2023, we’ll remember Tiger’s putt on the 15th hole in the second round to make the cut right on the number. It was Tiger’s 23rd consecutive cut at The Masters, equalling the record held by Fred Couples and Gary Player. We’ll also remember him limping badly, and then withdrawing from the event over the weekend. “I don’t know how many I have left in me,” he said stoically to the media later that day. He didn’t seem gutted—Tiger today looks like a man who’s just grateful for all that life brings him. Was it his last appearance? This is speculation but if it comes down to that, then Tiger would probably choose to tee it up at Augusta over any other event and venue. It’s just implausible to even imagine him sitting it out if he’s physically capable.

To be left out of the field at The Masters is a bad feeling. Just ask Rickie Fowler, who, despite a last-minute dash to make it to the Top 50 players in the world couldn’t quite make the grade. Fowler issued a statement that it made such an impact on him not to be in the field that he’s determined to pull his game together to make sure it doesn’t happen again. You’ve got to feel for Fowler. The 2023 Masters Tournament, will be remembered, as commentator Jim Nantz, famously remarked at the 1997 Masters, ‘One for the Ages.’

A golfer, Meraj Shah also writes about the game