Iss. #237 | Friends, It's Augusta Week!

Iss. #237 | Friends, It's Augusta Week!

"Well, I've been doing my hardest to get it over the green... Just not reaching it this year. But I'm trying my hardest." - Tommy Fleetwood's son Frankie after playing in the Par 3 Challenge on Wednesday... or my current state of mind approaching any water-guarded hole.

 

Power ranking the—worst—Masters prizes 

WHAT'S THE OPPOSITE OF A GREEN JACKET?
It's finally here—Augusta week has arrived and all is right with the golfing world. I hope you all can find some time to fall asleep to the soothing sounds of the Masters theme song and let's see a thrilling Sunday finish! Is this Rory's year??
 
I'll kick things off this week with a list that Golf Digest editor Jamie Kennedy posted, that I found by way of Zire. The list runs down everything you win when you're Masters champion and honestly, there were some things I didn't know...
 
But instead of deciding whether I would rather have the Augusta membership or the green jacket more—I found it more interesting to rank my five worst prizes instead.
 
1) OWGR & FedEx Points - If I won the Masters, I may even just call it quits. So sure, throw some points at me. 
 
2) Special tee time - The winner gets a tee time on the Sunday before the Masters with whoever they want. Not saying this is insignificant, but if I also get a membership to the club then this feels less special.
 
3) Champions-only range - Why hide? If I won, I'd be wearing the d&@# jacket on the range so everyone could see!
 
4) Champions locker room locker - Would be cool, but there is only so much space in the locker room so you have to share with someone else! Dying to know how they decide who has to share.
 
5) Five Year PGA Tour exemption - I'd much rather just show up for the Masters each year. So much travel too, I'm a Masters champ—I don't need that kind of stress.

 

Par 3 Day is the best day

POPPY FROM DOWNTOWN!
Longtime readers will know that the moment from Masters week which gives me the most joy—outranking the drone shot down Magnolia lane, Masters teaser promos during March Madness, watching the actual tournament, and even the Masters theme song... is the Wednesday Par 3. 

If I'm being honest, Wednesday might be my top day to attend if I had the choice. Sunday is great and all, but the crowds seem insane—and I've heard that practice days are a much more relaxing way to experience the grounds.
 
Anyways, the highlight from this year's Par 3 Challenge came courtesy of Poppy McIlroy who absolutely DRAINED a 25? 30? foot putt. And after hitting it, Shane Lowry's daughter comes running in to give her a huge hug—seen above. (Click through the picture for the full video, too.)
 
The sneaky greatest moment for me was watching Rory's nervous dad energy as Lowry's daughter picked Poppy up. Parents recognize parents—and the way Rory leans in but remembers they're in public and that it's his buddy Shane's kid who is lifting Poppy up. I feel that so hard. "Play it cool, Rory. Everyone's watching. But... be GENTLE WITH POPPY!"

 

Action Network with the hard-hitting report

NUMBERS DON'T LIE
By now, you've likely seen a million reports about who will win the Masters or THIS is the longshot who will win it this year or NOW is the time to finally back golfer XYZ.
 
But for real, THESE are the people you should be backing to close things out this weekend.
 
The research is based on a fun report from the Action Network (linked through image above) which profiled all Masters winners and pulled out some interesting and non-traditional trends.

A few of my favorite callouts...
  • Average age of winner is 32 years old (I am WAY past my prime now, it seems.)

  • "B" is the most common first name letter, tallying 12.5% of all Masters champions.

  • February and November are the most common birth months (Jack is a February baby and Russell is November... soooooo you're saying there's a chance??)

  • San Diego is the only city to produce three Masters champions!!! (SO YOU'RE SAYING THERE'S A CHANCE?????)
All this data got me thinking. But instead of digging into the archives myself, I had ChatGPT give me a hand on selecting the 5 current golfers who fit the most criteria. So without further ado, your 2025 Masters champion is ON. THIS. LIST.
 
5) Akshay Bhatia
4) Jason Day
3) Patrick Reed
2) Brian Campbell
1) Beau Hossler
 
Fun fact about these fun facts—Beau Hossler, not in the field. So that would be quite the Masters moment.

 

Gear. A Good Hang. Prizes.

AMATEURS WEEK AT BBHQ
We go hard for Masters week at BBHQ—and, personally, it's my favorite limited collection we drop every year. Like clockwork my colleagues in Scottsdale get the same Slack every year... heyyyyyyyyy, the new Amateurs flagstick tee in sand is calling my name. Any chance we can get a special delivery out to San Diego?
 
And bless their hearts, bags are secured.
 
But wanted to also let you all in on some other great happenings we've got lined up this week.
 
First, Amateur Hour.
For our Arizona peeps (and anyone who wants to make the trip), we're hosting a watch party on Sunday from 9a-1p at Four Peaks Brewery. Open to all! For fans, Four Peaks is also our collab partner on the absolutely CRUSHABLE Bad Birdie beer—so if you're free, don't miss this one.
 
Second, pop over to our IG to win a custom, hand-painted Bad Birdie X MNML golf bag in honor of Masters week.
These bags go hard with killer features like in-bag phone charging, pocket to hold your phone to film your swing, and plenty of storage for all your gear and maybe a Four Peaks bevvie or two...

Entries close Sunday 4/13!
— Scott Fluhler
Older articles Back to Breakfast Balls Newer articles