‘Don’t wait to do something’: Amateur golfer Sam Bennett inspired by late father’s last written words at The Masters

Brooks Koepka watches his tee shot on the eighth hole Friday at the Masters. Koepka, who shared the first-round lead, got off to a strong start on Friday.

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Billy Horschel reacts to a shot on the second hole Friday.

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Jason Day and William Kane, caddie for Gordon Sargent, read the first green on Friday.

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Ryan Fox plays a shot on the third hole Friday.

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Tiger Woods plays his tee shot on the third hole Thursday.

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Viktor Hovland chips onto the 10th green Thursday. The Norwegian shot a 7-under 65 and shared the first-round lead with Koepka and Jon Rahm.

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Patrick Reed’s caddie, Kessler Karain, helps Reed line up a putt on the 13th hole Thursday.

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Woods grimaces on the fourth tee Thursday. The five-time Masters champion said his surgically repaired right leg felt sore Thursday and that the pain is “constant.”

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Phil Mickelson hits a shot on the second hole Thursday.

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Adam Scott plays a bunker shot on the second hole Thursday.

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Pins adorn a spectator’s hat on Thursday.

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Defending Masters champion Scottie Scheffler hits his tee shot on the seventh hole Thursday.

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Sergio Garcia fishes his ball out of the creek on No. 13.

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A worker updates one of the leaderboards Thursday at Augusta National.

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Koepka hits his tee shot on the 14th hole Thursday.

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Hideki Matsuyama, who won the tournament two years ago, looks over a putt on the second hole.

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Rahm and his caddie, Adam Hayes, are seen on the third green Thursday.

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Golf legend Jack Nicklaus hits a ceremonial tee shot before the start of the first round. He was joined by Gary Player and Tom Watson.

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Rory McIlroy signs autographs after competing in the traditional par 3 contest that is held the day before the start of the tournament.

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Min Woo Lee walks to the 15th green during a practice round Wednesday.

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Masters 2023: The best pictures from Augusta

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CNN
 — 

Before every swing, amateur golfer Sam Bennett glances down at the words inked on his left wrist.

“Don’t wait to do something”, the tattoo reads. They were the last words ever written by his father.

And on his Masters debut this week, the 23-year-old – a fifth-year senior at Texas A&M – has waited for nobody.

Bennett has dazzled at Augusta National, shooting a bogey-free, four-under 68 to end Thursday level with defending champion Scottie Scheffler in sixth. Paired with Scheffler for Friday’s second round, the Texan surged away from the world No. 1 and most of the field, repeating his opening round score to jump to eight-under.

A second consecutive birdie at the 14th hole lifted him to solo second, a position just two amateurs have ever previously reached at the major. Given a rousing reception as he left the 18th green, he returned to the clubhouse just four shots adrift of leader Brooks Koepka.

“That was incredible,” Bennett, the 2022 US Amateur champion, told Sky Sports. “I think a lot of people didn’t think I was gonna be able to back it up but I went out there with the same game plan.
“This is right where I wanna be. I love pressure, I love nerves, I try to use them to my advantage … I know it’s The Masters, it’s a bigger stage but I’ve played in front of a lot of people and love playing when a lot’s on the line.

“What do they say, ‘Anything can happen on the weekend out here?’ I like where I stand.”

Bennett has become a crowd favorite at Augusta National.

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His eight-under 136 marks the second-lowest score ever posted by an amateur at The Masters, just one shy of Ken Venturi’s nine-under 135 effort in 1956, according to the PGA Tour.

But could he pull off what would surely be the biggest shock in recent golfing history and clinch the green jacket?

“I think I can,” Bennett continued.

“We’ll see. I’m playing really well and I think I’ve got what it takes to win. I love hitting shots in front of people and making putts when it matters, so I think I have a good chance.”

‘I know he’s watching from above’

Bennett’s father Mark died in June 2021 after an eight-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease, according to an interview with Golf Channel ahead of the tournament.

The words – inscribed exactly as written – represent the final piece of advice his father gave him.

Bennett said he looks at the tattoo before every shot.

Andrew Redington/Getty Images

“He wrote it out, it took him like 15 minutes to write it, it was probably the hardest thing he’s had to do in his handwriting,” Bennett told the PGA Tour at the Valero Texas Open earlier in April.

“It means the world to me, he was the reason I started playing golf, why I wanted to be good – to impress him.

“It’s like a new pre-shot routine I do now, right before I’m about to hit it I’ll look at it and I’m like, ‘don’t wait to do something.’ It’s something that will always stick and he means the world to me.”

A detail of a green jacket during the third round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 13, 2019 in Augusta, Georgia.

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Why do Masters champions win a green jacket?

With Bennett realizing a dream of playing at Augusta National, the tattoo provides a permanent connection to his late father.

“I know he’s watching, he’s got a good view down looking at Augusta National so I know he’s thrilled,” he said.

“I wish he could be here but he’s happy, I know he is.”