Hello friends, and happy Wednesday from Augusta National! Masters Wednesday is my favorite golf day of the year: the Par 3 Contest. But we’ve got a handful of things to cover before that starts. I’ve been talking to a handful of Masters employees this week, and I’m increasingly impressed by how far people have traveled to work here this week. I’ve met people who flew in from Pennsylvania, Texas and even Alaska to be a part of the magical week here at Augusta National — and collect a paycheck for doing it.
The GOLF crew took our talents down to TBonz on Washington Road for a team dinner last night and it did not disappoint. The place was packed and I met a father and son who came in from Hawaii to spend the day at the Masters. Incredible!
One of my favorite parts of Masters week is checking out the outfits that people are wearing. As great as the players look, what I’m seeing outside the ropes is what’s most impressive. It’s like golf’s Met Gala out here. Everybody is bringing their A-game, especially the gals.
Superlatives
Masters week is the best week of the year for many reasons, particularly because of the photos that get uploaded to Getty Images. I spend way too much time sorting through them all at the end of the day, so I thought I’d share some favorites with you all.
Best overall vibes
To the surprise of absolutely no one, Viktor Hovland takes home this superlative.
The thumbs up. The leg up on the seat. Enjoying a banana while hanging out on the back of a cart. Hovland gets a 10 out of 10 here, and I’m definitely looking forward to his outfits for the rest of the week.
Most interesting shirt
Hovland is usually the one with loud shirts at Augusta National, but we had an unlikely contender take home the “most interesting shirt” category on Tuesday.
This top was particularly surprising, because Wyndham Clark usually sticks to pretty plain collared shirts when he tees it up. This looks like something I would’ve made with watercolor paint in an elementary school art class. Apparently he has something big planned for Wednesday’s outfit as well, which I’m both curious and a little nervous to see.
Best returning character
This superlative will go to Butch Harmon for as long as he attends the Masters. Harmon doesn’t travel much with players anymore, but he makes sure to be at Augusta National every year. Seeing photos of him reuniting with his pals and enjoying his time on the course is so wholesome. He’s the coolest 80-year-old on site this week.
Best flow
Tommy Fleetwood usually wins this one unanimously here at the Rogers Report, but today we’re a house divided. I can’t choose between Fleetwood and Neal Shipley.
Happiest to be here
Rory may still be chasing his first green jacket, but that’s not keeping him from having the time of his life this week. McIlroy is absolutely beaming in the photos of him on Getty Images this week.
He looks like a kid on the first day of summer vacation.
Best burrito maker
We’ve got a last-minute superlative add-on here, folks. Max Homa just announced his partnership with Chipotle on social media with a video of him making his very own burrito. By default, that makes him the best burrito maker in the field this week. Or maybe the worst. Jury is still out.
MVPs of Masters week
Okay, enough about the players. Time for the real MVPs of Masters week: the golf wives who are giving us play-by-plays of their days on TikTok. Lacey Homa, Jena Sims and Layna Finau: you are all doing the Lord’s work, and I am so, so thankful for you.
It’s one thing to learn about a patron’s day at Augusta National. I love to hear about people’s experiences here! But to get an inside look at a player’s week at the Masters is a whole other thing. These women are providing gold mines of content. We’re getting live videos, merchandise hauls, outfit of the day videos and even some hilarious PGA Tour-LIV Golf wives reunited. Sharing these all with you here is the very least I can do. And to Homa, Sims and Finau: keep up the incredible work!
Champions Dinner
The best dinner in golf occurred on Tuesday night and it mostly left me wondering one thing. Where do we stand on wearing colored dress shirts with a green jacket?
Disclaimer: I am in no place to judge what the men in these photos are doing style-wise. They’re clearly doing a lot of things right if they’re at the Masters Champions dinner. With that said, I’m not totally sure how I feel about the colored dress shirts. I think the black dress shirt can often make it look like you’re a bartender. The light blue definitely works. Spieth went with purple, which was … a bold choice. I think the light blue works. It looks like Watson went with a light pink shirt, which seems to work. As for overall presentation, Jon Rahm wins the dinner. He looks sharp. I mean, you have to if you’re the host. I think the pink tie paired with the white dress shirt and green jacket is the best look of all here. Okay, enough about the looks. Let’s get to the actual dinner.
With all due respect to my incredible coworkers, this dinner is about five thousand times better than the pizza and wings we ordered to our Airbnb the other night.
