‘Hopefully not my last’: Wichita golfer Sam Stevens reflects on Masters debut
For Sam Stevens, the most memorable part of his Masters debut was not a number on a leaderboard or even the place he carved out in Wichita golf history.
It was the feeling of experiencing one of golf’s most iconic stages and proving to himself that he could handle it.
By the time Stevens walked away from Augusta National on Sunday, the 29-year-old Wichita native had done much more than simply make his first appearance in the Masters. He had survived the nerves, settled into the moment, navigated one of the sport’s most demanding courses with discipline and turned in the kind of debut that left him believing it should not be his last trip there.
“You never know how many opportunities you’re going to get to play in that tournament,” Stevens said. “To be able to settle in and hit some good shots and execute under a little bit of pressure, that was a lot of fun.”
The final numbers were impressive: a tie for 24th place, a 72-hole score of 2-under 286 and back-to-back rounds of 70 on the weekend that allowed him to climb the leaderboard. But what stayed with him even more was the experience itself because Augusta National delivered exactly what he had always imagined it would.
There was the drive down Magnolia Lane, the entrance every golfer knows by heart before ever seeing it in person. There was the walk over Hogan’s Bridge on No. 12. There was Amen Corner, the sport’s most famous stretch, and the blooming azaleas that make the course feel almost unreal this time of year. There was Rae’s Creek, the famous par-3 16th and the galleries that swell around players in a way unlike anywhere else in golf.
For Stevens, all of it lived up to the hype.
“Walking over the bridge and getting to hit the shots that you’ve seen so many times on TV before was just incredible,” Stevens said. “And then getting paired with Adam Scott, a past champion there. That was another pinch-yourself moment. So to be able to say that I did it and played well my first time there is something that not a lot of people can say. It was just a really cool experience.”
That pairing with Scott on Saturday gave Stevens another jolt of what makes the Masters feel different. Scott, the 2013 champion, drew a large gallery, and Stevens enjoyed being part of that atmosphere. It was one more reminder that he was no longer just watching this tournament from afar. He was in it.
But for all of the beauty and magic of Augusta, Stevens admitted the week did not begin with perfect calm.
He said he was thankful he made the trip to Augusta the week before the tournament, not just to learn the course but to start easing some of the nerves that come with playing the most famous course in golf. Even then, those nerves returned once tournament week arrived. Stevens felt like he had struggled during the practice rounds and the buildup of finally playing the Masters started to feel heavy.
That was when the presence of his father, Charlie, who traveled to Augusta for the week, became especially important.
“I was maybe a little overwhelmed earlier in the week,” Stevens admitted. “But having my dad there helped out so much to get me in the right frame of mind. It was about focusing on going out and giving it my best effort and having a great attitude. Those are the things you can control and ultimately the things that matter. So having that perspective really allowed me to play with a lot more freedom.”
That freedom was not easy to find right away and nowhere was that more evident than Friday.
Stevens’ stay was in danger early in the second round. He had fallen to 4-over for the week through 12 holes, and with only six holes left in his round, the possibility of missing the cut was suddenly very real. For a Masters first-timer, it would have been easy for the pressure to tighten even more in that moment.
Instead, Stevens responded with some of his best golf of the week.
He birdied Nos. 15 and 16 in a clutch late push that got him back to 2-over for the tournament and safely inside the cut line. And once he knew he had made the cut, Stevens said it brought a rush of emotions. Some of the early pressure lifted because he had accomplished an important goal for any debut at Augusta. But another kind of pressure quickly took its place. Now he had to play Augusta on the weekend, when the spotlight is brighter, the course feels even bigger and the moment can overwhelm players who let it.
Stevens knew that. So he stuck to the same mindset that had gotten him there.
His plan all week was to stay patient and disciplined. He did not want to chase miracle shots or flirt with disaster trying to pull off something brilliant. At Augusta, that kind of impatience can wreck a scorecard in a hurry. Stevens’ goal was to keep the ball in manageable spots, accept when the smart play was the boring play and avoid compounding mistakes.
He executed that plan about as cleanly as a first-timer could.
He did not take a single penalty stroke in four rounds. He made only one double bogey all week. He finished with 17 birdies, tied for the 13th-most in the field. For a player making his tournament debut on a course that punishes poor decisions as much as poor swings, that level of control stood out.
“On a course like that, you can hit a really good shot and catch the wrong slope and instead of having a great look for birdie, you’re scrambling for par,” Stevens said. “The big focus for me was to avoid the avoidables. When you get into trouble, it’s easy to think you have a chance to pull off a shot. But when I got in trouble, I just took my medicine if I was in the trees or short-sided. The best way I would put it is that I took care of my golf ball.”
He did not try to conquer Augusta. He understood when to attack and when to simply survive. That restraint allowed him to stay in rounds and keep himself on the kind of steady track that eventually led to a strong finish. Even then, Stevens came away believing there had been more out there for him.
He said Saturday’s conditions were probably ideal for him to go even lower than the 2-under 70 he posted. Looking back, he felt like the opportunity was there to make a real move, maybe even flirt with the top 10. Instead, the day felt like a grind. He was scrambling often, fighting for pars and never quite taking full advantage of the setup.
That feeling made his unforgettable finish all the more fitting.
On the 18th hole Saturday, Stevens holed out from 85 yards for the best moment of his week. Because of the slope in front of the green, he could not even see the ball go in. He only heard the crowd reaction, then looked up almost in disbelief, motioning to ask if the shot had really dropped.
It had.
The CBS broadcast caught his stunned reaction and gave him a highlight that he will likely remember for a long time. But Stevens laughed later at the idea that his celebration seemed muted.
“That whole round I felt like I was grinding on every hole,” Stevens said. “And then 18 felt like it was going to be the same thing, hitting my third shot from the fairway. I had a pretty subdued reaction because it was more just relief that the grind was over. I was thinking more about, ‘Man, I’m glad I don’t have seven feet for par coming back down the hill.’ It was a really cool moment and it saved me a shot or two, which was even better.”
From the outside, Augusta can look like a dreamscape. And it is. But when Stevens was inside the ropes, he worked hard not to get lost in that. He knew the danger of allowing the moment to become bigger than the next shot.
“Honestly, I tried not to get too swept away in the experience while I was there,” Stevens said. “Because as soon as you get wrapped up in the moment or the fact that you made the cut, it’s real easy to shoot 78. And I really didn’t want to do that. So I tried to keep my head down and just keep working and was able to turn in a pretty good weekend.”
That balance is a big part of what made his debut so impressive. Stevens allowed himself to appreciate the setting, but he never let appreciation turn into distraction. He let himself feel the uniqueness of Augusta without losing his competitive edge.
The performance also gave him a meaningful boost heading into this week’s RBC Heritage, one of the PGA Tour’s eight signature events. Stevens entered Thursday’s opening round at Hilton Head Island ranked No. 36 in the FedExCup standings after moving up three spots with his Masters showing. He also rose to No. 45 in the Official World Golf Rankings and earned $182,250 from his Masters finish, bringing his season total to nearly $1.5 million through 10 events.
Somewhere lower on the list of takeaways for Stevens was the local historical angle, even if it was significant to Wichita golf. The Kapaun graduate became the first Wichita high school product to play in the Masters since fellow Kapaun alum Grier Jones made his final appearance in 1973 and Stevens also topped Jones’ best Augusta round of 71 by shooting 70 on both Saturday and Sunday.
Stevens appreciated that connection, but it is not how he sees himself.
“I have a lot of respect for Grier and he was an unbelievable player and coach,” Stevens said. “He did a lot that I have yet to accomplish. So I don’t really think too much about doing things that other people haven’t done. When you’re competing to be the best you can be, I’m not sure it’s totally beneficial to think about that kind of stuff. It’s cool and I have a lot of gratitude about it, but I’m just focused on continuing to get better.”
That perspective feels telling.
For Wichita, Stevens’ week at Augusta was historic. For Stevens, it felt like something else: a first step, a breakthrough experience, confirmation that he can handle one of golf’s biggest stages and perhaps return to it again.
“You just don’t know how many opportunities you’re going to get to play there,” Stevens said. “So to be able to take advantage, it definitely felt good.”
And when asked about the future, Stevens sounded like someone who walked away from Augusta wanting much more than a memory.
“Hopefully that won’t be my last Masters,” Stevens said. “Hopefully I’ll play in a few more and have some other cool stuff that will happen.”
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