You're Going To Want To Keep An Eye On Speed-Freak Gordon Sargent In The Masters
Joe Greiner, the caddie of six-time PGA Tour winner Max Homa, used two words to describe what he witnessed from Gordon Sargent during a practice round at The Masters: holy sh-t.
That's likely the same exact phrase patrons used who watched the world's No. 1 amateur turn Augusta National into a pitch-and-putt during his Monday practice round with Justin Thomas and Homa.
While Gordon may just be a 175-pound sophomore at Vanderbilt, he's a legitimate freak when it comes to the power he delivers to a golf ball.
Gordon's average ball speed is 185 miles per hour but flirts with 195 and 196 mph rather consistently. Rory McIlroy's average ball speed on Tour this season is 184.6 miles per hour, Jon Rahm's is a touch over 181 miles per hour, while Cameron Champ leads that statistical category with an average of 189.7 miles per hour.
Homa and Thomas had a front-row seat to Sargent's power on Monday.
“Phenomenal golfer. Really nice kid. Hits it 95 miles. He was so far by us it's crazy,” Homa told the press at Augusta on Tuesday. “Doesn't look like he's going at it that hard. I've heard so many good things about his game. It was probably even more impressive to see him in person.”
Gordon Sargent, the No.1 amateur in the world, will be showing off his power at the Masters. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Sargent told Golf Channel that he hit driver on every hole during Monday's practice round minus No. 7 and No. 10, where he opted for 3-wood. On the newly lengthened Par 5 13th hole, Sargent had just 200 yards into the green and hit 6-iron. The vast majority of players in the field can't fathom having just 200 yards into the new-look hole.
On the Par 4 11th, Sargent hit a 9-iron into the iconic green after outdriving Thomas by 25 yards off the tee.
Sargent didn't hit more than an 8-iron into a single Par 4 green during Monday's practice round.
“I couldn’t let them just hit it past me,” Sargent said after the practice round. “JT said something about how far I hit it by him on 11, but yeah, I guess they got used to it or something.”
Sargent played a practice round with Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka on Tuesday, which for Koepka, it may have been the first threesome he's ever played in as the shortest hitter off the tee.
Sargent is the first amateur in over 20 years to receive a special invite to compete in The Masters, and it sounds like it was a great decision by Augusta National to include him in the 88-man field.
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