STATESBORO, Ga. — For Ben Carr, it took a few days to sink in.
As he walked off the course at The Ridgewood Country Club in August, the fifth-year Georgia Southern senior knew his U.S. Amateur runner-up finish punched his ticket to the 2023 Masters Tournament. The reality, however, took a few more days to resonate.
“As soon as I went a couple up, I think it just creeps into your mind. You can’t stop thinking about it and you’re trying so hard to focus on the golf and finishing the match,” he said. “It finally sunk in when I got home. I actually got Covid, so I had a week to sit in my room and not do a whole lot. That’s when it kind of became real.”
The 22-year-old Columbus native comes to Augusta National Golf Club with a limited knowledge of the course (he’s played three practice rounds at Augusta to this point). What he has, though, is the ability to lean on a couple of veterans to glean some knowledge prior to tournament week.
“I’m pretty close with Larry Mize and Russell Henley. They both live in Columbus, so I got to spend a bunch of time with them over the Christmas break and just kind of pick their brains a little bit,” he said. “Larry’s a Masters champion and Russell is playing in his seventh Masters, so between the two of them they have all the experience in the world. Just being able to lean on them and learn as much as I can was really important for me.”
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Carr, Mize and Henley plan to play the Par 3 Contest together Wednesday, with Carr’s younger brother, Sackett, on the bag.
Looking back to his first practice round in February, it’s easy to see why the first trip down Magnolia Lane is a watershed moment for many players who’ve had the opportunity to play Augusta.
“It was pretty surreal. The first time I played it, my brother got to play with me. We pulled in Magnolia Lane and my truck was in front of his car and I was looking through the rearview mirror to see his facial expressions and he was just wide-eyed,” Carr said. “I was pretty nervous the first time because I didn’t know what to do. I was walking on egg shells, but I’m starting to get a little more comfortable out there.”
While in a somewhat controlled environment, those practice rounds provided valuable experience as to how the course will behave in April.
“I feel like the biggest thing for me in the three times I’ve been so far has been learning where not to hit it. I think there’s…
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