Tai gains valuable lessons from Masters debut
(Photo cr: The Masters)
Augusta, April 12: Masters debutant Hiroshi Tai believes his first experience of playing at the season’s first major will help develop him into a better golfer despite missing the weekend cut after carding a second round five-over-par 77 on Friday.
Tai, who made history by becoming the first Singaporean golfer to feature at The Masters, opened his campaign with a commendable 73 at Augusta National. But a challenging second round saw him card three bogeys and a double bogey for a two-day total of six-over-par 150 — four shots outside the cut line.
When asked about the key takeaway from his debut, Tai said: “I think mentally just doing a good job of resetting in between shots. Obviously, there’s some really hard shots out here, and you’ve kind of just got to step up and hit it, be committed to your number and things like that.
“Mentally resetting in between shots and calming myself down after a few bad holes — that’s probably what I learned the most.”
(Hiroshi Tai crossing the Hogan Bridge, near the 12th green together with Masters champion Charl Schwartzel of South Africa and Denny McCarthy of the United States during the second round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club.)
(Photo cr: The Masters)
Playing alongside many of the world’s best players has also given him front-row access to watching how they compete.
“I think the last few days have been really cool just to be able to play with a bunch of really good players and learn a lot from them and watch them play as well while we’re playing together,” said Tai.
While Tai’s week may have ended early, he leaves Augusta with greater insight, and a place in the history books as a trailblazer for Singapore golf.
Ends.