Though it didn’t involve the donning of a green jacket, an Australian played a significant role in the awards ceremony at the Masters for the second consecutive year.
Oliver Goss, the 2013 U.S. Amateur runner-up, finished as the low amateur in the 2014 Masters, earning himself the Silver Cup, as well as a front-row seat to watch fellow countryman Adam Scott, the defending Masters champion, place the green jacket over the shoulders of Bubba Watson.
Following a 4-over-par 76 in the first round, Goss shot a second-round 71, his only under-par round, to stand at three over par through 36 holes and make the cut by one stroke. He was the only amateur – six amateurs teed off on Thursday – to make the weekend cut, and finished the tournament at 10-over-par 298.
The low-amateur finish capped a remarkable week for Goss, who was born in England but grew up in Perth, Australia. He got nine holes in with fellow Australian Jason Day the weekend prior to the tournament, and then played a practice round on Tuesday with Scott and fellow Australians John Senden (who finished tied for eighth to earn a spot in next year’s Masters) and Steven Bowditch (tied for 26th). Throughout the week, he kept a diary for Masters.com, chronicling his experiences.
Goss turned 20 on Saturday and, in the televised Butler Cabin ceremony following the completion of the tournament, he spoke of the large contingent of loved ones who were with him during the week.
“I felt very supported,” he said. “I had my family here and close friends, and all the support I had out on the course was amazing.”
Goss, a sophomore at the University of Tennessee, lost to Matthew Fitzpatrick, 4 and 3, in the championship match of the 2013 U.S. Amateur at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. The two are also exempt into the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in June, where Goss will seek to become the first player since Matt Kuchar in 1998 to finish as the low amateur in both the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year.