Masters got perfect weekend because of who was and who was not there

• The 2025 Masters Tournament saw an exciting weekend with top contenders like Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy, and Scottie Scheffler vying for the green jacket.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — To the traditionalists who run the Masters, this weekend could not have shaken out any better.

The leaderboard entering Saturday was elite with three of the biggest needle movers in the game — Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler — within three shots of leader Justin Rose, who, by the way, is a former world No. 1.

And then it got better with one of the most dramatic Saturday’s in Masters history that had golf fans around the world dusting off all their green colored apparel to prepare for what was to come Sunday.

And it wasn’t just the Rory-Bryson showdown — LIV Golf’s biggest antagonist on the PGA Tour and the man who has become the Saudi-backed tour’s biggest brand.

Sunday’s anticipation was so much more: World No. 1 Scheffler lurking, tied for sixth, seven shots behind McIlroy but not an impossible climb. Canadian and Jupiter resident Corey Conners not going away through 54 holes and in sole possession of third place.

More international flavor with Swede Ludvig Aberg and Aussie Jason Day on the leaderboard along with LIV’s litigious Patrick Reed, a man who knows Augusta and has figured out Augusta, including joining the green jacket club in 2018.

The Masters could not have handpicked more captivating weekend leaderboards.

And Saturday’s drama was must-see television with Rory starting Round 3 tied for third and taking control from the start playing the first five holes in 5-under to pass DeChambeau and Rose.

Although he never lost the lead it fluctuated from four to one, back to four, and settled at two after DeChambeau’s arching 48-foot birdie putt on No. 18 sent a roar reverberating through the Georgia pines.

“It will be the grandest stage that we’ve had in a long time,” DeChambeau said about Sunday’s final round.

It’s also about who wasn’t at the Masters on the weekend

And it will be played without two of the week’s most controversial figures, surely much to the delight of the prim and proper membership.

Amateur Jose Luis Ballester found one way to go viral during his first Masters, the U.S. Amateur champion urinating into a tributary of Rae’s Creek that runs along the left side of the 13th with his back to the fans but in plain sight during the first round.

Just another way of “taking relief” on a golf course.

The Masters is famously known for not allowing cell phones so Ballester’s pit stop was not documented by video or photos … objective accomplished. But that did not mean the Whiz Kid’s stunt did not go viral.

And he seemed to enjoy the attention, at least at first. After fans gave him a loud ovation, he showed no remorse, saying later the same day if he had to do it again he would. That tone changed Friday, presumably after the Masters committee let him know what they thought about Ballester tinkling on their tournament.

“I already apologized to the club, and I think we just move on from this moment,” Ballester said after shooting a 78 Friday, and missing the 2-over cut line by eight shots.

Another unwelcomed storyline with a short shelf life was the return of Angel Cabrera. Master’s chairman Fred Ridley had to answer to allowing Cabrera, a former Masters champion, back in the field after Cabrera spent more than two years in prison in Argentina for domestic violence abuse.

Ridley’s final statement on the issue came Wednesday: “We certainly abhor domestic violence of any type. As it relates to Ángel, Ángel has served the sentence that was prescribed by the Argentine courts, and he is the past champion, and so he was invited.”

End of story, except it wasn’t. Cabrera’s first two rounds were followed as much out of curiosity for being “that guy” as much as anything.

And his 80 on Friday, capping two days of 11-over golf, assured this story would follow him down Magnolia Lane and out of Augusta.

Leaving the Masters to take in a weekend it could not have scripted any better.

Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.