We know that one heck of a final-round story is coming, so I decided to go easy on myself on Saturday, and write a ringer story. For those not in the know, a ringer score is the best score from the field on each hole. The idea is that you bring a ringer in to help post an overall number. I’m going to restrict each golfer to one hole each, but I expect that we’ll still get to about 22 under par. I write that as thought I don’t know, because I don’t. I’ll go to the leader board now and see how accurate my prediction is.
I also decided to preserve a quasi-anonymity by referencing the hole names, and not the numbers. Augusta prides itself on its hole names, so why not incorporate those monikers as an essential part of a story? No reason from me, either. The low ringer score reached 23-under par. Shane Lowry’s ace at Juniper was offset by the dearth of eagles on all par four holes and the par-five Azalea. Low ringer was a fine showing from the world’s finest male golfers, on a most-challenging golf course.
| Hole | Player | Score | Total |
| Tea Olive | Burns | 3 | 3 |
| Pink Dogwood | Scheffler | 3 | 6 |
| Flowering Peach | Clark | 2 | 8 |
| Flowering Crab Apple | Knapp | 2 | 10 |
| Magnolia | Matsuyama | 3 | 13 |
| Juniper | Lowry | 1 | 14 |
| Pampas | Fleetwood | 3 | 17 |
| Yellow Jasmine | Li | 3 | 20 |
| Carolina Cherry | Griffin | 3 | 23 |
| Camelia | McCarty | 3 | 26 |
| White Dogwood | Aberg | 3 | 29 |
| Golden Bell | Conners | 2 | 31 |
| Azalea | Rose | 4 | 35 |
| Chinese Fir | Day | 3 | 38 |
| Firethorn | Morikawa | 3 | 41 |
| Redbud | Young | 2 | 43 |
| Nandia | Straka | 3 | 46 |
| Holly | Kitayama | 3 | 49 |
The high ringer score totalled 25-over par, winning differential by two over low ringer tally. Both Keegan Bradley and Gary Woodland had two double bogeys each, but could use just one. To make matters worse for us, no one else made double on any of the four holes (13 and 15 for Bradley, 2 and 18 for Woodland.) The final nail in the coffin was the worst score of par on Yelllow Jasmine. Not a single golfer in the field made bogey or worse. On this day, we know which par five played the easiest.
| Hole | Player | Score | Total |
| Tea Olive | Schwartzel | 5 | 5 |
| Pink Dogwood | Woodland | 7 | 12 |
| Flowering Peach | Kitayama | 5 | 17 |
| Flowering Crab Apple | Rai | 5 | 22 |
| Magnolia | Rahm | 5 | 27 |
| Juniper | Kim | 4 | 31 |
| Pampas | Hojgaard | 6 | 37 |
| Yellow Jasmine | Gerard | 5 | 42 |
| Carolina Cherry | Lowry | 5 | 47 |
| Camelia | Schwartzel | 6 | 53 |
| White Dogwood | Kitayama | 6 | 59 |
| Golden Bell | Taylor | 4 | 63 |
| Azalea | Bradley | 7 | 70 |
| Chinese Fir | Stevens | 5 | 75 |
| Firethorn | Young | 6 | 81 |
| Redbud | McCarty | 5 | 86 |
| Nandia | Garcia | 6 | 92 |
| Holly | Conners | 5 | 97 |
There are no great truths, no hidden philosophical underpinnings, esconced in the low and high ringer scores. The ringer scores serve as jumping-off points for statistical analysis. The low ringer score should default to 22 under par, as we expect at least one golfer each day to record eagle on the par-five holes, with birdies on the other fourteen. Additional eagle hole-outs, as in deuces on par-four holes and aces on par threes, are whipped cream on the sundae. As for the high ringer score, no one expects nor desires a triple or quad meltdown, but it sure helps the high ringer score.
