Ray Benson's take on the fantastic Masters finish

Ray Benson watches Dale Watson give a Texas dance lesson at City Winery in New York (photo: Jim Bessman)

Avid golfer Ray Benson brought his thoughts on Sunday's dramatic Masters finish to his gig with Dale Watson last night at City Winery.

"First of all, it was a great duel between Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose," said the legendary Asleep at the Wheel founder/frontman after the show. "A lot of times at the Masters, somebody is hanging on to the lead or losing the lead, but these two guys really went head-to-head the entire last round. It was just thrilling."

The duel also served to illustrate Benson's contention that there are two kinds of golfers—the "mechanical" player, as represented by Rose, and the "lyrical, or artistic" player epitomized by Garcia.

"Sergio was painting pictures, while Justin was drawing mechanical drawings—very well," Benson explained. "I don't mean 'mechanical' in a negative way: The guy's incredible! It just showed that there are many different ways you can play golf."

Benson, whose Bismeaux Studio in Austin boasts a built-in putting green, marveled that both players missed key short putts toward the end of regulation play Sunday, finishing in a tie before Garcia won on the first hole of sudden death.

"The reason they tied was because they were missing three-foot putts," he said. "Ben Hogan couldn't understand why a three-foot putt was as important as a 250-yard drive—but that's why! You have two things that require different depths of field: hitting the ball a long way and accurately, and calming your nerves to hole a putt from three feet away with a million dollars on the line. And it's incredible to watch them miss a three-foot putt that can determine the winner of a major tournament."