Monday Morning Message with Jason Beem Apr. 13, 2026

Jason writes about the tradition of the Masters golf tournament and traditions in racing. 

A good Monday morning to you all! Hope everyone had a great weekend. Masters Weekend is an underrated sports weekend, and I got to watch a little bit of coverage each day from the best golf tournament in the world. It’s such an amazing spectacle to watch on television, and I’m sure it’s just as great in person. Their tagline of “a tradition unlike any other” was something that stuck with me as I watched some of the pre-tournament events get heavily criticized online. 

Now look, I know everything gets criticized online, it’s just the way it is. But earlier in the week for the Par 3 contest and practice rounds, there was a lot of noise made about influencers and celebrities at the tournament and the television broadcast not doing the traditional things. I know that as a rule Augusta keeps very strict rules, not only what you see at the course during the tournament, but also what you see on the television. They control which commercials are allowed to advertise, all of it. And much of it is to keep with a certain feel and of course the tradition of it. 

Tradition by definition means “transmission of a long-established custom or belief from generation to generation that’s passed on in this way.” It’s a powerful word, and I think a word that commands a lot of respect. People keep traditions close to their heart, and there’s often a seriousness to continuing them. And I think it’s a truly wonderful part of life. There are the big ones like holidays or family events or things like that. 

Some of my favorite traditions are less important, like stopping at certain restaurants when driving through certain cities. Every time I’ve driven back to the West Coast on I-90, I make sure to stop for lunch in Chamberlain, South Dakota, at the Smoking Mule restaurant. There’s no real significance to it other than I tried it one time and loved it and try to do it each time I pass through. It’s a fun little tradition. 

In horse racing of course we have our traditions as well, and the Kentucky Derby (G1) is probably highest up on the list, not only because of the duration of the race’s history, but the enormity of it. The race, the hats, the call to post, the singing of “My Old Kentucky Home,” there’s a lot of traditions within the big tradition of the race. 

Now while there have certainly been changes made to the track itself, the race is still 1 1/4 miles, it’s still at Churchill Downs, they still play the song, all of it. But there have been changes. The race changed dates in 2020 to the pandemic. They went to the now familiar color-coded saddle towels at some point. They addressed the field size at some point and recently created the 20-horse starting gate. Even the most deeply rooted traditions will still undertake some change over time. 

But the Masters feels like maybe it’s been the most immune to change, as other than the cameras being better, it feels like you can go watch any tournament from the last many decades, and it kind of looks and feels the same. I remember during the pandemic they were putting up full round replays on their YouTube page, and watching a tournament from the past was very exciting, something I never thought to do. But I realized, I watch old races all the time. Sometimes it’s nice to just go back and relive some cool moments from the past. 

I’d love to hear about some of your favorite traditions if you want to find me on Twitter/x @beemieawards.  

Have a great week everyone!