Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
The Augusta National Invitational’ was first played in 1934, with players personally invited by Robert Tyre (Bobby) Jones Jnr. The name was finally changed to ‘The Masters Tournament’ – originally proposed by co-founder Clifford Roberts in 1934, but rejected by Jones as pretentious – in 1939. The most recently created, it is the traditional first major Championship of each golfing year.
Most victories:
Jack Nicklaus – 6 (1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1986)
Tiger Woods – 4 (1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019)
Arnold Palmer – 4 (1958, 1960, 1962, 1964)
Jimmy Demaret – 3 (1940, 1947, 1950)
Sam Snead – 3 (1949, 1952, 1954)
Gary Player – 3 (1961, 1974, 1978)
Nick Faldo – 3 (1989, 1990, 1996)
Phil Mickelson – 3 (2004, 2006, 2010)
Horton Smith – 2 (1934, 1936)
Byron Nelson – 2 (1937, 1942)
Ben Hogan – 2 (1951, 1953)
Tom Watson – 2 (1977, 1981)
Seve Ballesteros – 2 (1980, 1983)
Bernhard Langer – 2 (1985, 1993)
Ben Crenshaw – 2 (1984, 1995)
Jose Maria Olazabal – 2 (1994, 1999)
Bubba Watson – 2 (2012, 2014)
Widest margin of victory:
Tiger Woods – 1997 – 12 shots
Oldest Champion:
Jack Nicklaus – 1986 at 46 years, 2 months, 23 days
Youngest Champion:
Tiger Woods – 1997 at 21 years, 3 months, 14 days
Jordan Spieth – 2015 at 21 years, 8 months
Consecutive victories:
Jack Nicklaus – 1965 & 1966
Nick Faldo – 1989 & 1990
Tiger Woods – 2001 & 2002
Wire-to-wire winners:
Craig Wood – 1941
Arnold Palmer – 1960
Jack Nicklaus – 1972
Raymond Floyd -1976
Jordan Spieth – 2015
Left-handed winners:
Bubba Watson – 2012 & 2014
Phil Mickelson – 2004, 2006 & 2010
Mike Weir – 2003
Lowest winning score:
Dustin Johnson – 2020, 65-70-65-68=268 (-20)
Tiger Woods – 1997, 70-66-65-69 = 270 (-18)
Jordan Spieth – 2015, 64-66-70-70=270 (-18)
Jack Nicklaus – 1965, 67-71-64-69 = 271 (-17)
Highest winning score:
Sam Snead – 1954, 74-73-70-72 = 289 (+1)
Jack Burke Jnr – 1956, 72-71-75-71 = 289
Zach Johnson – 2007, 71-73-76-69 = 289
First time champions:
Horton Smith – 1934
Gene Sarazen – 1935
Fuzzy Zoeller – 1979
Most attempts before first victory:
Mark O’Meara – 15th appearance
Biggest gap between first and last victory:
Jack Nicklaus – 23 years (1963 and 1986)
Gary Player – 17 years (1961 and 1978)
Most top 5s:
Jack Nicklaus – 15
Most top 10s:
Jack Nicklaus – 22
Most top 25s:
Jack Nicklaus – 29
Most consecutive appearances:
Arnold Palmer – 50 (1955 to 2004)
The 36 hole ‘cut’ was introduced in 1957; before then, every player played four rounds.
Highest cut:
154 in 1982
Lowest cut:
144 in 2020
145 in 1979, 1992, 1995, 2001
Most cuts made:
Jack Nicklaus – 37 in 45 appearances
Most consecutive cuts made:
Fred Couples – 23 (1983 to 2007)
Gary Player – 23 (1959 to 1982)
Birdied the 72nd hole to win:
Art Wall – 1959
Arnold Palmer – 1960
Gary Player – 1978
Sandy Lyle – 1988
Mark O’Meara – 1998
Phil Mickelson – 2004
Lowest front nine score:
30 by Tony Finau, 3rd round, 2019
30 by Gary Woodland, 3rd round, 2014
30 by Phil Mickelson, 4th round, 2009
30 by K.J. Choi, 2nd round, 2004
30 by Greg Norman, 4th round, 1988
30 by Johnny Miller, 3rd round, 1975
Low back nine score:
29 by Mark Calcavecchia, 4th round, 1992
29 by David Toms, 4th round, 1998
Lowest 18 hole score:
63 (33-30) by Nick Price, 3rd round, 1986
63 (33-30) by Greg Norman, 1st round, 1996
Lowest first round score:
63 (33-30) by Greg Norman, 1996
Lowest first 36 hole score:
130 (64-66) by Jordan Spieth, 2015
131 (65-66) by Raymond Floyd, 1976
Lowest first 54 hole score:
200 (65-70-65) by Dustin Johnson, 2020
200 (64-66-70) by Jordan Spieth, 2015
201 (70-66-65) by Tiger Woods, 1997
201 (65-66-70) by Raymond Floyd, 1976
Holes in One:
From 1934 to 2021, there were 27 holes in one.
*1 at the 4th – Jeff Sluman (1992)
*6 at the 6th – Leland Gibson (1954), Billy Joe Patton (a)(1954), Charles *Coody (1972), Chris DiMarco (2004), Jamie Donaldson (2013), Corey Conners (2021)
*3 at the 12th (Amen Corner) – Claude Harmon (1947), William Hyndman (a)(1959), Curtis Strange (1988)
*22 at the 16th – Ross Somerville (a)(1934), Willie Goggin (1935), Ray Billows (a)(1940), John Dawson (a)(1949), Clive Clark (1968), Corey Pavin (1992), Raymond Floyd (1996), Padraig Harrington (2004), Kirk Triplett (2004), Trevor Immelman (2005), Ian Poulter (2008), Nathan Green (2010), Ryan Moore (2010), Bo Van Pelt (2012), Adam Scott (2012), Shane Lowry (2016), Davis Love III (2016), Louis Oosthuizen (2016), Charley Hoffman (2018), Bryson DeChambeau (2019), Justin Thomas (2019), Tommy Fleetwood (2021)
Albatrosses (double-eagles):
Louis Oosthuizen – 2012, at the 2nd in the final round (4-iron, 253 yards)
Jeff Maggert – 1994, at the 13th in the fourth round (3-iron, 222 yards)
Bruce Devlin -1967, at the 8th in the first round (4-wood, 248 yards)
Gene Sarazen – 1935, at the 15th in the fourth round (4-wood, 235 yards). This was the famous “shot heard around the world “, as he was three behind leader Craig Wood at that point, but went on to tie after 72 holes and then win the tournament in a playoff. In the process, he also became the first of only five men to win the professional ‘Grand Slam’ (the others being Hogan, Nicklaus, Player and Woods).
Most career eagles:
Jack Nicklaus – 24 (3 on par 4s, 21 on par 5s)
Most birdies in one tournament:
Jordan Spieth – 28, in 2015
Phil Mickelson – 25, in 2001
Most eagles in one tournament:
Tiger Woods -4, in 2010
Dustin Johnson – 4, in 2009
Bruce Crampton – 4, in 174
Most career birdies:
Jack Nicklaus – 506
Most birdies in one round:
Anthony Kim, 11 in 2009
Nick Price, 10 in 1986
Most consecutive birdies:
Tiger Woods – 7 in 2005, from the 7th to the 13th
Steve Pate – 7, in 1999, from the 7th to the 13th
Playoffs and close finishes:
There have been 18 playoffs from 1934 to 2021, comprising:
– 11 by sudden death (1979, 1982, 1987, 1989, 1990, 2003, 2005. 2009, 2012, 2013, 2017)
– 5 over 18 holes (1942, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970)
– 1 over 36 holes (1935)
The tournament has been won by a single shot on 23 occasions.
Most rounds under par in one tournament:
178 in 1992
Fewest rounds under par in one tournament:
34 in 1956
Worst scores ever recorded on a single hole:
– 14, by Billy Casper in 2005 at the par 3 16th (but see below under ‘Worst Ever Score’ – this is not official)
– 13, by Tsuneyuki ‘Tommy’ Nakajima in 1978 at the par 5 13th
– 13, by Tom Weiskopf in 1980 at the par 3 12th
– 11 by Herman Barron in 1950 at the par 3 16th
– 11, by Masahi ‘Jumbo’ Ozaki in 1987 at the par 5 15th
– 11 by Ben Crenshaw in 1997 at the par 5 15th
– 11 by Ignacio Garrido in 1998 at the par 5 15th
– 10 by Sam Byrd in 1948 at the par 5 2nd
– 10 by David Duval in 2006 at the par 5 2nd
Worst ever score:
Although it is unofficial, this was a 106 (34 over par) by 1970 Masters Champion and then 73 year old Billy Casper, in the first round of the 2005 tournament. His round included a 14 (also an unofficial worst score) on the par 3 16th, with five balls in the water. Casper did not hand in his card and as a result was disqualified, so the round does not stand in the official tournament statistics. Following his round, Casper said: “I was only going to play 18 holes – I just had to get it out of my system. I wanted to do it again. A lot of my grandchildren were here.”
Among ‘returned’ scores, we understand this to be a 95 by Charles Kunkle in the final round of the 1956 Championhsip, but the organisers are very discreet about such things. There have also been two rounds of 94. Rounds in the mid- to high-80s are however a fairly regular occurrence.
