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Masters Tournament

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Arnold Palmer
Arnold Palmer
Related Topics:
golf
Grand Slam tournament
Notable Honorees:
Tiger Woods
Arnold Palmer
Phil Mickelson
Bubba Watson

Masters Tournament, invitational golf tournament held annually since 1934 from Thursday through Sunday during the first full week of April at the private Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. The tournament was conceived by American golfer Bobby Jones. It is considered one of the four “majors”—the other major golf tournaments being the U.S. Open, the British Open (Open Championship), and the Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA) Championship. It is the only one of them played annually at the same site. Most of the entrants are professionals, although a few amateurs are invited each year.

(Read Britannica’s biography of Arnold Palmer, author of this entry.)

Golf putter hitting golf tee and ball. (game; sport; golf ball; golf club)
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In 1930, at age 28, Jones retired from competitive golf and formed a consortium with Wall Street financier Clifford Roberts. They bought a 365-acre (150-hectare) commercial nursery in Augusta for $70,000 with the goal of creating an exclusive golf club—with no swimming pool and no tennis courts. The 72-hole golf course was planned by the noted English designer Alister MacKenzie. The club opened in early 1933 with a members’ tournament commemorating the occasion. One year later, Jones expanded the tournament, and the Masters was born.

The Masters is one of the world’s most-prestigious sporting events. Golfers are invited to compete on the basis of their past achievements. Besides a monetary prize, now worth several million dollars, winners are presented with a gold medal, awarded a lifetime invitation to the Masters, and granted automatic invitations to the other three majors for the next five years. In addition, winners have been presented with a club member’s distinctive green jacket since 1949 and have had their names engraved on the club’s silver Masters Trophy since 1961.

Many professional golfers say that Augusta National is the most beautiful golf course they have ever played. The sun seems brighter there, the sky bluer, the wind gentler, the pines more stately, and the azaleas more colourful than on any other golf course in the world. Sam Snead once said,

I don’t want to sound overly sentimental about it. But with the course looking the way it does and the spirit of Bobby Jones running around, sometimes it feels as though the Masters is played on hallowed ground.

Prior to the 2002 Masters, in response to changing equipment technology and the improved strength conditioning of contemporary golfers, the course at Augusta National was lengthened by 285 yards (261 metres). At the same time, the fairway bunkers on three holes were reshaped to make them more dangerous for long drivers. Before the 2006 Masters, the course was lengthened again, this time by 155 yards (142 metres) to a length of 7,445 yards (6,808 metres). The course will likely continue to be modified to keep up with the modern game.

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Because of their physical proximity and some pivotal moments in Masters history that occurred there, the green on the 11th hole, the entire 12th hole, and the tee for the 13th hole have become known as Amen Corner. These are among the most famous and challenging holes in golf, and it was these holes that marked a turning point for me en route to my victory at the 1958 Masters.

Notable moments in Masters history include Jack Nicklaus winning the tournament for the sixth time in 1986 at age 46 and Tiger Woods capturing his first Masters championship in 1997 while shooting 270 to break the 72-hole tournament scoring record.

Millions of fans have watched over the years on a Sunday afternoon as the leader comes down the fairway to the final green at Augusta with the crowd cheering. This author has been fortunate to win the Masters on four occasions and can confirm that those final moments are as exhilarating as anything in golf.

Masters Tournament winners are provided in the table.

Masters Tournament
year winner*
*Won by a U.S. golfer except as indicated.
1934 Horton Smith
1935 Gene Sarazen
1936 Horton Smith
1937 Byron Nelson
1938 Henry Picard
1939 Ralph Guldahl
1940 Jimmy Demaret
1941 Craig Wood
1942 Byron Nelson
1943–45 not held
1946 Herman Keiser
1947 Jimmy Demaret
1948 Claude Harmon
1949 Sam Snead
1950 Jimmy Demaret
1951 Ben Hogan
1952 Sam Snead
1953 Ben Hogan
1954 Sam Snead
1955 Cary Middlecoff
1956 Jack Burke, Jr.
1957 Doug Ford
1958 Arnold Palmer
1959 Art Wall, Jr.
1960 Arnold Palmer
1961 Gary Player (S.Af.)
1962 Arnold Palmer
1963 Jack Nicklaus
1964 Arnold Palmer
1965 Jack Nicklaus
1966 Jack Nicklaus
1967 Gay Brewer
1968 Bob Goalby
1969 George Archer
1970 Billy Casper
1971 Charles Coody
1972 Jack Nicklaus
1973 Tommy Aaron
1974 Gary Player (S.Af.)
1975 Jack Nicklaus
1976 Raymond Floyd
1977 Tom Watson
1978 Gary Player (S.Af.)
1979 Fuzzy Zoeller
1980 Seve Ballesteros (Spain)
1981 Tom Watson
1982 Craig Stadler
1983 Seve Ballesteros (Spain)
1984 Ben Crenshaw
1985 Bernhard Langer (W.Ger.)
1986 Jack Nicklaus
1987 Larry Mize
1988 Sandy Lyle (Scot.)
1989 Nick Faldo (U.K.)
1990 Nick Faldo (U.K.)
1991 Ian Woosnam (U.K.)
1992 Fred Couples
1993 Bernhard Langer (Ger.)
1994 José María Olazábal (Spain)
1995 Ben Crenshaw
1996 Nick Faldo (U.K.)
1997 Tiger Woods
1998 Mark O'Meara
1999 José María Olazábal (Spain)
2000 Vijay Singh (Fiji)
2001 Tiger Woods
2002 Tiger Woods
2003 Mike Weir (Can.)
2004 Phil Mickelson
2005 Tiger Woods
2006 Phil Mickelson
2007 Zach Johnson
2008 Trevor Immelman (S.Af.)
2009 Ángel Cabrera (Arg.)
2010 Phil Mickelson
2011 Charl Schwartzel (S.Af.)
2012 Bubba Watson
2013 Adam Scott (Austl.)
2014 Bubba Watson
2015 Jordan Spieth
2016 Danny Willett (U.K.)
2017 Sergio Garcia (Spain)
2018 Patrick Reed
2019 Tiger Woods
2020 Dustin Johnson
2021 Matsuyama Hideki (Japan)
2022 Scottie Scheffler
2023 Jon Rahm (Spain)
2024 Scottie Scheffler
Arnold Palmer