History of the Masters Golf Tournament

The Masters Golf Tournament is an annual 72-hole event held each year at the Augusta National Golf Club outside of Augusta, Georgia. The Masters first began on March 22, 1934, the brainchild of the great golfer Bobby Jones. The Masters soon evolved into one of the four major championships of golf, along with the U.S. Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship.

  1. Early Years

    • Horton Smith won that initial tournament in 1934, shooting four under par to win the Augusta National Invitation, as the Masters was called until 1939. In 1935, Gene Sarazen scored an incredible double eagle 2 on the par five fifteenth hole in the final round of regulation play to help force a playoff with Craig Wood that he won by five strokes.

    1940 to 1960

    • Some of golf's greatest names won the Masters between 1940 and 1960, including Sam Snead (three times), Ben Hogan (twice), Byron Nelson and Arnold Palmer. Palmer would win the Masters in 1958 and 1960, and then win two more titles in the early 1960s.

    Gary Player

    • South African Gary Player won three Masters titles--in 1961, 1974 and 1978. Player was the only foreign-born golfer to accomplish this feat until Spain's Seve Ballesteros did it in 1980.

    Jack Nicklaus

    • Jack Nicklaus is a six-time winner of the Masters, winning his titles between 1963 and 1986. He is the oldest player to win the Masters, rallying from behind at the age of 46 in 1986.

    Tiger Woods

    • Tiger Woods holds the record for the lowest 72-hole total, shooting a 270 for a score of 18 strokes under par. Woods did this in 1997, becoming the youngest player at 21 years old to win the Masters; he added titles in 2001, 2002 and 2005.