Masters 2013: 50 years of Augusta memories
- Published
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Masters victory for the great Jack Nicklaus, who at 23 years of age finished two under to beat Tony Lema by one shot. It was Nicklaus's second major title following a breakthrough win, via a play-off against Arnold Palmer, at the US Open the year before.
Arnold Palmer won four Masters titles between 1958 and 1964, delighting the galleries with his swashbuckling style and engaging in some classic tussles with the other great players of the era, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player
The great Gary Player of South Africa became the first overseas winner of the Masters in 1961 and after adding a second title in 1974 he claimed his third, and the last of his nine majors, at the age of 42 in 1978, following a superb final round of 64 that saw him finish on 11 under, one shot clear of American trio Rod Funseth, Hubert Green and Tom Watson
Europe had to wait until 1980 for its first winner - the late, great, pioneering Spaniard Seve Ballesteros. He turned 23 the day before the tournament began and recorded 23 birdies in the week, posting scores in the 60s in his first three rounds and winning by four shots from Gibby Gilbert and Jack Newton to add the Masters title to the Open Championship he had won at Royal Lytham the year before.
In 1986, at the age of 46, Nicklaus delighted the galleries with a remarkable final-day 65, playing the final nine in 30 strokes, to come from four back to beat the field by one. It gave Nicklaus a record sixth Masters victory and an 18th major, a figure that, as yet, has not been surpassed.
Sandy Lyle was the first British winner, after a thrilling finish to the 1988 tournament. "I get reminded of it by people I play golf with nearly every week," he told BBC Sport recently. "When I die in my bed I'll be a very, very happy man that I've had some good memories."
Lyle recovered from a double bogey at the 12th to birdie two of the last three holes, sending a legendary seven-iron shot from a fairway bunker at the last to within 10 feet of the flag and holing the tricky downhill putt. "I wanted to do a somersault more than anything else but my legs had gone completely," the amiable Scot said of his infamous victory jig
In 1989 Nick Faldo fired a final-day 65 to win a play-off with Scott Hoch after the American missed a two-foot putt on the first extra hole that would have given him the title. Faldo was presented with the Green Jacket by defending champion Lyle, his long-term rival. "Sorry, Nick, it's a bit short in the sleeves," said Lyle. "Don't worry, it's the colour that counts," replied Faldo.
Faldo retained his title on the same 11th green a year later following another play-off, this time with 47-year-old American Ray Floyd at the second extra hole after both players finished 10 under after 72 holes.
Faldo's bid for a third successive title resulted in a tie for 12th and Welshman Ian Woosnam was the third British winner. He holed a testing putt for par on the 18th to win by a shot from Jose Maria Olazabal and a "40 short" Green Jacket was made.
When Olazabal finished nine under to win the 1994 Masters by two shots from American Tom Lehman there were six active European players qualified to wear the Green Jacket around the hallowed Augusta grounds the following year. Olazabal won the event for a second time in 1999.
In 1996 Greg Norman equalled the Augusta course record with an opening-round 63. After several near misses he began the final round with a six-stroke advantage and finally looked set to win his first Masters, but was gradually worn down by Faldo, who claimed his third and final Masters title as the Australian slumped to a 78. "Don't let them get you down over this," Faldo whispered to him on the final green.
In 1997, at the age of 21, Tiger Woods became the youngest winner of the Masters. His 18-under total remains the lowest four-round score in the history of the great event. Having been four over for his first nine holes, Woods played the last 63 in 22 under, with no three-putt on any green throughout the tournament. "He's out there playing another game," six-time champion Jack Nicklaus observed.
After playing in 46 majors without a victory, Phil Mickelson's time came in 2004 at the age of 33 when he birdied the last to beat Ernie Els by one shot. "With it having been such a tough journey it feels even better," he said. "I just kept believing that something good was going to happen." Regarding his victory leap he said: "The cameras did not get me at the apex, I need to stress that. It's not something I work on per se, but I would venture to say that it's hard to get any worse."
Tiger Woods played one of the greatest chip shots in Masters history in 2005 from a perilous position off the green, his ball perched just in front of the rough. He played out to the top of the rise and the natural contours of the steep putting surface took the shot down towards the flag, the ball toppling into the cup with its very last breath for a birdie. Woods finished in a play-off with compatriot Chris Di Marco after both finished 12 under but won at the first extra hole with a birdie at the 18th. It was his fourth Masters title and remains his late - to date
Mickelson won again in 2006 and then in 2010 captured his third Masters title, aided by this spectacular shot from the pine straw at the par-five 13th, threaded between two trees, over Rae's Creek and on to the putting surface to set up a birdie. He began the final round one behind Lee Westwood but a final-round 67 saw him win by three from the Briton, who had tied for third at the previous two majors and would be second again at the Open that year. "It was one of the few shots only Phil could hit," Westwood said
In 2011, 21-year-old Rory McIlroy began the final round with a four-shot lead and seemed certain to replace Woods as the youngest Masters winner. But the Northern Irishman took a triple-bogey seven at the 10th and collapsed to a final-day 80, the worst score by a professional leading the Masters after three rounds, to finish 10 shots adrift. "I can't really put a finger on what went wrong," said McIlroy, who won his first major at the US Open two months later. "I just hit a poor tee shot on 10 and sort of unravelled from there"
In 2012 Bubba Watson produces another of the most remarkable shots in Masters history, finding a way out of the trees at the 10th, the second extra hole, to beat Louis Oosthuizen in the play-off, the fifth win by a left-hander in the last 10 Masters tournaments. Westwood was joint third. "I got in these trees and hit a crazy shot that I saw in my head and somehow I'm talking to you with a Green Jacket on," Watson said. "I've never had a dream go this far so I can't say it's a dream come true. I dreamed about it, I just never made the putt."
Arnold Palmer played in a record 50 successive Masters tournaments before making his farewell in 2004. He is now part of an illustrious trio that hit the opening shots to mark the start of each Masters tournament - Palmer, Nicklaus and Player
- Published8 August 2013
- Published9 April 2012