The Masters Tournament was envisioned after Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts finished construction of Augusta National in 1933. The first Masters was held the following year with Horton Smith winning the inaugural event. Neither Jones or Roberts could have imagined the memorable moments the Masters would provide throughout its history.

The Masters has grown to become one of the premier golf tournaments in the world. It annually signals the birth of springtime in the northern climes and the beginning of the major golf season for professional golfers.

Gene Sarazen won the second playing of the Masters in 1935. He was one of the world’s best players in the 1920’s and 1930’s. He won 39 PGA titles and seven major championships.  Sarazen is one of only five men to have won all four professional major tournaments in their career. The 1935 Masters was the last major tournament that Sarazen won and it certainly was probably his most memorable.  In the final round on Sunday, Sarazen trailed the leader Craig Wood by three shots as he stood in the 15th fairway. He struck a perfect 235-yard 4-wood into the hole on the par-5 for a double-eagle two and made up the three-shot deficit in one stroke.  Wood and Sarazen finished regulation play tied and Sarazen won the following day in a 36-hole playoff.  The “shot heard round the world” received extensive media attention. It put the Masters and Gene Sarazen in the headlines of every newspaper in the world.

In 1954 Ben Hogan and Sam Snead battled each other and an upstart amateur, Billy Joe Patton, for the Green Jacket.  Hogan and Snead had taken turns winning the Masters the previous three years and were both at the peak of their golfing prowess.  Patton had a stellar amateur career. He was a member of five Walker Cup Teams and graduated from Wake Forest University.  His biggest moment in golf, however, happened at the 1954 Masters when he led Hogan and Snead through 54 holes. His dreams came to a watery end, however, when he failed to clear Rae’s Creek with his second shot into the par-5 No. 13 at Augusta National in the final round on Sunday afternoon.  He had still held the lead at that point, but his subsequent double-bogey at No. 13 left him one shot short of a Monday playoff with Hogan and Snead.  Hogan and Snead were tied after regulation and Snead won the Monday playoff by a single shot over Hogan (70-71).  It was the last major title won by the great “American Triumvirate” of Hogan, Snead and Nelson and signaled an end to a golden era of golf history.

In 1956 24-year-old amateur, Ken Venturi, led the Masters after 54 holes. Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club saw extremely windy conditions and Venturi struggled to an eight-over par 80 in the final round and lost by a single stroke to Jackie Burke Jr.  Venturi had made quite an impression with the golf community. He became a prodigy of Byron Nelson and a playing partner for Ben Hogan.  Greg Norman led all of the first three rounds in the 1996 Masters. He held a six-shot lead over Nick Faldo standing on the first tee of the final round on Sunday.  It was to become yet another in a series of major disappointments for Norman as he could not find the game that had produced the dominating lead. He skied to a final round 78 on Sunday and Nick Faldo won by a single shot.  Norman had three runners-up finishes at Augusta National in his career and this final-round failure in 1996 had to be a bitter pill for him to swallow. 

In 1997 Tiger Woods shot a four-over par 40 in the first round at the Masters. It was only the third appearance for Woods in the Masters and only his second as a professional.  He found the magic on the back nine, however, and fired a six-under par 30 to come home in 70 strokes. He finished the day at two-under par and only three shots behind the leader.  Woods kept the momentum going for the rest of the tournament shooting 66-65-69 which gave him 18-under par and he won by a 12-stroke margin over runner-up Tom Kite.  It was one of the most dominating performances ever witnessed by the golf world and alerted everyone of the dominance Woods would have over golf for the next 13 years.    

There are many more memorable Masters’ moments over the years such as: Jack Nicklaus’ sixth Green Jacket in 1986, Larry Mize’s chip-in to beat Norman in 1987 and Scott Hoch’s missed putt in a playoff with Nick Faldo in 1989.  I have only listed five in this report, but every year is memorable at the Masters.