Mastering the Masters: A Brief History of the Tournament

This year’s PGA Masters Tournament is scheduled for April 11 through the 14th. A weekend of the world’s greatest golfers convening for that coveted championship trophy and a green jacket. Some of the best golfers may not be there however, as there is indication the legendary Tiger Woods may not play.

With several other major tournaments that take place, the Masters remains the king daddy of them all. This is the most prestigious of the majors that consist of the U.S. Open, the British Open, the PGA Championship, and the Players Championship. This tournament also dates to 1934 when it was first played.

Tiger vs. Nicklaus: Battle For Greatness

While Tigers Woods has spent his career trying to catch up to one of the greatest golfers in history in not just victories but majors, he has yet to catch the amazing Jack Nicklaus.

During his career, Jack Nicklaus won six Masters titles. Woods is just a hair behind with five including back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002 the last player to do so. Tiger Woods last donned a green jacket in 2019 getting by runners up Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, and Xander Schauffele.

Nicklaus also won two in a row in 1965 and 1966. No other golfers in history have won two or more in a row. Last year’s winner was Jon Rahm hailing from Spain, and he beat runnier up Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson for a green jacket.

As for the record setters in the Masters, Jack Nicklaus is still the oldest to win the event, having done so at the age of 82 in 1986. “The Golden Bear” finished in the top 10 22 times, the most ever. Nicklaus also holds the record for making the most cuts with 37.

The youngest to ever win the Masters? That would be none other than Tiger Woods taking home the trophy when he was 21 years old in 1997. That same tournament Woods set mark for largest margin of victory winning by 12 strokes as well the lowest winning score with a 270 or -18 over the 72 holes played but the record was tied by Jordan Spieth in 12015 and then broken by Dustin Johnson in 2020.

While Woods was the youngest winner, Guan Tianlang was the youngest to compete in a Masters and also make the cut. Tianlang was at the tender age of 14 years when he teed off in 2013. The great Gary Player is the record holder for most appearances with52.

Player also made 23 consecutive cuts which is the most ever and this covered a span from 1959 to 1982. His mark was tied by both Fred Couples and Tiger Woods.

Evolution of the Masters

Looking back at the Masters it all began in 1934 on March 22 to be exact. The first winner was Horton Smith, and he won a first-place prize of just $1,500. Back then however, the tournament was known as the “Augusta National Invitation Tournament.”

It then became title the “Masters” in 1939. Much of the credit for creation of the Masters goes to the legendary Bobby Jones who had petitioned the United State Golf Association (USGA) to have the U.S. Open played at Augusta, but that effort was denied because the USGA deemed the state of Georgia where August is, would be too hot for players and make conditions worse. Thus, Jones created what would become the Masters.

Every great golfer in history played in the Masters including Byron Nelson who won two titles. Sam Snead claimed three green jackets. Ben Hogen won two and finished second four times. In the 1960s and 70s Nicklaus and Hall of Famer Arnold Palmer staged some great rounds of golf.

Gary Player was right there with them in that decade and Lee Elder became the first African American to play the tournament in 1975. It wasn’t until 1990 that August National Golf club admitted its first black member, Ron Townsend.

Some of other notable names that have won this tournament since its inception include Jordan Spieth, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Zach Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Vijayu Singh, Mark O’Meara, Nick Faldo, Ben Crenshaw, Jose Maria Olazabal, Fred Couples, Bernhard Langer, Seve Ballesteros, Tom Watson, Raymond Floyd, Billy Casper, and Gene Sarazen among many others.

As for the course itself, it was once a plant nursery thus each hole is named after a tree or shrub. For example, hole number one is called the “Tea Olive.” The longest hole is at number two, referred to as “Pink Dogwood” and is 585 yards from the tee off to the flag. The shortest hole is the “Golden Bell” or hole number 12 with a distance of just 155 yards. All 18 holes total 7,555 yards in distance with a par of 72.

In 1952, directors of the Masters decided to add a twist by awarding amateurs who tried to enter the tournament. The lowest scoring amateur would win an award known as the “Silver Cup.” Then two years later a silver medal was presented to the amateur who was runner up to the lowest scoring player in that category.

Seven Masters titlists have also won the low amateur title. Those amazing seven are Cary Middlecoff, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, and Hideki Matsuyama. Amateurs began playing at Augusta in 1934 when Charlie Yates scored a +9 over 72 holes and finished tied for 21st.

There have been a handful of years that no amateurs even made the cut the last time coming in both 2021 and 2022. Last year Sam Bennett did make the cut and finished at -2 and tied for 16th.As for how to see the Masters, CBS had the rights from 1956 to now. USA Network also carried the Masters from 1982 to 2007. ESPN started covering the Masters in 2008 and still have coverage heading into the 2024 edition.

The Green Jacket

Regarding the coveted “green jacket,” there are two stories as to how the tradition began. One is that Bobby Jones had attended a dinner for the Open Championship in England and club captains were wearing identical jackets which indicated their position. Jones liked it and adopted the idea.

The other story is that Clifford Roberts who was the co-founder of Augusta National liked the idea of a green jacket to denote club members who would be sources of information to non-members. At the club waiters then knew who funded the check at dinners.

In 1937, August National purchased the green jackets from the Brooks Uniform Company in New York. But when members complained about the uncomfortable fit, the supplier was changed. The Hamilton Tailoring Company in Cincinnati has been producing the jackets since 1967. The technical color of the jacket is “pantone 342” but in layman’s terms, it just called “Masters Green.”

A little-known fact about the jacket is that if a player wins the Masters more than once, he does not get a second or third jacket, etc. From 1937 to 1948 only official members of the Augusta National club wore the jackets. Then in 1949, San Snead became the first Masters champion be presented a green jacket for winning the tournament.