MASTERS ’24: A capsule look at Masters from 5 to 75 years ago

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — A capsule look at some of the anniversaries this year at the Masters:

75 years ago (1949)

Sam Snead not only won the first of his three Masters, he won the first green jacket ever presented to a Masters champion. The previous champions were then awarded green jackets retroactively. Getting that jacket was no small feat. Snead went into the final round trailing Johnny Palmer by one shot, and he quickly seized control with three birdies on the opening four holes. Palmer took double bogey on the 12th hole, where Snead made birdie. And then the challenge came from Lloyd Mangrum. Snead regained the lead with birdies on the par 5s, Nos. 13 and 15, closed with a 5-under 67 and wound up winning by three.

The AP story: “Sammy Snead, the golfer who supposedly couldn’t putt and couldn’t win the big tournaments, did both superbly to capture the 13th Masters Championship with a 72-hole total of 282. The White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., slammer used a new putter and a new putting stroke to score his second straight 67 over the difficult 6,900-yard Augusta National course. He finished three strokes ahead of his nearest rivals.”

50 years ago (1974)

One year after he had to miss the Masters with leg and stomach surgery, Gary Player won the second of his three Masters. It was his seventh major, sealed with a 9-iron he hit to tap-in range for birdie on the 17th hole. He closed with a 2-under 70 for a two-shot victory over Dave Stockton and Tom Weiskopf. Jack Nicklaus finished another stroke back. Weiskopf was tied for the lead until a bogey on the par-3 16th. It was the third of his record four runner-up finishes.

The AP story: Gary Player, the diminutive Black Knight from South Africa, was threatened by Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf, Dave Stockton and Hale Irwin before he finally claimed the famed green jacket with a 278 total — 10-under par on the 7,020 yards of rolling hills, forests and streams that make up the Augusta National Golf Club course.

25 years ago (1999)

Jose Maria Olazabal captured his second green jacket and added to Greg Norman’s heartache at Augusta National. Olazabal overcame injuries that left him unable to walk three years earlier. His duel looked like it would go to the end when Norman made a 30-foot eagle putt for the par-5 13th and Olazabal had to make birdie to tie. But then Norman dropped shots on the 14th and 15th. Olazabal closed with a 71 for a two-shot victory over Davis Love III.

The AP story: “The only redemption Sunday belonged to Jose Maria Olazabal. Unable to walk three years ago and fearing his career had ended, Olazabal stole the thunder from Greg Norman and won the Masters for the second time.”

20 years ago (2004)

Phil Mickelson was 0 for 42 in the majors as a professional when he finally broke through with one of the great closing stretches in the Masters. He was locked in a battle with Ernie Els when Mickelson made five birdies over the final seven holes. Els had already finished and was tied with Mickelson when Lefty holed an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 3-under 69 and a one-shot victory over Els, who shot 67.

The AP story: “Phil Mickelson in a green jacket. Even he had a hard time believing it. The final leg in his odyssey to win a major championship came down to an 18-foot putt Sunday, the kind Mickelson had grown weary of watching others make as he stood to the side. This time, the last chance belonged to him, a birdie putt that kept him in suspense to the very end. It rolled toward the cup, swirled around the left edge and dropped in.”

10 years ago (2014)

Bubba Watson won his first Masters with a wild shot out of the trees in a playoff. This one was lacking the drama. He was paired in the final round with 20-year-old Jordan Spieth, bidding to become the youngest Masters champion. Spieth was two shots ahead until Watson birdied the eighth and nine holes, and Spieth made bogey on both. That turned a two-shot deficit into a two-shot lead. Watson made birdie on the 10th and was on his way. Watson closed with a 69 and won by three over Spieth and Jonas Blixt.

The AP story: “Bubba Watson’s second Masters title was nothing like the green jacket he won two years ago. The only daring shot Watson hit was one he really didn’t need. The wild swing in momentum came on the front nine, not the back nine of Augusta National. And the sweetest difference of all Sunday was seeing his 2-year-old son walk toward him on the edge of the 18th green after his three-shot victory over Jordan Spieth.”

5 years ago (2019)

Tiger Woods delivered one of the most remarkable comebacks, not on the course but in life. Two years earlier, he had a fourth back surgery to fuse his lower spine. He won his fifth green jacket and his 15th major, his first in 11 years. This was the hardest. Six players had a share of the lead at some point on the back nine, and there was a five-way tie at the top when the final group was still in the 15th fairway. The final round started early in threesomes because of a forecast for storms. Woods seized control when Francesco Molinari, Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau all hit into Rae’s Creek on No. 12. Woods made bogey on the final hole for a 70 to win by one over Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Xander Schauffele.

The AP story: “Tiger Woods blazing to victory in his Sunday red at the Masters, a scene once so familiar, was never more stunning. It was only two years ago at Augusta National that Woods needed a nerve block just to hobble upstairs to the Champions Dinner, unsure he would ever play another round of golf. He had a fourth back surgery with hopes of simply playing with his two children, not chasing Jack Nicklaus in history. And now it’s all pieced back together — his life, his back, even his golf.”

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf