The Masters Tournament

Lore & Background

Amateur golf champion Bobby Jones and investment banker Clifford Roberts founded the tournament. After his grand slam in 1930, Jones acquired a former plant nursery and co-designed Augusta National with course architect Alister MacKenzie. First played in 1934 as the "Augusta National Invitation Tournament", the Masters is an official money event on the PGA Tour, the European Tour, and the Japan Golf Tour. The field of players is smaller than those of the other major championships because it is an invitational event, held by the Augusta National Golf Club. The tournament has a number of traditions. Since the 1949 Masters, a green jacket (specifically Pantone 342C, "Augusta Green") has been awarded to the champion, who must return it to the clubhouse one year after his victory, although it remains his personal property and is stored with other champions' jackets in a specially designated cloakroom. In most instances, only a first-time and reigning champion may remove his jacket from the club grounds. A golfer who wins the event multiple times uses the same green jacket awarded upon his initial win unless he needs to be re-fitted with a new jacket. The Champions Dinner, inaugurated by Ben Hogan at the 1952 Masters, is held on the Tuesday before each Masters and is open only to past champions and certain board members of the Augusta National Golf Club. Beginning in 1963, distinguished golfers, usually past champions, have hit an honorary tee shot on the morning of the first round to commence play. These have included Fred McLeod, Jock Hutchinson, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Elder, and Tom Watson. Since 1960, a semi-social contest on the Par 3 course has been played on Wednesday, the day before the first round.

In Their Own Story

The rain had stopped just long enough for the first tee at the 18th to dry. The crowd on the bridge over Rae's Creek was silent in that particular, held-breath way that only Augusta can produce. The player addressed the ball, the white ball sitting on the tee like a small, perfect thought, and for a moment the live oaks seemed to lean in. The swing was quiet, almost conversational. The ball rose into the grey Georgia sky, hung, and dropped just short of the pin. A murmur. A shake of the head. Then, from the back of the gallery, a single, long exhale from a man in a green jacket who had been here before, and who would be here again, because that is simply what Augusta demands of its faithful. The week was not over. The jacket was not yet earned. The oaks were patient.

Reader's Guide

Nicklaus has the most Masters wins, with six between 1963 and 1986. Tiger Woods won five between 1997 and 2019. Palmer won four between 1958 and 1964. Five have won three titles at Augusta: Jimmy Demaret, Sam Snead, Gary Player, Nick Faldo, and Phil Mickelson. Gary Player, from South Africa, was the first non-American player to win the tournament, in 1961; the second was Seve Ballesteros of Spain, the champion in 1980 and 1983. The Augusta National course first opened in 1933 and has been modified many times by different architects. Among the changes: greens have been reshaped and, on occasion, entirely re-designed, bunkers have been added, water hazards have been extended, new tee boxes have been built, hundreds of trees have been planted, and several mounds have been installed.

Did You Know?

• The Par 3 Contest has been played on Wednesday, the day before the first round, since 1960.
• The tournament was not played from 1943 to 1945 due to World War II.
• Gene Sarazen hit the "shot heard 'round the world" in 1935, holing a double eagle on the par-5 15th.