The Masters – A Tradition Unlike Any Other
What began with the purchase of The Fruitland Nurseries in Augusta, Georgia in 1931 and the foresight to retain rights to legendary golf course architect, Dr. Alister MacKenzie, along with the idea of co-founders, golf legend Bobby Jones and mastermind Clifford Roberts to host a world class golf event, The Masters Tournament was born.
A history of The Masters Tournament can be found in the Spectator Guide provided for all Masters patrons.
”Looking to provide a service to golf by hosting a tournament, Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts decided to hold an annual event beginning in 1934. The final decision was made at a meeting in New York City. Roberts proposed the event be called the Masters Tournament, but Bobby Jones objected thinking it would be too presumptuous. The name Augusta National Invitation Tournament was adopted and the title was used for five years until 1939 when Jones relented and the name was officially changed.
An early decision was whether Jones would play or serve as an official. Jones preferred not to compete, but was persuaded by the Club’s members to join the field. In the 12 Tournaments that Jones played, his best finish was 13th in 1934.
Many decisions made in the early days of the Tournament remain today. Among those are 18 holes of play each day, Thursday-Sunday, instead of the then customary 36 holes on the third day, eliminating qualifying rounds, roping the fairways, and denying permission for anyone except the player and caddie to be in the playing area. A complimentary pairings sheet and spectator booklet were provided, and commercialization in any form of the Tournament was limited.
The first Tournament was held March 22, 1934 and beginning in 1940, the Masters was scheduled each year during the first full week in April. Horton Smith won that first Tournament and in the fall of 1934, the nines were reversed. In 1935, Gene Sarazen hit ‘the shot heard round the world,’ scoring a double eagle on the par 5 15th hole, tying Craig Wood and forcing a playoff. Sarazen won the 36-hole playoff the following day by five strokes.
In 1942, Byron Nelson defeated Ben Hogan 69-70 in an 18-hole playoff and Tournament was not played during the following three years, 1943, 1944 and 1945 during the war. To assist the war effort, cattle and turkeys were raised on the Augusta National grounds.
The 1950’s included two victories by Ben Hogan and the first of four for Arnold Palmer. Palmer’s 1958 win began the tradition of Amen Corner. In 1960, the Par 3 contest was begun, and in 1965-1966, Jack Nicklaus became the first Masters champion to defend his title successfully. During the 1970’s the Founders of the Masters Tournament passed away. Both Jones and Roberts left indelible impressions on the Masters and on the world of golf.
The following decade Spaniard Seve Ballesteros won twice and Tom Watson captured his second title. In 1986 at age 46, Nicklaus donned his sixth Green Jacket. And in 1997, Tiger Woods broke the Tournament’s four-day scoring record that had stood for 32 years. At the 2001 Masters, Woods won his second Masters and fourth consecutive professional major. He would go on to win his third and fourth Green Jacket in 2002 and 2005, respectively.
Phil Mickelson collected his third Masters title in 2010 to begin the decade, followed by wins by another left-hander, Bubba Watson, in 2012 and 2014 and the Tournament’s first Australian champion, Adam Scott in 2013. In 2015, in only his second appearance, Jordan Spieth matched Tiger Woods’ 72-hole scoring record set in 1997. Tiger Woods captured his fifteenth major by winning the Masters at age 43 in 2019.”
This decade has seen first-time Masters Champions in Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama, Scottie Scheffler and defending champion, Jon Rahm. The 2024 Masters promises to deliver thrills once again to golf fans across the globe.
“In preparation for the Masters Tournament, the first consideration is to provide a first-class golf course in as beautiful and nearly perfect condition as effort can make it; and secondly to show our player guests every possible courtesy,” Masters Chairman, Fred Ridley, recently told the Masters Journal. “This April, we will proudly gather the world’s greatest golfers at Augusta National Golf Club for the 88th time. Maintaining the exceptionally high standards established by our Founders many decades ago, we anticipate another dramatic Masters Tournament that will once again inspire and excite everyone who shares our love for this great game.”
For the 85 players expected to compete in the 2024 Masters, it all begins with the magical drive down Magnolia Lane up to the Augusta National Clubhouse where they will compete with the greatest players in the world in order to don the legendary Green Jacket and garner a lifetime exemption to the Masters.
Here are a couple of players to watch, one favorite and one long-shot, who we feel will be competing on Amen Corner and then the closing stretch of holes on the back nine, come Masters Sunday afternoon:
Scottie Scheffler – Scottie, just 26 years old, world # 1 for over 50 straight weeks, #1 in the FedEx Cup Standings and 2022 Masters Champion, had gone nearly 12 months without a victory. Only to go back to back recently with victories at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship. His quote at the podium following his recent win sums up his personality. “I never expected to sit where I am now. You know, you don’t expect things to come to you in this life. You just do the best that you can with the hand you’re dealt and just go from there.” Well it turns out the hand he has been dealt is to be installed as the betting favorite this April at The Masters.
Jaoquin Niemann – Jaoquin, a Chilean native who plays on the LIV tour, received a special invitation from Masters Champion Fred Ridley following his stellar play in winning the Australian Open in December, a T4 finish in the Dubai Desert Classic and two wins in three starts on the LIV Tour during February. ”I think I deserve to be in the majors,” Niemann told GOLF.com ‘Obviously the world rankings don’t show that, but I think if I had to play every week with world ranking points, I know I would be in the majors.” Following the news that he’d received the invitation, Jaoquin told the Asian Tour communications team, “It’s exciting; I was trying to chase that invite so it is nice that they called me. I am super excited with that news. I obviously love that course at Augusta National and it is one of those courses you must be hitting it well off the tee and hitting it long. If I keep driving it well, I think it is going to serve me well and I’m looking forward to Masters week.” We highly recommend keeping an eye on this talented 25 year old at the Masters.
