Every Masters champion
A look at every Masters champion from 1934 to 2015.
Horton Smith - 1934, 1936
"The Joplin Ghost" won the first Masters ever in 1934 and again in 1936. Smith participated on five Ryder Cup squads and served in World War II before his death in 1963.
Gene Sarazen - 1935
One of the greatest golfers of all time, Sarazen completed the rare feat of winning all of golf's major championships throughout a lengthy, illustrious career. He invented the sand wedge in 1932 and lived to the ripe old age of 97.
Byron Nelson - 1937, 1942
"Lord" Byron was a true champion and gentleman who received just about every award imaginable during his long life. He won five majors and was even (posthumously) awarded a Congressional Gold Medal in 2006.
Henry Picard - 1938
After winning the 1938 Masters, Picard followed that up by out-dueling Byron Nelson to win the 1939 PGA Championship. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2006.
Ralph Guldahl - 1939
Ralph Guldahl finished second at the Masters in 1937 and 1938 before finally breaking through in 1939. He went on to win the PGA Championship twice as well but decided to retire early in his career and become a club pro.
Jimmy Demaret - 1940, 1947, 1950
Demaret was the first golfer to win the Master three times (1940, 1947, 1950). He finished his career with 36 tournament wins and was elected to the Golf Hall of Fame in 1983.
Craig Wood - 1941
Wood had a killer 1941, winning the U.S. Open as well as the Masters. He and Greg Norman hold the dubious distinction of being the only golfers ever to lose all four majors in extra holes.
Herman Keiser - 1946
World War II put a hold on the Masters in 1943, 1944 and 1945. In 1946, a relatively unknown U.S. Navy veteran named Herman Keiser played the tournament of his life to narrowly defeat Ben Hogan to win the Masters.
Claude Harmon - 1948
Harmon finished his career with just two PGA tour wins. One of those wins happened to be the 1948 Masters, which earned him a $2,500 windfall and sealed his place in golf lore.
Sam Snead - 1949, 1952, 1954
The original "Slammin' Sammy" is regarded by many as the greatest golfer of all time. He won a record 82 PGA tournaments and a total of seven majors, including his three wins at Augusta. After Snead's 1949 victory, the first-ever Masters green jacket presentation ceremony was conducted.
Ben Hogan - 1951, 1953
Hogan is one of the greatest golfers to ever play the game. He won nine majors — including every single one in 1953 — and became one of golf’s most beloved and legendary ambassadors. The “Wee Iceman” won the Masters in 1951 and 1953.
Cary Middlecoff - 1955
Middlecoff won three majors (including the 1955 Masters) and ended up with 40 PGA Tour wins (10th all time). In his impressively fruitful life, Middlecoff trained to become a dentist, stayed married to wife Edith for 51 years, became a beloved announcer and appeared in two movies, in addition to his accomplishments on the course.
Jack Burke Jr. - 1956
Burke overcame an eight-stroke deficit in the final round to win the 1956 Masters and also went on to win the PGA Championship that same year. Well into his 90s, Burke is still giving putting lessons to the game's greats, like Phil Mickelson.
Doug Ford - 1957
Ford beat Sam Snead by three strokes to win the 1957 Masters. He also won the 1955 PGA Championship throughout his long playing career. He was elected to the Golf Hall of Fame in 2011.
Arnold Palmer - 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964
"The King" won the Masters four times and seven majors overall. Oh yeah, he also grew up with Mr. Rogers, served in the Coast Guard, managed to have a delicious beverage named in his honor and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Not too shabby.
Art Wall Jr. - 1959
Art Wall had an incredible 1959. He won the Masters in dramatic fashion and went on to be named the PGA Player of the Year for 1959. He also held the record for most career holes-in-one for many years, with 45.
Gary Player - 1961, 1974, 1978
One of the all-time greats, Player has won 165 tournaments in over 60 years of playing golf. The South African legend won every major, including his three Masters triumphs.
Jack Nicklaus - 1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1986
"The Golden Bear" has to be the greatest golfer of all time, right? He won 18 majors, winning all four tournaments at least three times. He absolutely dominated in Augusta, including a legendary win in 1986 at 46 years of age.
Gay Brewer - 1967
Brewer lost in a playoff in the 1966 Masters. He got his revenge the very next year, however, when he won in Augusta by a single stroke.
Bob Goalby - 1968
Goalby won the 1968 Masters thanks to a scoring goof. Goalby and Roberto De Vicenzo were tied after regulation, which ordinarily would result in a playoff between the two to determine the champion. De Vicenzo's scorecard, however, was off by one stroke (his actual score was one shot lower than what he had listed). This unfortunate blunder gave Goalby his one and only major win in his career.
George Archer - 1969
Archer's lone major victory came at the 1969 Masters. The six-foot-five Californian ended his career with 13 PGA Tour wins.
Billy Casper - 1970
Casper is not a household name, but he racked up the seventh-highest number of PGA Tour wins in history (51). In addition to winning a green jacket in 1970, he also won the U.S. Open in 1959 and 1966.
Charles Coody - 1971
Coody managed to squeeze in a Masters victory in an era that was dominated by the likes of Player, Palmer and Nicklaus. He won the '71 tournament by a two-stroke margin, which ended up being the zenith of his career.
Tommy Aaron - 1973
In addition to winning a green jacket in 1973, Aaron is also remembered for being the guy who cost Roberto De Vicenzo the 1968 Masters by miscalculating his score.
Raymond Floyd - 1976
Floyd had an awesome career. He won four majors, but by far his most impressive win was an eight-stroke thrashing of the field at Augusta in 1976.
Tom Watson - 1977, 1981
Watson was probably the best golfer on the planet for a solid spell there in the late '70s and early '80s. He finished his career with eight majors and two green jackets.
Fuzzy Zoeller - 1979
Zoeller is remembered mostly for making tremendously racist comments about Tiger Woods in 1997, though he did win a green jacket in 1979.
Seve Ballesteros - 1980, 1983
Maybe the best European golfer of all time, Ballesteros won five majors before his tragic death at age 54. Both of his wins in Augusta were dominant, winning by four strokes each time.
Craig Stadler - 1982
The Walrus! The big guy beat Dan Pohl in a playoff to win his green jacket in 1982.
Ben Crenshaw - 1984, 1995
Don't be fooled by the nickname: "Gentle Ben" was a beast on the course and an assassin with a putter. His only two majors came at Augusta, but he was always in the hunt. He finished his brilliant career with 19 PGA Tour victories.
Bernhard Langer - 1985, 1993
He of belly putter fame (and shame) did indeed win the Masters twice ('85, '93) and rule the roost on the European Tour for quite some time. He's also been dominant on the senior tour, but let's put an asterisk next to Frau Langer's accomplishments until the golf gods make a ruling on the legitimacy of the belly putter, which has since been outlawed on the tour.
Larry Mize - 1987
An Augusta native, Mize defeated Seve Ballesteros and Greg Norman in a dramatic playoff to win his green jacket in 1987. He ended his career with four wins on the PGA Tour.
Sandy Lyle - 1988
One of the best golfers in the world during the 1980s, Lyle edged out Mark Calcavecchia to win the 1988 Masters. He also won the the Open Championship in 1985.
Nick Faldo - 1989, 1990, 1996
Faldo is arguably the greatest European golfer of all time. The man from Hertfordshire, England, won six majors, his last a superb comeback win at the 1996 Masters.
Ian Woosnam - 1991
Woosnam found most of his success on the European Tour, but he did have a magical run to glory at the 1991 Masters. His victory was the fourth in a row by a player from the United Kingdom at Augusta.
Fred Couples - 1992
When Fred Couples was attending the University of Houston in the late '70s, one of his roommates was none other than Jim Nantz. As Couples powered his way to glory at Augusta in 1992, Nantz — who had been anchoring CBS's Masters coverage since 1988 — was right there to announce the whole thing.
Jose Maria Olazabal - 1994, 1999
Olazabal won the 1994 Masters by two strokes, and the Spaniard followed that up with another win in 1999 in which he beat out Davis Love III and Greg Norman.
Tiger Woods - 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005
How the mighty have fallen. The four-time Masters champ hasn’t won in Augusta since 2005, and Woods won't attend in 2016. Does Tiger have one more magical Augusta run in him?
Mark O'Meara - 1998
O'Meara had an incredible 1998. At 41 years of age, he won the Masters and the British Open, and finished in the top four in the other two majors that year.
Vijay Singh - 2000
Singh has had an illustrious career, winning the PGA Championship twice, the Masters once and earning 34 PGA Tour wins overall. Not bad for a guy who once told reporters that he used to hit coconuts instead of golf balls as a young man in his native Fiji. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2005.
Mike Weir - 2003
The diminutive Canadian beat Len Mattiace in a playoff to win the 2003 Masters, by far his career highlight. He does have eight PGA Tour wins under his belt, which isn't so bad, eh?
Phil Mickelson - 2004, 2006, 2010
After years of anguish and coming so agonizingly close to winning a major, Lefty finally broke through at Augusta in 2004. He hasn't looked back, winning the Masters two more times since then in addition to two other major wins.
Zach Johnson - 2007
Johnson was the first man from outside the world's top 50 golfers to win the Masters. His win in 2007 catapulted him in the rankings, though he's still searching for that elusive next major win.
Trevor Immelman - 2008
In 2008, Immelman became the second South African to win at Augusta (Gary Player was the first). He held off Tiger Woods, eventually winning by three strokes.
Angel Cabrera - 2009
“El Pato” (the Duck) won the U.S. Open in 2007 and solidified his place in history with a triumph at Augusta in 2009. The Argentine is known for his huge swing and used to be renowned for smoking while playing.
Charl Schwartzel - 2011
The South African came out of nowhere and overcame a four-stroke deficit to defeat Rory McIlroy and company at the 2011 Masters. It remains his only PGA Tour win to date.
Bubba Watson - 2012, 2014
Gerry Lester Watson Jr., the pride of Bagdad, Fla., defeated Louis Oosthuizen in a playoff to win the 2012 Masters and won in Augusta again in 2014 by three strokes.
Adam Scott - 2013
The Australian UNLV product defeated Angel Cabrera in a sudden-death playoff to win the 2013 Masters, his only major thus far.
Jordan Spieth - 2015
In 2015, a 21-year-old from Dallas burst onto the PGA Tour scene, dominating in a fashion rarely seen in golf at such a young age. It culminated at the 2015 Masters, where Jordan Spieth had a record-tying performance, leading all four rounds to become the first 21-year-old to win the Masters since Tigers Woods and the second youngest Masters champion ever, with only Woods achieving the feat at a younger age.
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