03 Apr 2017

The Masters Special: Rich history of South African success

While homebred players have long dominated The Masters, there are several special places in the history books for South African players.

The first international victor at Augusta National was nine-time Major winner Gary Player in 1961, and the first international low-amateur was Manny Zerman in 1992.

Player won three Green Jackets and has been followed by fellow countrymen Trevor Immelman (2008) and Charl Schwartzel (2011) making it the second most successful nation in Masters history behind the USA.

Zerman and Sergio Garcia (1999) remained the only two international low-amateurs before a run of four in five years from 2010-2014.

Last year 49 of the 89 golfers who teed it up were international players, and non-USA players have outnumbered the Americans since 2007.

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