Over the years, the Masters has seen some truly incredible performances and unforgettable moments that have etched their way into the history of the sport.
From jaw-dropping rounds to miraculous putts, the tournament has always been a stage for biggest stars of the game to showcase their skills and make their mark. In this article, we’ll be taking a look at ten crazy stats from the tournament, highlighting the incredible feats, and some not so incredible, from some of the world’s best.
506
Jack Nicklaus leads the way with the most birdies at Augusta National with 506 across 45 editions of the first Major Championship of the season. The Golden Bear also holds the record for most eagles with 24 – 3 on Par 4s and 21 on Par 5s.
1
Of Augusta National’s four par-3s, the 16th hole has been aced the most – 23 times. In 2004, Padraig Harrington and Kirk Triplett made holes-in-one while playing in consecutive groups at the 16th.
4
There has only ever been four eagles in consecutive holes by a player in the tournament’s history. Dan Pohl was the first to do so in 1982 on 13 and 14, followed by Dustin Johnson in 2009 and Phil Mickelson in 2010 on the same holes. Webb Simpson achieved the same feat in 2015 on 7 and 8.
11
Anthony Kim tops the leaderboard for most birdies in one round with a barely believable 11 when he posted a second round 65 in 2009. The achievement was made even sweeter given the fact it was Kim’s first outing at Augusta National and the day before he had opened with a 75 playing alongside Rory McIlroy and Ryo Ishikawa.
17
The tournament has been decided by a play-off on 17 occasions, the lowest number of extra holes needed across the four Major Championships. Gene Sarazen overcame Craig Wood in the first play-off in 1935, while Sergio Garcia defeated Rose in the last one in 2017.
289
Zach Johnson, Jack Burke and Sam Snead hold the record for the highest winning score on 289. During Johnson’s victory in 2007 he three-putted an incredible six different times during the tournament. Only four players finished with more.
268
Dustin Johnson rewrote the record books at Augusta National in 2020 at the historic November Masters. His 20-under-par 268 total broke the previous 72-hole scoring record of 270 held by Tiger Woods (1997) and Jordan Spieth (2015).
13
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uL2B6zWmTg
Tom Weiskopf, Tsuneyuki Nakajima and Sergio Garcia hold the record for the highest ever score on a hole at the Masters with a 13 on the 12th, 13th and 15th respectively. Garcia’s meltdown came in 2018, the year he was defending the tournament, when he put FIVE balls in the water trying to land on the green. He did manage to one-putt for a 13, but it was still highest score ever on the Par 5, by two strokes.
71.32
Phil Mickelson has not only slipped on the Green Jacket on three occasions, he also boasts the record for the lowest scoring average for players that have player 100+ rounds with 71.32. Tiger Woods tops the table for 75-99 rounds with 70.87, while Justin Rose’s 71.74 leads the way for 50-74 rounds. It comes as no surprise that Augusta National expert Jordan Spieth has the best average for 25-49 rounds with an impressive 70.46.
21
The most contrasting start in tournament history belongs to Craig Wood, who, in 1936, shot a first round 88 before firing in a second round 67 – a whopping difference of 21 shots! The American finished in a share of 20th before going on to win the Masters and U.S. Open five years later.
