April each year sees the latest instalment of the greatest golfing show on the planet, as the most talented players in the game – and a selection of champs from years gone by – head up Magnolia Lane in pursuit of the sports Holy Grail.
Always the dominant story in the golf news headlines as springtime begins to blossom, The Masters is also the biggest golf betting event of the year bar none, seeing fans flock to the best new gambling sites in search of the latest odds.
All Masters winners earn their place in golfing folklore, but here we run through those former champs who not only won the event, but also set a record for golf’s greatest tournament.
Most Masters Wins: Jack Nicklaus with Six
Playing in the event on a remarkable 45 occasions, the golden period for “The Golden Bear” came in the ’60s and ’70s. First winning as a 23-year-old in 1963, he added a second when roaring to a nine-shot victory in 1965, before edging out Tommy Jacobs in a playoff in 1966. Runner up in 1971, he put that right with a fourth win in 1972, before a fifth followed in 75. Perhaps the most iconic of Nicklaus’s successes then came in 1986 as he rolled back the years and defied the doubters to come home a shot clear of Tom Kite and Greg Norman.
Oldest Winner: Jack Nicklaus – 46 Years, 2 Months, and 24 Days
That final Masters success also saw the 18-time major champ become the oldest winner in the history of the event. At the time, only Julius Boros stood above Nicklaus in all majors, having won the 1968 PGA Championship at the age of 48. That “all majors” record has since been beaten by Phil Mickelson, who landed the 2021 PGA as a fifty-year-old, but the Masters’ benchmark of Nicklaus still stands.
Youngest Winner: Tiger Woods – 21 Years, 3 Months, and 14 Days
For a while, it seemed only a matter of time until Tiger Woods at least equalled Nicklaus’s record of Masters triumphs. Sitting on five wins, he might do it yet, but injury issues have undoubtedly made it a little more difficult. Regardless of what the future holds for Tiger, he does hold the record as the youngest winner in the event’s history for his remarkable performance in 1997…more on which below.
Lowest Winning Score: -20 – Dustin Johnson (2020)
Heading into the 2020 edition as the number-one ranked player in the world, Dustin Johnson went on to confirm that status in spectacular style, with a sizzling four rounds of golf. Sharing the lead on -7 after the first round, he moved to -9 on the Friday, which was still only good for a five-way tie at the top. A second 65 of the week saw Johnson take a four-shot lead into the Sunday, with a closing 68 landing him his first Green Jacket and a place in the record books.
Biggest Winning Margin: 12 Strokes – Tiger Woods (1997)
Impressive as Johnson’s performance was, no one has quite blitzed the field as spectacularly as Woods in 1997. Only 21 years of age, Tiger looked to be playing a different game to the competition at times, riding his brute force power, accuracy, and deft touch to devastating success.
It didn’t start spectacularly, with Woods only fourth, and three of the pace at the end of the first round. However, after a 66 on the Friday, it was Woods who found himself three clear at the top of the leaderboard. Following a stunning Saturday 65, the tournament was as good as over, with Woods sitting on -15, nine clear of Constantino Rocca in second. Taking another three shots off his score in what amounted to little more than a victory lap on the Sunday, this remains one of the most explosive successes of Woods’s incredible career.
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