On this date in 1975, Arnold Palmer won the Spanish Open, to complete scores of 72-69-69-73—283, and receive top prize of $9,000. Also, one of the mythical amateurs in American golf was born on this date in 1922. Billy Joe Patton was born in Morganton, North Carolina. Among his achievements wasn’t a victory but a legendary third-place finish in the 1954 Masters. He finished one shot out of a playoff with Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, which Snead won, 70-71.
On this date in 1993, one of the unheralded success stories on the senior tour, Tom Wargo, won the 54th Senior PGA Championship at PGA National. The more established Bruce Crampton charged home in Round 4 with a 66 to tie Wargo at 13 under par, but Wargo won a two-hole playoff. Wargo was from a small club in Centralia, Illinois, and didn’t have notable pro success until turning 50. In 1994 he would win the Senior Open for two major titles.
On this date in 1994, Lee Trevino took advantage of Ray Floyd’s stumble and won the 55th Senior PGA Championship at PGA National on the Champion Course. Trevino shot a 70 and beat Jim Colbert by one and Floyd and Dave Stockton by two. Floyd shot a 75 in the fourth round after three straight 69s.
On this date in 1959, Arnold Palmer shot a first-round 66 at the Houston Classic and would finish T-3. In 1967, he shot a final-round 64 at the Tournament of Champions for 2nd. On this day in 1989, Don Bies shot a bogey-free, six-under-par 66 to beat Gary Player by one shot and win The Tradition in its first year as a Senior PGA Tour event, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Bies, who started the final round in a three-way tie for second place with Gene Littler and Bob Erickson, dropped an 8-footer for a critical birdie on the par-5 15th and later finished with a 13-under 275 total to win $90,000.
The 1979 Masters, the 43rd playing, ended on this date with Fuzzy Zoeller beating all kinds of odds to win in a playoff in his first appearance at Augusta National. There shouldn’t have been a playoff. Ed Sneed was three ahead with three to go but bogeyed all three holes. Jack Nicklaus missed the playoff by one. Sneed, Zoeller and Tom Watson went into the first sudden-death playoff in Masters history, with Zoeller winning on the second playoff hole, No. 11, with a birdie.
This was not a pleasant day in Masters history. On this date in 1968, Bob Goalby was declared the winner of the Masters when it was revealed Roberto De Vicenzo signed an incorrect scorecard and had to accept a 4 instead of a 3 on the 17th hole in the final round. Tommy Aaron had written down the wrong score and Roberto didn’t notice it and had to take the higher number according to the Rules of Golf. Also, the 1974 Masters, the 38th playing, ended on this date with Gary Player winning his second of three green jackets. Tom Weiskopf and Dave Stockton finished two shots behind.
Of the Masters results on this date, a few are among the most memorable golf events in history. In 1975, Jack Nicklaus won what many consider in the top five best Masters ever, a one-shot victory over Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf, highlighted by a 40-foot birdie putt on 16. That Masters was the year Lee Elder broke the color barrier at Augusta as he became the first African-American to play in it. That was Jack’s fifth Masters, and he won his sixth in 1986 in the 50th playing for his record 18 majors. At age 46 it was his final major and his final-round score was a 65, beating Greg Norman and Tom Kite by one. And lastly, Tiger Woods won in 1997 for his first major with a record 18-under score that won by 12, also with Kite second. On this date in 1969, George Archer, the Gilroy Cowboy from California, all 6-foot-5 of him, shot an even-par 72 for a seven-under 281 total to win by just one shot over Gay Brewer, Tom Weiskopf and George Knudson.
Of the many Masters that were completed on this date, two stand out. In 1953, Ben Hogan won the 17th playing with a record score of 274. And in 1964, Arnold Palmer won his final major championship in a rout, winning by six over Dave Marr and Jack Nicklaus. On this date in 1981, Tom Watson shot a one-under-par 71 to win the Masters by two shots over Johnny Miller and Jack Nicklaus. It was the second Masters victory for Watson. The year was the first for the tournament to be played on bentgrass greens.
One of the legendary Masters finishes took place on this date in 1965 at the 28th playing. Jack Nicklaus won his second green coat, shooting a tournament record of 271, 17 under par. He was nine strokes ahead of Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, one of the few times The Big Three finished 1-2-3. Also on this date in 1978, Arnold Palmer played an exhibition, “Alabama’s Tribute to Jerry Ford,” at Pine Tree, Birmingham, Ala., to benefit American Cancer Society and March of Dimes.
Of the many Masters that concluded on this date, the most memorable was in Arnold Palmer’s sensational 1960 season when he won the 24th Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. He birdied the final two holes to win by one shot over Ken Venturi. On this date in 1949, Sam Snead shot a second-straight 67 to win the Masters by three shots over Johnny Bulla and Lloyd Mangrum. This was also the day the green jacket was awarded for the first time in Masters history.
Of the many Masters to finish on this date, a few standouts are Arnold Palmer’s playoff victory in 1962 at the 26th Masters when he won his third of four and Jack Nicklaus’ fourth of six victories in 1972. Jack finished three shots in front of Tom Weiskopf, Bruce Crampton, and Bobby Mitchell. On this date in 1950, Jimmy Demaret shot a 69 while Jim Ferrier fell back with 75 and Demaret became the first three-time Masters winner with a score of 283. Demaret was six under par on the par-5 13th for the week but was one over par for the rest of the course. Of special note, Spanish legend Seve Ballesteros was born on this date in 1957 and would win two Masters, in 1980 and 1983. He died on May 7, 2011.
On this date in 1935, Gene Sarazen, who had made his famous double eagle on 15 the day before, won a 36-hole playoff with Craig Wood to be crowned the 2nd Masters winner. Sarazen shot even-par 144 to Wood’s 149. On this date in 2010, Jack Nicklaus joined Arnold Palmer for the first time on No. 1 tee at 7:41 a.m. as Masters Honorary Starters. And in 2014 on this date, Arnie was with the Big Three group to tee off for the penultimate time as an Honorary Starter with Jack and Gary.
On this date in 1940, Jimmy Demaret shot a 71 to comfortably win the Masters by four shots over Lloyd Mangrum. It was Demaret’s second Masters played and his first of three victories. Also, in one of the biggest shockers in Masters history, the 10th playing was won on this date in 1946 by Herman Keiser by one shot over legendary Ben Hogan. On this date in 1960, in what would be a magical Masters for him, Arnold Palmer shot a first-round 67. And in 1983, Arnie roused his fans with first-round 68 at the 47th Masters but finished 74-76-78 for T-36.
Of the many Masters that ended on this date, the one in 1936 was only the third playing but it gave the tournament its first two-time winner with Horton Smith, who had won the first Masters in 1934. Smith was a shot ahead of Harry Cooper, with defending champion Gene Sarazen third. And on this date in 1978, John Schlee was a surprise first-round leader in the Masters with a 68, over a surprise second-place player Joe Inman, who had 69. But by the end, more familiar names Tom Watson, Hubert Green, Rod Funseth and the winner Gary Player were the top contenders. Player shot 64 to beat the other three by one shot.
On this date in 1948, Arnold Palmer shot a 67 in a college match to beat Michigan. In 1959, Arnie finished third in the Masters. And on this date in 2007, Arnold smacked his first tee shot as Masters Honorary Starter. On this date in 1956, amateur Ken Venturi shot a six-under-par 66 to take a one-shot lead over Cary Middlecoff in the Masters Tournament. A few days later he entered the final round in position to be the first amateur winner but skied to 80 and lost by one shot to Jack Burke Jr.
On this date in 1937, Byron Nelson shot a 70 for a 283 total to win the fourth Masters Tournament by two shots over Ralph Guldahl. Nelson famously made up six shots on Guldahl at Amen Corner, Nelson had 2-3—birdie/eagle—on Nos. 12 and 13 compared with Guldahl’s 5-6 to take command. On this date in 1995, Arnold Palmer Day ceremony was held at Augusta National. The club dedicated a water fountain behind the 16th tee in his honor.
On this date in 1947, Bob Jones shot a 75 in the first round of the Masters Tournament. It was his second-to-last year to play the tournament he started. He finished tied for 55th that year and played the Masters for the final time in 1948. In the Chevron Ch. finish on this date in 1983 when it was called the Nabisco Dinah Shore, Amy Alcott won by two shots over Beth Daniel and Kathy Whitworth at Mission Hills. This was the first year the event was considered a major championship.
On this date in 1939, Ralph Guldahl won the sixth Masters Tournament by one shot over Sam Snead after shooting 70 and 69 in a 36-hole final day due to a Thursday rainout. Guldahl had an overall nine-under score of 279 and stopped a two-year streak of finishing second. With the Dinah Shore, aka ANA Inspiration, aka Chevron Ch. usuallu being played this week, among tournament history moments was Juli Inkster winning the then named Nabisco Dinah Shore in 1989 at Mission Hills C.C. She won by five shots in a wire-to-wire victory.
On this date in 1990, it was no fooling when Jack Nicklaus won his first senior tour event at The Tradition at Desert Mountain, one of his course designs. Nicklaus won by four shots over Gary Player. Born on this date in 1901, one year before Gene Sarazen and Bobby Jones, was Johnny Farrell in White Plains, New York. Farrell was an underappreciated player in the Jones-Sarazen years, winning the 1928 U.S. Open during their reign. Farrell won more than 20 tour events but established himself as a premier club pro, prominently at Baltusrol in New Jersey. And on this date in 2001, Arnold Palmer finished T-11 with partner Jack Nicklaus in the Legends of Golf.
On this date in 1957, Arnold Palmer won the Azalea Open, but in 1958, during a playoff loss to Howie Johnson at the Azalea, A.P. called a penalty on himself on the 14th when the ball moved while he was preparing to putt. And in 1985, Arnold played 72 holes at Players Ch. for final time; shooting a nine-over 297, T-69. Of special birthday significance, World Golf Hall of Famer Tommy Bolt was born in Haworth, Oklahoma, on this date in 1916, and three-time U.S. Senior Open champion Miller Barber was born on March 31, 1931, in Shreveport, Louisiana. Each had a pair of unique nicknames; Bolt was Terrible Tempered Tommy and Thunder Bolt and Barber was known as Precious and the Mysterious Mr. X. On this date in 1996, Fred Couples had a final-round 64 to win the Players Championship for the second time, four shots in front of Tommy Tolles and Colin Montgomerie.