Masters Winners from Every Angle I Can Think Of
My Masters preview is now live. This will serve as a reference for the research I did in putting that preview together and where I’m getting my data. Buckle up as there is a lot here.
I sent this out already by mistake a few weeks back but there are a few minor modifications. It’s certainly not something to read per se but figured I’d post what I’ve researched since about November.
1) Masters Winners Who Won Tournaments in the Winter/Early Spring Run Up
1934 Horton Smith
NONE
1935 Gene Sarazen
NONE
1936 Horton Smith
NONE
1937 Byron Nelson
NONE
1938 Henry Picard
Pasadena Open (Played in January and now defunct)
1939 Ralph Guldahl
Greensboro Open (Now the Wyndham, then played in late March. In this case the week before)
1940 Jimmy Demaret
Oakland Open (Played in January and now defunct), Western Open (Apparently played in February but now the BMW and part of the FedEx playoffs), New Orleans Open (Then played in March and now the Zurich), St. Petersburg Open (Played in March and now defunct)
1941 Craig Wood
NONE
1942 Byron Nelson
Oakland Open (Played in January and now defunct)
1943-1945 No Tournament Due to WWII
1946 Herman Keiser
NONE
1947 Jimmy Demaret
Tucson Open (Played in February and now defunct), St. Petersburg Open (Played in March and now defunct)
1948 Claude Harmon
NONE
1949 Sam Snead
Greensboro Open (Now the Wyndham, then played in late March)
1950 Jimmy Demaret
Ben Hogan Open (Played in February, now the WM Phoenix Open )
1951 Ben Hogan
NONE
1952 Sam Snead
NONE
1953 Ben Hogan
NONE
1954 Sam Snead
NONE
1955 Cary Middlecoff
Crosby Pro-Am (Played in January, now known as the AT&T or simply Pebble Beach), St. Petersburg Open (Played in March and now defunct)
1956 Jack Burke Jr.
NONE
1957 Doug Ford
LA Open (Played in January, now known as the Genesis at Riviera)
1958 Arnold Palmer
St. Petersburg Open (Played in March and now defunct)
1959 Art Wall Jr.
Azalea Open (Played in March, in this case the week before, now defunct)
1960 Arnold Palmer
Palm Springs Classic (Played in January, now known as the American Express), Texas Open (Played in February, now known as the Valero), Baton Rouge Open (Played in March, now defunct), Pensacola Open (Played in March, now defunct)
1961 Gary Player
Lucky International Open (Played in January and now defunct), Sunshine Open (Played in March and now defunct)
1962 Arnold Palmer
Palm Springs Classic (Played in January, now known as the American Express), Phoenix Open (Played in February, now the WM Phoenix Open)
1963 Jack Nicklaus
Palm Springs Classic (Played in January, now the American Express)
1964 Arnold Palmer
NONE
1965 Jack Nicklaus
NONE
1966 Jack Nicklaus
NONE
1967 Gay Brewer
Pensacola Open (Played in March, now defunct)
1968 Bob Goalby
NONE
*PGA Tour Breaks Away from the PGA
1969 George Archer
Crosby Pro-Am (Played in January, now known as the AT&T or simply Pebble Beach)
1970 Billy Casper
LA Open (Played in January, now the Genesis at Riviera)
1971 Charles Coody
NONE
1972 Jack Nicklaus
Crosby Pro-Am (Played in January, now known as the AT&T or simply Pebble Beach), Doral Open (Played in March at Doral resort in suburban Miami on the Blue Monster, now defunct)
1973 Tommy Aaron
NONE
1974 Gary Player
NONE (Did win twice on the South African Tour in January and February)
1975 Jack Nicklaus
Doral Open (Played in March at Doral resort in suburban Miami on the Blue Monster, now defunct), Heritage Classic (Then played in March)
1976 Raymond Floyd
NONE
1977 Tom Watson
Crosby Pro-Am (Played in January, now known as the AT&T or simply Pebble Beach), Andy Williams-San Diego Open (Played in January, now the Farmers at Torrey Pines)
1978 Gary Player
NONE
1979 Fuzzy Zoeller
Andy Williams-San Diego Open (Played in January, now the Farmers at Torrey Pines)
1980 Seve Ballesteros
NONE
1981 Tom Watson
NONE
1982 Craig Stadler
Tucson Open (Played in January and now defunct)
1983 Seve Ballesteros
NONE
1984 Ben Crenshaw
NONE
1985 Bernhard Langer
NONE
1986 Jack Nicklaus
NONE
1987 Larry Mize
NONE
1988 Sandy Lyle
Phoenix Open (Played in February, now the WM Phoenix Open), Greensboro Open (Now the Wyndham, that year played in April the week before)
1989 Nick Faldo
NONE
1990 Nick Faldo
NONE
1991 Ian Woosnam
Open Mediterranea (Euro Tour event played in March, now defunct), USF&G Classic (Now the Zurich, played that year in March)
1992 Fred Couples
Nissan LA Open (Played in March, now the Genesis at Riviera), Nestle Invitational (Played in March, now the Arnold Palmer at Bay Hill)
1993 Bernhard Langer
NONE
1994 Jose Maria Olazabal
Open Mediterranea (Euro Tour event played in March, now defunct)
1995 Ben Crenshaw
NONE
1996 Nick Faldo
NONE
1997 Tiger Woods
Mercedes Championship (Played in January, now known as The Sentry)
1998 Mark O’ Meara
NONE
1999 Jose Maria Olazabal
NONE
2000 Vijay Singh
NONE
2001 Tiger Woods
Bay Hill Invitational (Played in March), Players Championship (Played in March)
2002 Tiger Woods
Bay Hill Invitational (Played in March)
2003 Mike Weir
Nissan Open (Played in March, now the Genesis at Riviera)
2004 Phil Mickelson
Bob Hope Chrysler Classic (Played in January, now the American Express)
2005 Tiger Woods
Buick Invitational (Played in January, now the Farmers at Torrey Pines), Ford Championship at Doral (Played in March, now defunct)
2006 Phil Mickelson
BellSouth Classic (Played in April the week before, now defunct)
2007 Zach Johnson
NONE
2008 Trevor Immelman
NONE
2009 Angel Cabrera
NONE
2010 Phil Mickelson
NONE
2011 Charl Schwartzel
NONE (Won in January on the South African Sunshine Tour)
2012 Bubba Watson
NONE
2013 Adam Scott
NONE
2014 Bubba Watson
Northern Trust Open (Played in February, now the Genesis at Riviera)
2015 Jordan Spieth
Valspar (Played in March)
2016 Danny Willett
Dubai Desert Classic (Played in February)
2017 Sergio Garcia
Dubai Desert Classic (Played in February)
2018 Patrick Reed
NONE
2019 Tiger Woods
NONE
2020 Dustin Johnson
*COVID year played in November (Travelers in June, Memphis in August, Tour Championship in September)
2021 Hideki Matsuyama
NONE
2022 Scottie Scheffler
WM Phoenix Open (Played in February), Arnold Palmer Invitational (At Bay Hill played in March), WGC Match Play (Played in March, now defunct)
2023 Jon Rahm
Sentry Tournament of Champions (Played in January), American Express (Played in January), Genesis (Played in February)
2024 Scottie Scheffler
Arnold Palmer Invitational (At Bay Hill, played in March), Players Championship (Played in March)
2) Current Pre-Masters PGA Schedule
The Sentry
Started: 1953
2025 Winner: Hideki Matsuyama
Winners Who Won Masters in Same Year: 2—Tiger Woods 1997, Jon Rahm 2023
Sony Open:
Started: Fall of 1965, moved to Jan/Feb 1971
2025 Winner: Nick Taylor
Winners Who Won Masters in Same Year: 0
The American Express
Started: 1960 (Still occasionally referred to as the Bob Hope)
2025 Winner: Sepp Straka
Winners Who Won Masters in Same Year: 5—Arnold Palmer 1960, Arnold Palmer 1962, Jack Nicklaus 1963, Phil Mickelson 2004, Jon Rahm 2023
Farmers Insurance Open
Started: 1952
2025 Winner: Harris English
Winners Who Won Masters in Same Year: 3—Tom Watson 1977, Fuzzy Zoeller 1979, Tiger Woods 2005
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Started: 1937 (If you’re really old this is still called the Crosby Clambake)
2025 Winner: Rory McIlroy
Winners Who Won Masters in Same Year: 4—Cary Middlecoff 1955, George Archer 1969, Jack Nicklaus 1972, Tom Watson 1977
WM Phoenix Open
Started: 1932 (Older than The Masters by two years)
2025 Winner: Thomas Detry
Winners Who Won Masters in Same Year: 4—Jimmy Demaret 1950, Arnold Palmer 1962, Sandy Lyle 1988, Scottie Scheffler 2022
The Genesis Invitational
Started: 1926 (Will forever be the LA Open to me)
2025 Winner: Ludvig Aberg (Played at Torrey Pines)
Winners Who Won Masters in Same Year: 6—Doug Ford 1957, Billy Casper 1970, Fred Couples 1992, Mike Weir 2003, Bubba Watson 2014, Jon Rahm 2023
Gulf of America Open
Started: 1944, PGA Tour Event since 2022
2025 Winner: Brian Campbell
Winners Who Won Masters in Same Year: 0
Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches
Started: 1972 (Was the Honda Classic forever)
2025 Winner: Joe Highsmith
Winners Who Won Masters in Same Year: 0
Arnold Palmer Invitational
Started: 1979
2025 Winner: Russell Henley
Winners Who Won Masters in Same Year: 5—Fred Couples 1992, Tiger Woods 2001, Tiger Woods 2002, Scottie Scheffler 2022, Scottie Scheffler 2024
The Players Championship
Started: 1974 (Played at TPC Sawgrass since 1982, from 2007-2019 was played in May)
2025 Winner: Rory McIlroy
Winners Who Won Masters in Same Year: 2—Tiger Woods 2001, Scottie Scheffler 2024
Valspar Championship
Started: 2000 (Since 2007 in March)
2025 Winner: Viktor Hovland
Winners Who Won Masters in Same Year: 1—Jordan Spieth 2015
Texas Children’s Houston Open
Started: 1946 (Previously held weeks later in mid-spring, the Houston Open was played the week before the Masters from 2007 through 2018—except 2013 when it was two weeks before the Masters. 2019-2023 was a Fall event)
2025 Winner: Min Woo Lee
Winners Who Won Masters in Same Year: 0
Valero Texas Open
Started: 1922 (Dates have varied widely but played in April, the week before The Masters, in 2013 and since 2019)
2025 Winner: Brian Harman
Winners Who Won Masters in Same Year: 1—Arnold Palmer 1960
3) Pre Masters Tournament Breakdown
Masters Winners (2020 COVID year played in November doesn’t count for purposes of this exercise) who did not have a win coming into the Tournament that year—46 Total, ~53% (44 if you count Gary Player in 1974 and Charl Schwartzel in 2011 both of whom won on the Sunshine Tour of South Africa):
(Smith 1934, Sarazen 1935, Smith 1936, Nelson 1937, Wood 1941 (No Tournament 1943-1945) Keiser 1946, Harmon 1948, Hogan 1951, Snead 1952, Hogan 1953, Snead 1954, Burke Jr. 1956, Palmer 1964, Nicklaus 1965, Nicklaus 1966, Goalby 1968, Coody 1971, Aaron 1973, Player 1974, Floyd 1976, Player 1978, Ballesteros 1980, T Watson 1981, Ballesteros 1983, Crenshaw 1984, Langer 1985, Nicklaus 1986, Mize 1987, Faldo 1989, Faldo 1990, Langer 1993, Crenshaw 1995, Faldo 1996, O’Meara 1998, Olazabal 1999, Singh 2000, Z Johnson 2007, Immelman 2008, Cabrera 2009, Mickelson 2010, Schwartzel 2011, B Watson 2012, Scott 2013, Reed 2018, Woods 2019, Matsuyama 2021)
European Tour Wins—4 Total:
Open Mediterranea, now defunct—2 (Woosnam 1991, Olazabal 1994), Dubai Desert Classic—2 (Willett 2016, Garcia 2017)
Most wins in now defunct Tournaments—20 Total:
St. Petersburg Open—4: (Demaret 1940, Demaret 1947, Middlecoff 1955, Palmer 1958), Doral Open—3: (Nicklaus 1972, Nicklaus 1975, Woods 2005), Oakland Open—2: (Demaret 1940, Nelson 1942), Pensacola Open—2: (Palmer 1960, Brewer 1967), Pasadena Open—1: (Picard 1938), Tucson Open—1: (Demaret 1947), Azalea Open—1: (Wall Jr. 1959), Baton Rouge Open—1: (Palmer 1960), Lucky International Open—1: (Player 1961), Sunshine Open—1: (Player 1961), Tucson Open—1: (Stadler 1982), BellSouth Classic—1: (Mickelson 2006), WGC Match Play—1: (Scheffler 2022)
Wins in Tournaments still played but have moved from the pre-Masters Spring schedule—7 Total:
Greensboro Open (now the Wyndham)—3: (Guldahl 1939, Snead 1949, Lyle 1988), New Orleans Open or the USF&G (now the Zurich)—2: (Demaret 1940, Woosnam 1991), Western Open (now the BMW)—1: (Demaret 1940), Heritage Classic—1: (Nicklaus 1975)
Wins in current pre-Masters Tournaments (using present day Tournament brand names) 33 Total:
The Genesis—6: (Ford 1957, Casper 1970, Couples 1992, Weir 2003, B Watson 2014, Rahm 2023), The American Express—5: (Palmer 1960, Palmer 1962, Nicklaus 1963, Mickelson 2004, Rahm 2023), Arnold Palmer Invitational—5: (Couples 1992, Woods 2001, Woods 2002, Scheffler 2022, Scheffler 2024), WM Phoenix Open—4: (Demaret 1950, Palmer 1962, Lyle 1988, Scheffler 2022), AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am—4: (Middlecoff 1955, Archer 1969, Nicklaus 1972, T Watson 1977), Farmers Insurance Open—3: (T Watson 1977, Zoeller 1979, Woods 2005), The Sentry—2: (Woods 1997, Rahm 2023), The Players Championship—2: (Woods 2001, Scheffler 2024), Valero Texas Open—1: (Palmer 1960), Valspar Championship—1: (Spieth 2015)
Number of wins the week directly before The Masters—4 Total:
1939 Ralph Guldahl—Greensboro Open, 1959 Art Wahl—Azalea Open, Sandy Lyle—1988 Greensboro Open, Phil Mickelson—2006 Bell South Classic
Players who won twice or more prior to winning The Masters—17 Total:
Jimmy Demaret, 1940—4 (Oakland Open, Western Open, New Orleans Open, St. Petersburg Open)
Jimmy Demaret, 1947—2 (Tucson Open, St. Petersburg Open)
Cary Middlecoff, 1955—2 (Crosby Pro-Am, St. Petersburg Open)
Arnold Palmer, 1960—4 (Palm Springs Classic, Texas Open, Baton Rouge Open, Pensacola Open)
Gary Player, 1961—2 (Lucky International Open, Sunshine Open)
Arnold Palmer, 1962—2 (Palm Springs Classic, Phoenix Open)
Jack Nicklaus, 1972—2 (Crosby Pro-Am, Doral Open)
Jack Nicklaus, 1975—2 (Doral Open, Heritage Classic)
Tom Watson, 1977—2 (Crosby Pro-Am, Andy Williams-San Diego Open)
Sandy Lyle, 1988—2 (Phoenix Open, Greensboro Open)
Ian Woosnam, 1991—2 (Open Mediterranea, USF&G Classic )
Fred Couples, 1992—2 (Nissan LA Open, Nestle Invitational)
Tiger Woods, 2001—2 (Bay Hill Invitational, Players Championship)
Tiger Woods, 2005—2 (Buick Invitational, Ford Championship at Doral)
Scottie Scheffler, 2022—3 (WM Phoenix Open, Arnold Palmer Invitational, WGC Match Play)
Jon Rahm, 2023—3 (Sentry Tournament of Champions, American Express, Genesis)
Scottie Scheffler, 2024—2 (Arnold Palmer Invitational, Players Championship)
4) Tournaments with the most Champions who went on to win the Masters regardless of current status:
The Genesis—6
The American Express, Arnold Palmer Invitational—5 each
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, WM Phoenix Open, St. Petersburg Open—4 each
Doral Open, Wyndham, Farmers Insurance Open—3 each
Open Mediterranea, Dubai Desert Classic, Oakland Open, Pensacola Open, Zurich, The Sentry, The Players Championship—2 each
Pasadena Open, Tucson Open, Azalea Open, Baton Rouge Open, Lucky International Open, Sunshine Open, Tucson Open, BellSouth Classic, WGC Match Play, BMW, Heritage Classic, Valero Texas Open, Valspar Championship—1 each
5) Number of PGA Tour or European Wins Prior to Their First Masters Win
1934 Horton Smith 17 (1st Major of 2)
1935 Gene Sarazen 31 (7th Major of 7)
1937 Byron Nelson 2 (1st Major of 5)
1938 Henry Picard 15 (1st Major of 2)
1939 Ralph Guldahl 11 (1st Major of 3)
1940 Jimmy Demaret 6 (1st Major of 3)
1941 Craig Wood 17 (1st Major of 2)
1946 Herman Keiser 1 (1st Major of 1)
1948 Claude Harmon 0 (1st Major of 1)
1949 Sam Snead 44 (3rd Major of 7)
1951 Ben Hogan 54 (5th Major of 9)
1955 Cary Middlecoff 29 (2nd Major of 3)
1956 Jack Burke Jr 10 (1st Major of 2)
1957 Doug Ford 10 (2nd Major of 2)
1958 Arnold Palmer 8 (1st Major of 7)
1959 Art Wall Jr 8 (1st Major of 1)
1961 Gary Player 4 (2nd Major of 9)
1963 Jack Nicklaus 4 (2nd Major of 18)
1967 Gay Brewer 8 (1st Major of 1)
1968 Bob Goalby 7 (1st Major of 1)
1969 George Archer 6 (1st Major of 1)
1970 Billy Casper 44 (3rd Major of 3)
1971 Charles Coody 2 (1st Major of 1)
1973 Tommy Aaron 1 (1st Major of 1)
1976 Raymond Floyd 6 (2nd Major of 4)
1977 Tom Watson 5 (2nd Major of 8)
1979 Fuzzy Zoeller 1 (1st Major of 2)
1980 Seve Ballesteros 11, 9 on Euro Tour (2nd Major of 5)
1982 Craig Stadler 4 (1st Major of 1)
1984 Ben Crenshaw 9 (1st Major of 2)
1985 Bernhard Langer 11, all on Euro Tour (1st Major of 2)
1987 Larry Mize 1 (1st Major of 1)
1988 Sandy Lyle 17, 13 on Euro Tour (2nd Major of 2)
1990 Nick Faldo 16, 15 on Euro Tour (2nd Major of 6)
1991 Ian Woosnam 18, 17 on Euro Tour (1st Major of 1)
1992 Fred Couples 8 (1st Major of 1)
1994 Jose Maria Olazabal 16, 14 on Euro Tour (1st Major of 2)
1997 Tiger Woods 3 (1st Major of 15)
1998 Mark O’Meara 16, 2 on Euro Tour (1st Major of 2)
2000 Vijay Singh 15, 7 on Euro Tour (2nd Major of 3)
2003 Mike Weir 5 (1st Major of 1)
2004 Phil Mickelson 22 (1st Major of 6)
2007 Zach Johnson 1 (1st Major of 2)
2008 Trevor Immelman 4, 3 on Euro Tour (1st Major of 1)
2009 Angel Cabrera 4, 3 on Euro Tour (2nd Major of 2)
2011 Charl Schwartzel 6, all on Euro Tour (1st Major of 1)
2012 Bubba Watson 3 (1st Major of 2)
2013 Adam Scott 15, 7 on Euro Tour (1st Major of 1)
2015 Jordan Spieth 2 (1st Major of 3)
2016 Danny Willett 4, all on Euro Tour (1st Major of 1)
2017 Sergio Garcia 21, 12 on Euro Tour (1st Major of 1)
2018 Patrick Reed 5 (1st Major of 1)
2020 Dustin Johnson 24, 1 on Euro Tour (2nd Major of 2)
2021 Hideki Matsuyama 13, 8 in Japan (1st Major of 1)
2022 Scottie Scheffler 3 (1st Major of 2)
2023 Jon Rahm 18, 8 on Euro Tour (2nd Major of 2)
Mean 11.4
Median 8
Mode 4 (6 times)
6) Won a Major Before First Masters Win
1935 Gene Sarazen—6 (22, 32 USOpen/22, 23, 33 PGA/32 British)
1939 Ralph Guldahl—2 (37, 38 USOpen)
1949 Sam Snead—2 (42, PGA/46 British)
1951 Ben Hogan—4 (46, 48 PGA/48, 50/USOpen
1955 Cary Middlecoff—1 (49 USOpen)
1957 Doug Ford—1 (55 PGA)
1961 Gary Player—1 (59 British)
1963 Jack Nicklaus—1 (62 USOpen)
1970 Billy Caspar—2 (59, 66 USOpen)
1976 Raymond Floyd—1 (69 PGA)
1977 Tom Watson—1 (75 British)
1980 Seve Ballesteros—1 (79 British)
1988 Sandy Lyle—1 (85 British)
1989 Nick Faldo—1 (87 British)
2000 Vijay Singh—1 (98 PGA)
2009 Angel Cabrera—1 (07 USOpen)
2020 Dustin Johnson—1 (16 USOpen)
2023 Jon Rahm—1 (21 USOpen)
18 of 56 won majors before their first Masters win. Meaning 68% won their first Major at Augusta.
7) Number of Masters Starts in Each Win
Horton Smith—1st, 3rd (i.e. Smith won in his 1st and 3rd Masters)
Gene Sarazen—1st
Byron Nelson—3rd, 8th
Henry Picard—5th
Ralph Guldahl—3rd
Jimmy Demaret—2nd, 6th, 9th
Craig Wood—8th
Herman Keiser—2nd
Claude Harmon—3rd
Sam Snead—10th, 13th, 15th
Ben Hogan—10th, 12th
Cary Middlecoff—10th
Jack Burke Jr.—7th
Doug Ford—5th
Arnold Palmer—4th, 6th, 8th, 10th
Art Wall Jr.—4th
Gary Player—5th, 17th, 21st
Jack Nicklaus—5th, 7th, 8th, 14th, 17th, 28th
Gay Brewer—6th
Bob Goalby—9th
George Archer—3rd
Billy Casper—14th
Charles Coody—6th
Tommy Aaron—11th
Raymond Floyd—12th
Tom Watson—4th, 8th
Fuzzy Zoeller—1st
Seve Ballesteros—4th, 7th
Craig Stadler—6th
Ben Crenshaw—13th, 24th
Bernhard Langer—3rd, 11th
Larry Mize—4th
Sandy Lyle—7th
Nick Faldo—6th, 7th, 13th
Ian Woosnam—4th
Fred Couples—9th
Jose M Olazabal—8th, 12th
Tiger Woods—3rd, 7th, 8th, 11th, 22nd
Mark O’ Meara—15th
Vijay Singh—7th
Mike Weir—4th
Phil Mickelson—12th, 14th, 18th
Zach Johnson—3rd
Trevor Immelman—6th
Angel Cabrera—10th
Charl Schwartzel—2nd
Bubba Watson—4th, 6th
Adam Scott—12th
Jordan Spieth—2nd
Danny Willett—2nd
Sergio Garcia—19th
Patrick Reed—5th
Dustin Johnson—10th
Hideki Matsuyama—10th
Scottie Scheffler—3rd, 5th
Jon Rahm—7th
8) Wins by Number of Starts
3rd: 9X’s—Smith, Nelson, Guldahl, Harmon, Archer, Langer, Woods, Z Johnson, Scheffler
4th: 8X’s—Palmer, Wall, T Watson, Ballesteros, Mize, Woosnam, Weir, B Watson
6th: 8X’s—Demaret, Palmer, Brewer, Coody, Stadler, Faldo, Immelman, B Watson
7th: 8X’s—Burke Jr., Nicklaus, Ballesteros, Lyle, Faldo, Woods, Singh, Rahm
8th: 7X’s—Nelson, Wood, Palmer, Nicklaus, T Watson, Olazabal, Woods
10th: 7X’s—Snead, Hogan, Middlecoff, Palmer, Cabrera, DJohnson, Matsuyama
5th: 6X’s—Picard, Ford, Player, Nicklaus, Reed, Scheffler
2nd: 5X’s—Demaret, Keiser, Schwartzel, Spieth, Willett
12th: 5X’s—Hogan, Floyd, Olazabal, Mickelson, Scott
1st: 3X’s—Smith, Sarazen, Zoeller
9th: 3X’s—Demaret, Goalby, Couples
11th: 3X’s—Aaron, Langer, Woods
13th: 3X’s—Snead, Crenshaw, Faldo
14th: 3X’s—Nicklaus, Casper, Mickelson
15th:2X’s—Snead, O’Meara
17th: 1X—Player
18th: 1X—Mickelson
19th: 1X—Garcia
21st: 1X—Player
22nd: 1X—Woods
24th: 1X—Crenshaw
28th: 1X—Nicklaus
Mean Starts: 8.3
Median Starts: 7
Mode Starts: 3 (9 times)
*No player has won in their 16th, 20th, 23rd, 25th, 26th, 27th, or greater than 29 starts
9) Number of Starts for 56 1st Time Winners
1934 Horton Smith—1st
1935 Gene Sarazen—1st
1937 Byron Nelson—3rd
1938 Henry Picard—5th
1939 Ralph Guldahl—3rd
1940 Jimmy Demaret—2nd
1941 Craig Wood—8th
1946 Herman Keiser—2nd
1948 Claude Harmon—3rd
1949 Sam Snead—10th
1951 Ben Hogan—10th
1955 Cary Middlecoff—10th
1956 Jack Burke Jr.—7th
1957 Doug Ford—5th
1958 Arnold Palmer—4th
1959 Art Wall Jr.—4th
1961 Gary Player—5th
1963 Jack Nicklaus—5th
1967 Gay Brewer—6th
1968 Bob Goalby—9th
1969 George Archer—3rd
1970 Billy Casper—14th
1971 Charles Coody—6th
1973 Tommy Aaron—11th
1976 Raymond Floyd—12th
1977 Tom Watson—4th
1979 Fuzzy Zoeller—1st
1980 Seve Ballesteros—4th
1982 Craig Stadler—6th
1984 Ben Crenshaw—13th
1985 Bernhard Langer—3rd
1987 Larry Mize—4th
1988 Sandy Lyle—7th
1989 Nick Faldo—6th
1991 Ian Woosnam—4th
1992 Fred Couples—9th
1994 Jose Maria Olazabal—8th
1997 Tiger Woods—3rd
1998 Mark O’Meara—15th
2000 Vijay Singh—7th
2003 Mike Weir—4th
2004 Phil Mickelson—12th
2007 Zach Johnson—3rd
2008 Trevor Immelman—5th
2009 Angel Cabrera—10th
2011 Charl Schwartzel—2nd
2012 Bubba Watson—4th
2013 Adam Scott—12th
2015 Jordan Spieth—2nd
2016 Danny Willett—2nd
2017 Sergio Garcia—19th
2018 Patrick Reed—5th
2020 Dustin Johnson—10th
2021 Hideki Matsuyama—10th
2022 Scottie Scheffler—3rd
2023 Jon Rahm—7th
10) Wins by Number of Starts for First Time Winners Only
3rd: 8X’s—Nelson, Guldahl, Harmon, Archer, Langer, Woods, Z Johnson, Scheffler (i.e all won for the first time in their 3rd start)
4th: 8X’s—Palmer, Wall Jr., T Watson, Ballesteros, Mize, Woosnam, Weir, B Watson
5th: 6X’s—Picard, Ford, Player, Nicklaus, Immelman, Reed
10th: 6X’s—Snead, Hogan, Middlecoff, Cabrera, D Johnson, Matsuyama
2nd: 5X’s—Demaret, Keiser, Schwartzel, Spieth, Willett
6th: 4X’s—Brewer, Coody, Stadler, Faldo
7th: 4X’s—Burke Jr., Lyle, Singh, Rahm
1st: 3X’s—Smith, Sarazen, Zoeller
12th: 3X’s—Floyd, Mickelson, Scott
8th: 2X’s—Wood, Olazabal
9th: 2X’s—Goalby, Couples
11th: 1X—Aaron
13th: 1X—Crenshaw
14th: 1X—Casper
15th: 1X—O’Meara
19th: 1X—Garcia
Mean: 6.3
Median: 5
Mode: 3 and 4 (8 each)
*No player won their first Masters in the 16th, 17th, 18th or 20th and beyond start
11) Masters Winners by Age and D.O.B
Age 21
1—Tiger Woods Dec 30
Age 22
1—Jordan Spieth Jul 27
Age 23
2—Jack Nicklaus Jan 21, Seve Ballesteros Apr 9
Age 25
6—Horton Smith May 22, Byron Nelson Feb 4, Gary Player Nov 1, Jack Nicklaus Jan 21, Tiger Woods Dec 30, Scottie Scheffler Jun 21,
Age 26
4—Jack Nicklaus Jan 21, Seve Ballesteros Apr 9, Tiger Woods Dec 30, Charl Schwartzel Aug 31
Age 27
7—Horton Smith May 22, Ralph Guldahl Nov 22, Tom Watson Sep 4, Fuzzy Zoeller Nov 11, Bernhard Langer Aug 27, Patrick Reed Aug 5, Scottie Scheffler Jun 21
Age 28
7—Arnold Palmer Sep10, Craig Stadler Jun 2, Larry Mize Sep23, Jose M Olazabal Feb 5, Trevor Immelmann Dec 16, Danny Willett Oct 3, Jon Rahm Nov 10
Age 29
4—Jimmy Demaret May 24, George Archer Oct 1, Tiger Woods Dec 30, Hideki Matsuyama Feb 25
Age 30
3— Byron Nelson Feb 4, Arnold Palmer Sep 10, Sandy Lyle Feb 9
Age 31
6—Henry Picard Nov 28, Herman Keiser Oct 7, Claude Harmon Jul 14, Tom Watson Sep 4, Nick Faldo Jul 18, Zach Johnson Feb 24
Age 32
7—Arnold Palmer Sep 10, Jack Nicklaus Jan 21, Ben Crenshaw Jan 11, Nick Faldo Jul 18, Fred Couples Oct 3, Mike Weir May 12, Adam Scott Jul 16
Age 33
9—Gene Sarazen Feb 27, Jimmy Demaret May 24, Jack Burke Jr. Jan 29, Charles Coody Jul 13, Raymond Floyd Sep 4, Ian Woosnam Mar 2, Jose M Olazabal Feb 5, Phil Mickelson Jun 16, Bubba Watson Nov 5
Age 34
3—Cary Middlecoff Jan 6, Doug Ford May 14, Arnold Palmer Sep 10
Age 35
6—Art Wall Jr. Nov 25, Gay Brewer Mar 19, Jack Nicklaus Jan 21, Bernhard Langer Aug 27, Phil Mickelson Jun 16, Bubba Watson Nov 5
Age 36
4—Jimmy Demaret May 24, Sam Snead May 27, Tommy Aaron Feb 22, Dustin Johnson Jun 22
Age 37
2—Vijay Singh Feb 22, Sergio Garcia Jan 9
Age 38
4—Ben Hogan Aug13, Billy Casper Jun 24, Gary Player Nov 1, Nick Faldo Jul 18
Age 39
5—Craig Wood Nov 18, Sam Snead May 27, Bob Goalby Mar 14, Angel Cabrera Sep 12, Phil Mickelson Jun 16
Age 40
1—Ben Hogan Aug 13
Age 41
2—Sam Snead May 27, Mark O’Meara Jan 13
Age 42
1—Gary Player Nov 1
Age 43
2—Ben Crenshaw Jan 11, Tiger Woods Dec 30
Age 46
1—Jack Nicklaus Jan 21
12) Most Wins By Age in Descending Order
Age 33: 9X
Age 27: 7X
Age 28: 7X
Age 32: 7X
Age 25: 6X
Age 31: 6X
Age 35: 6X
Age 39: 5X
Age 26: 4X
Age 29: 4X
Age 36: 4X
Age 38: 4X
Age 30: 3X
Age 34: 3X
Age 23: 2X
Age 37: 2X
Age 41: 2X
Age 43: 2X
Age 21: 1X
Age 22: 1X
Age 40: 1X
Age 42: 1X
Age 46: 1X
Mean: 31.97
Median: 32
Mode: 33, 9 times
*No Masters winner has been age 24, 44, 45, 47 and older
13) Masters Winners by Birth Month
1) Jan 12 times—Nicklaus (6), Crenshaw (2), Middlecoff, Burke Jr., O’Meara, Garcia (6 different January winners)
2) Nov 11 times—Player (3), B Watson (2), Picard, Guldahl, Wood, Wall Jr., Zoeller, Rahm (8 different November winners)
T3) Feb 10 times—Nelson (2), Olazabal (2), Sarazen, Aaron, Lyle, Singh, Z Johnson, Matsuyama (8 different February winners)
T3) May 10 times—Demaret (3), Snead (3), Smith (2), Ford, Weir (5 different May winners)
5) Sep 9 times—Palmer (4), T Watson (2), Floyd, Mize, Cabrera (5 different September winners)
6) Jun 8 times—Mickelson (3), Scheffler (2), Casper, Stadler, D Johnson (5 different June winners)
7) Jul 7 times—Faldo (3), Harmon, Coody, Scott, Spieth (5 different July winners)
T8) Aug 6 times—Hogan (2), Langer (2), Schwartzel, Reed (4 different August winners)
T8) Dec 6 times—Woods (5), Immelman (2 different December winners)
10) Oct 4 times—Keiser, Archer, Couples, Willett (4 different October winners)
11) Mar 3 times—Brewer, Goalby, Woosnam (3 different March winners)
12) Apr 2 times—Ballesteros (2) (1 April winner)
14) Masters Winners After Being Runner Up Year Before
Ralph Guldahl 38/39
Byron Nelson 41/42
Arnold Palmer 61/62
Jack Nicklaus 64/65
Gay Brewer 66/67
Jack Nicklaus 71/72
Ben Crenshaw 83/84
Jordan Spieth 14/15
Dustin Johnson 19/20
*Only 9 of 88, almost exactly 10%, so low correlation. FWIW, last years runner up was Ludvig Aberg, an at the time Masters rookie…
15) Masters Winners Birth States/Country or Where They Spent the Majority of Their Youth That I Will Make a Reasonable Assumption On If Unclear
Horton Smith—Springfield, Missouri
Gene Sarazen—Harrison, New York
Byron Nelson—Fort Worth, Texas
Henry Picard—Plymouth, Massachusetts
Ralph Guldahl—Dallas, Texas
Jimmy Demaret—Houston, Texas
Craig Wood—Lake Placid, New York
Herman Keiser—Springfield, Missouri
Claude Harmon—Orlando, Florida
Sam Snead—Hot Springs, Virginia
Ben Hogan—Fort Worth, Texas
Cary Middlecoff—Memphis, Tennessee
Jack Burke Jr.—Houston, Texas
Doug Ford—West Haven, Connecticut
Arnold Palmer—Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Art Wall Jr.—Honesdale, Pennsylvania
Gary Player—South Africa
Jack Nicklaus—Columbus, Ohio
Gay Brewer—Lexington, Kentucky
Bob Goalby—Belleville, Illinois
George Archer—San Mateo, California
Billy Casper—San Diego, California
Charles Coody—Abilene, Texas
Tommy Aaron—Gainesville, Georgia
Raymond Floyd—Fayetteville, North Carolina
Tom Watson—Kansas City, Missouri
Fuzzy Zoeller—New Albany, Indiana
Seve Ballesteros—Spain
Craig Stadler—San Diego, California
Ben Crenshaw—Austin, Texas
Bernhard Langer—Germany
Larry Mize—Augusta, Georgia
Sandy Lyle—Scotland
Nick Faldo—England
Ian Woosnam—Wales
Fred Couples—Seattle, Washington
Jose Maria Olazabal—Spain
Tiger Woods—Anaheim, California
Mark O’Meara—Mission Viejo, California
Vijay Singh—Fiji
Mike Weir—Canada
Phil Mickelson—San Diego, California
Zach Johnson—Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Trevor Immelman—South Africa
Angel Cabrera—Argentina
Charl Schwartzel—South Africa
Bubba Watson—Pensacola, Florida
Adam Scott—Australia
Jordan Spieth—Dallas, Texas
Danny Willett—England
Sergio Garcia—Spain
Patrick Reed—Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Reed is tricky and could be credited to Texas)
Dustin Johnson—Columbia, South Carolina
Hideki Matsuyama—Japan
Scottie Scheffler—Dallas, Texas
Jon Rahm—Spain
56 Winners
16) Wins by State in Descending Order
Texas—15 wins, 9 different winners
Demaret (3), Nelson (2), Hogan (2), Crenshaw (2), Scheffler (2), Guldahl, Burke Jr., Coody, Spieth
California—12 wins, 6 different winners
Woods (5), Mickelson (3), Archer, Casper, Stadler, O’Meara
Missouri—5 wins, 3 different winners
Smith (2), T Watson (2), Keiser
Pennsylvania—5 wins, 2 different winners
Palmer (4), Wall Jr.
Florida—3 wins, 2 different winners
B Watson (2), Harmon
New York—2 wins, 2 different winners
Sarazen, Wood
Georgia—2 wins, 2 different winners
Aaron, Mize
Ohio—6 wins, 1 winner
Nicklaus (6)
Virginia—3 wins, 1 winner
Snead (3)
Massachusetts—1 win, 1 winner
Picard
Tennessee—1 win, 1 winner
Middlecoff
Connecticut—1 win, 1 winner
Ford
Kentucky—1 win, 1 winner
Brewer
Illinois—1 win, 1 winner
Goalby
North Carolina—1 win, 1 winner
Floyd
Indiana—1 win, 1 winner
Zoeller
Washington—1 win, 1 winner
Couples
Iowa—1 win, 1 winner
Z Johnson
Louisiana—1 win, 1 winner
Reed
South Carolina—1 win, 1 winner
D Johnson
17) Masters Winners by Country in Descending Order
United States of America—64 wins, 39 different winners
Nicklaus (6), Woods (5), Palmer (4), Demaret (3), Snead (3), Mickelson (3), Smith (2), Nelson (2), Hogan (2), T Watson (2), Crenshaw (2), B Watson (2), Scheffler (2), Guldahl, Burke Jr., Coody, Spieth, Archer, Casper, Stadler, O’Meara, Keiser, Wall Jr., Harmon, Sarazen, Wood, Aaron, Mize, Picard, Middlecoff, Ford, Brewer, Goalby, Floyd, Zoeller, Couples, Z Johnson, Reed, D Johnson
Spain—6 wins, 4 different winners
Ballesteros (2), Olazabal (2), Garcia, Rahm
South Africa—5 wins, 3 different winners
Player (3), Immelman, Schwartzel
England—4 wins, 2 different winners
Faldo (3), Willett
Germany—2 wins, 1 winner
Langer (2)
Scotland—1 win, 1 winner
Lyle
Wales—1 win, 1 winner
Woosnam
Fiji—1 win, 1 winner
Singh
Canada—1 win, 1 winner
Weir
Argentina—1 win, 1 winner
Cabrera
Australia—1 win, 1 winner
Scott
Japan—1 win, 1 winner
Matsuyama
18) Your Average Masters Winner Has These Attributes
A) Not an Amateur (never happened)
B) Extremely unlikely to be a rookie (only 3 out of 88 winners and not since 1979)
C) American (73% of winners),
D) From Texas or California (27 out of 88 wins, 31%!)
E) A first time Major and Masters winner (60% of winners were first time major winners)
F) 31-33 years old
G) Born in January, February, or November (April is a particularly bad month)
H) Making their 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 6th Masters start if a first time winner. If including all winners that number jumps just slightly to 7 or 8 starts with 3 being the most common number.
I) Has won on the PGA Tour or Europe between 4 and 11 times
J) Whether the player wins or not in the Winter or Spring is close to irrelevant—basically 50-50 chance
K) However if a player wins twice or more there is a decent correlation, ~20% did
L) The winner will not come from those making their 16th, 20th, 23rd, 25th, 26th, 27th, or greater than 29th start
M) If a first time winner they will not come from those making their 16th, 17th, 18th, or 20th and beyond start
N) The winner will not be aged 24, 44, 45, 47 and older
O) Prior year runner up has won 10% of the time
P) 30 U.S. states have never had a winner (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming) nor virtually the entire rest of the globe other than the United Kingdom (minus Northern Ireland, ahem), Spain, South Africa, Germany, Fiji, Canada, Argentina, Australia, and Japan
Who is the winner?
Tune in Tuesday where we’ll do a little process of elimination game.