Notable anniversaries at this year's Masters
AUGUSTA, GA. >> With the 89th Masters beginning on Thursday, here's a capsule look at some of the anniversaries this year at the Masters:
75 years ago (1949)
Sam Snead not only won the first of his three Masters, he won the first green jacket ever presented to a Masters champion. The previous champions were then awarded green jack- ets retroactively. Getting that jacket was no small feat. Snead went into the final round trailing Johnny Palmer by one shot, and he quickly seized control with three birdies on the opening four holes. Palmer took double bogey on the 12th hole, where Snead made birdie. And then the challenge came from Lloyd Mangrum. Snead regained the lead with birdies on the par 5s, Nos. 13 and 15, closed with a 5-under 67 and wound up winning by three.
The AP story: “Sammy Snead, the golfer who supposedly couldn't putt and couldn't win the big tournaments, did both superbly to capture the 13th Masters Championship with a 72-hole total of 282. The White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., slammer used a new putter and a new putting stroke to score his second straight 67 over the difficult 6,900-yard Augusta National course. He finished three strokes ahead of his nearest rivals.”
50 years ago (1974)
One year after he had to miss the Masters with leg and stomach surgery, Gary Player won the second of his three Masters. It was his seventh major, sealed with a 9-iron he hit to tapin range for birdie on the 17th hole. He closed with a 2-under 70 for a two-shot victory over Dave Stockton and Tom Weiskopf. Jack Nicklaus finished another stroke back. Weiskopf was tied for the lead until a bogey on the par-3 16th. It was the third of his record four runner-up finishes.
The AP story: Gary Player, the diminutive Black Knight from South Africa, was threatened by Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf, Dave Stockton and Hale Irwin before he finally claimed the famed green jacket with a 278 total — 10-under par on the 7,020 yards of rolling hills, forests and streams that make up the Augusta National Golf Club course.
20 years ago (2004)
Phil Mickelson was 0 for 42 in the majors as a professional when he finally broke through with one of the great closing stretches in the Masters. He was locked in a battle with Ernie Els when Mickelson made five birdies over the final seven holes. Els had already finished and was tied with Mickelson when Lefty holed an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 3-under 69 and a one-shot victory over Els, who shot 67.
The AP story: “Phil Mickelson in a green jacket. Even he had a hard time believing it. The final leg in his odyssey to win a major championship came down to an 18-foot putt Sunday, the kind Mickelson had grown weary of watching others make as he stood to the side. This time, the last chance belonged to him, a birdie putt that kept him in suspense to the very end. It rolled toward the cup, swirled around the left edge and dropped in.”