A rich history
Augusta National Golf Club was co-founded by the great amateur Bobby Jones, together with a Wall Street banker named Clifford Roberts. Jones had the vision, working alongside British course architect Dr Alister Mackenzie to turn 365 acres of an old indigo plantation into what would become the world’s most famous golf course.
It was Jones’ fame that facilitated the early invitational tournaments at Augusta. When he sent out invites to America’s best, they responded. The first of these competitions, held in 1934, was called the Augusta National Invitation Tournament. It wasn’t until 1939 that the events were referred to as The Masters.
Home players dominated the tournament through its first quarter century. Sam Snead won three times and Ben Hogan twice. South Africa’s Gary Player was the first non-american winner when he triumphed in 1961. The ‘Black Knight’ took two more titles. Despite Player’s efforts, golfers from the USA continued to rule the roost though the ’60s and ’70s, with Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer leading the charge. Swashbuckling Spaniard Seve Ballesteros was the first European to don a Green Jacket when he claimed victory in 1980, ushering in a new, international era with Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle, Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam and Jose Maria Olazabal following his lead.
Since 1990, players from 11 different nations have won, but home players continue to be the most prolific. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have won five and three Masters respectively and Bubba Watson has picked up a couple. The last five years have seen a long-awaited Major win for Sergio Garcia in 2017, a narrow victory for Patrick Reed in 2018, a history-making triumph for Tiger in 2019 and a dominant display from Dustin Johnson in 2020.
Last year, more history was made when Hideki Matsuyama became the first Japanese Major winner. It was a proud moment for the tournament. In 2009, The Masters co-established the Asia-pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) to help grow the game. The winner of the AAC earns an invitation to The Masters. Matsuyama was AAC champion in 2010 and finished low amateur at Augusta in 2011. Ten years later he was Masters champion.