18 Masters facts you probably missed
Augusta National wears tradition like a second skin, but up close the place is full of tiny surprises. These are the details that make the Masters feel like its own world. Keep them in your back pocket for a watch party or just to enjoy the weird, wonderful history of one of golf’s great stages.
1. Jack Nicklaus holds the most Masters wins with six, and he also shares the record for most runner-up finishes, four. Ben Hogan and Tom Weiskopf matched that number of near-misses.
2. The first Masters took place in 1934, but it was not called the Masters. The tournament started life as the Augusta National Invitation Tournament.
3. In 1997 Tiger Woods opened with a 40 on the front nine then shot 30 on the back. On the par-5 15th he hit driver to wedge and stuck his approach to six feet for eagle. The performance accelerated conversations about making the course more difficult for him.
4. That year Woods played the back nine 16 under for the tournament, one of 27 Masters records he set or tied in 1997.
5. The 13th hole produced 20 eagles in 2015, the most ever on a single hole in one Masters week.
6. There have been four double eagles in Masters history, one on each par 5. Gene Sarazen started the trend in 1935 with a 4-wood from 235 yards on the 15th. The latest was Louis Oosthuizen in 2012, a 4-iron from 253 yards on the 2nd.
7. After Oosthuizen’s double eagle he tossed the ball into the gallery. Wayne Mitchell of Pennsylvania caught it and later gave it to the club at the request of then-chairman Billy Payne. Mitchell was reportedly rewarded with two lifetime badges and a round at Augusta.
8. Anthony Kim holds the record for most birdies in a single round, 11, which he carded on a Friday in 2009. He paired those birdies with two bogeys and a double for a seven-under 65.
9. Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts bought the original 365-acre property for $70,000 in 1931. By contrast, in 2025 Shane Lowry earned $77,700 for finishing tied for 42nd.
10. The highest score recorded on a single hole at the Masters is 13. Tommy Nakajima reached that mark in 1978, Tom Weiskopf did in 1980, and Sergio Garcia did it in 2018.
11. The winner’s green jacket was not always part of the prize. That tradition began in 1949, the year Sam Snead received his first of three Masters titles and the first jacket.
12. The reigning champion’s dinner for past champions started in 1952 at Ben Hogan’s suggestion. The main course at that first dinner was steak.
13. The single-round scoring record at the Masters is 63, shared by Greg Norman and Nick Price. Fun detail, that number is two more than the original number of magnolias lining Magnolia Lane.
14. Magnolia Lane, the famous drive to the clubhouse, measures 330 yards. That is 20 yards shorter than the par-4 3rd hole.
15. The ceremonial opening tee shots became formal in 1963 when Jock Hutchinson and Fred McLeod hit the first official balls. There was an earlier, informal moment in 1941 when Francis Ouimet, at Bobby Jones’s request, served as an unofficial honorary starter. That was Ouimet’s only appearance at the Masters.
16. Jordan Spieth holds the record for most birdies in a single Masters with 28. Jack Nicklaus has the most career birdies at Augusta with 506.
17. In 2005 a 74-year-old Billy Casper recorded a 106 in the opening round but did not turn in his card and withdrew before round two. Because he never officially posted the score, the 106 and the 14 he scored on the par-3 16th are not part of the record book.
18. The Masters we recognize today did not open with today’s front nine. In 1934 the back nine played first, so what is now the 10th hole was the opening hole. The nines were swapped the following year.
Small moments, big history. Augusta keeps a lot of stories tucked into its fairways. Some are proud and polished. Some are strange and human. All of them add up to why this tournament feels unlike any other week on the calendar.