Top 5 Most Impressive Tournament Records at The Masters

by Brent Kelley
Brent Kelley is an award-winning sports journalist and golf expert with over 30 years in print and online journalism.
Updated May 24, 2019

There are a lot of impressive feats among The Masters tournament records. Hey, all of them are impressive - that's why we make note of records! But which tournament records at The Masters stand out the most? Here are our choices for the Top 5 most impressive Masters records:

01
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Arnold Palmer's 50 Consecutive Years Played

Arnold Palmer waves to the crowd during the second round of the Masters at the Augusta National Golf Club on April 9, 2004
Arnold Palmer said farewell at the 2004 Masters after 50 consecutive appearances. David Cannon/Getty Images
02
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Jack Nicklaus' 12 Top 3 Finishes

Jack Nicklaus raises his putter as a birdie putt drops in the final round at the 1986 Masters
Jack Nicklaus raises his putter as a birdie putt drops on the 17th hole of the final round at the 1986 Masters. David Cannon / Getty Images
does
  • Nicklaus won six times, a record;
  • He finished second four times, a record he shares;
  • And he added a pair of third-place finishes for good measure.
03
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Tiger Woods' 12-Stroke Winning Margin

Tiger Woods 1997 Masters
Stephen Munday / Getty Images

When Woods set the record mentioned above as youngest champion, he did so with another record-shattering performance: He won by 12 strokes. It was the most dominating performance in tournament history, and it happened at the 1997 Masters.

Woods bettered the previous record (9-stroke win by Nicklaus in 1965) by three shots. He did so with rounds of 70-66-65-69 to shoot 270 (also a tournament record).

What makes Woods' winning margin more remarkable is the fact that he shot 40 over his first nine holes of the tournament. At that point, it seemed more likely Tiger would miss the cut than win the tournament, much less run away with it.

04
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Jack Burke Jr.'s 8-Stroke Comeback Win

When the day was over, Burke had the victory and the biggest come-from-behind win in Masters history.

05
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(Tie) Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, Oldest and Youngest Champions

Jack Nicklaus became the oldest winner of The Masters when he won the 1986 tournament at age 46 years 2 months 23 days. And in 1997, Tiger Woods became the youngest champion when he won at age 21 years, 3 months 14 days.

Woods was nearly two years younger than the man whose record he broke, Seve Ballesteros (who himself had broken Nicklaus' record). Woods was the only golfer younger than 23 to win The Masters until 21-year-old Jordan Spieth made that list two long in 2015 (Spieth was about six months older than Tiger was in 1997).

Nicklaus was four years older than the man whose record he broke, Gary Player. He hadn't won in two years, it was six years since his last major victory and 11 years since his last Masters win. And it was the sixth Masters championship for Nicklaus.