50th Anniversary of Player's Masters Win

Gary Player at Augusta 2010

By the time the 1960s came around, Augusta National had been the exclusive preserve of Americans as they won every Masters title from the tournament’s inception in 1934.

But there was a man who had a sense of destiny, as well as the game to back up his belief, who was rapidly becoming a dominant force in an era of some of the greatest players the game has ever known.

Gary Player had finished in the top 10 in the 1959 and 1960 Masters, and he was the 1959 Open champion – so he had the pedigree.

But there was a hurdle that not many people expected him to be able to overcome: “Arnold Palmer was the defending champion and everyone expected the Masters to be a two-horse race between Arnie and myself,” he recalls.

Player had also made a move which was to begin his astonishingly cosmopolitan career: “I had decided to dedicate my time to playing full-time in the US and, by the time the 61 Masters came along I had already won two tournaments and was leading money-winner that year,” he said.

Player had started superbly: His opening three-under-par 69 was followed with a 68 and a second 69, leaving him 10-under for the tournament and with a three-stroke lead going into the final round.

“Going into the final round I was four clear of Arnie and after nine, I had made two birdies and parred the rest,” he remembers.

Palmer also remembers that final round well: “Gary was sailing along with the lead until he took a double-bogey at the 13th hole and a bogey at the 15th,” he told Cybergolf.com.

That double-bogey came right at the climax of ‘Amen Corner’, a group of holes that had been given its nickname after Palmer’s first Masters victory in 1958.

“At the famous par-five 13th, disaster struck,” recalls Player “I pushed my tee shot into the trees on the right and then my lay-up recovery was too strong and my ball found notorious Rae’s Creek. A penalty stroke and a three-putt left me with a gut-wrenching seven, while Arnold made a birdie four. Now he was one ahead, which is how it remained until the last.”

Palmer takes up the story: “He was a shot behind me and I was just playing the 15th. I ground out three pars and hit a good tee shot on the 18th.

“However, I allowed myself to be distracted before hitting my approach and pushed my seven-iron shot into the right bunker. Where Gary had gotten up and down from that same trap an hour or so earlier, I hit a poor sand shot that went over the green and down the slope on the other side.

“A pitch and two putts later, I had lost my chance to be the first back-to-back winner of the Masters and Gary had his first of three victories at Augusta,” he says.

For Player, the 18th was a completely different kettle of fish: “I found the bunker on the right of the green with my approach, but played one of the best bunker shots of my life and managed to salvage par,” he recalls.

“I had become the first non-American to win the Masters – what a proud moment!” he adds.

“I have always considered that one of the most crushing defeats of my career,” remembers Palmer.

For Player, there was going to be some of his own medicine in 1962: “I found out exactly how Arnie felt the following year when I took a lead into the final three holes and found myself relinquishing it to Arnie by the end,” he says.

That Masters victory heralded an era of dominance by Player, Palmer and the still-amateur Jack Nicklaus.

It will be acknowledged as Player hits the ceremonial opening tee shot in the 2011 Masters on April 7 at Augusta National.

Ian Woosnam's Toughest Masters in 1991

Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam in 1991

As a boxer in his younger days Ian Woosnam was accustomed to a good scrap but the 1991 Masters Tournament would have to rank as one of the Welshman’s toughest fights.

Not only did Woosnam have to battle the famed intricacies of Augusta National, one of the world’s most unforgiving courses, and Tom Watson, one of the finest exponents of the game and a two time former Masters winner, he also had to contend with a partisan crowd.

Seemingly the odds were stacked heavily against the farmer’s son from the small town of Oswestry on Welsh/English border.

Yet if ever the phrase ‘it’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog’ applied, it was for Woosnam, who at 5ft 4½ inches tall is used to overcoming a size disadvantage on the golf course.

That was certainly the case 20 years ago. Having assumed the mantle of World Number One on the Monday of the 1991 Masters Tournament following his victory in the USF&G Classic in New Orleans a fortnight previously, Woosnam’s ebullient confidence was soon moderated by an opening round 72 in which he struggled to adapt to Augusta’s challenging greens.

With his tee-to-green game working a dream, Woosnam took drastic action which turned around his bid to become the fourth consecutive European to wear the Green Jacket, following Sandy Lyle in 1988 and Sir Nick Faldo in 1989 and 1990.

“I changed my putter after the first round,” he recalled. “I went from a Ping to a Tad Moore which although I felt I wasn’t putting any better from three to four feet, it was significant in my confidence on the greens in Augusta. It seemed to do the trick.”

Rounds of 66 and 67 followed as the Welshman propelled himself into contention and a final round clash with Watson and Spaniard José Maria Olazábal, who would go on to win the Green Jacket three years later and again in 1998.

If Woosnam had been prepared for the battle of a lifetime, what he had not expected was the crowd’s reaction.

“I played the last two days with Tom – one of my heroes in golf!” recalled Woosnam. “I feel playing with Tom gave me a boost because he played a similar kind of game to me. He’s the sort of guy that’ll tell you you’ve hit a good shot, when you have. 

“I had some complications in the last round around the 13 and 14 with someone yelling out, ‘This is not a links course, this is Amen Corner’. 

“What they didn’t realise was that the comment made me more determined and after that, Tom said he used to get that sort of thing when he played against Jack Nicklaus. “Don’t worry about it”, he told me. Basically, that was nice of him to say that.” 

The ‘complication’ had occurred when Woosnam hooked a drive into Rae’s Crek at the long 13th hole, a mistake that was greeted by cheers from small sections of the galleries much to his consternation. 

“That was bad,” he said. “I was very disappointed after having to wait 20 minutes on the tee, then hitting it in the creek and the crowd started yelling. 

“At that point, I thought it had come back onto the fairway. Obviously, it’d gone in the creek and it felt like the crowd was against me. The big man against the little man! It felt I was back in the boxing ring!”

By the time they got to the 18th tee, Woosnam and Watson were tied on 11-under, with Olazábal in the clubhouse on the same score after a five on the last.

With his adrenalin pumping Woosnam let fly, driving the ball way past Sandy Lyle’s bunker on the left hand side.

“Tom hit into the trees on the right and for me at the time, the best option was to try to go over the bunkers into a place which was safe, which is what I did. 

“In the end Tom took six, I came up short of the green in two and I was going to chip my third shot. I was a little nervous and decided to putt. It went to eight foot and I was lucky enough to have a putt which was right to left, with suited my eye being a right hander. 

“My caddie, Wobbly, agreed with me - one ball outside the right - and the rest is history. It was every young golfers dream.

“I was lucky enough to have a feeling that, if I missed the putt, there would be a play-off anyway, which made it a little easier. Receiving that Green Jacket from Nick Faldo was a great feeling.”

As Woosnam returns to Augusta National to mark the 20th anniversary of his victory this week, it may be more a case of a trip down Memory Lane than Magnolia Lane.

Augusta Fulfilled Lyle's Boyhood Dream

Sandy Lyle Augusta 1988 

There have been countless iconic moments at Augusta National over the years but for sheer drama and emotion, few can match Sandy Lyle’s finish to win the 1988 Masters Tournament.

Lyle makes his 30th visit to Augusta next week – the most of and European player – but for the Scot, one appearance, and one shot in particular, stands apart from them all.

The date was Sunday, April 10, 1988 and the gaze of the golfing was firmly fixed on Georgia, where Lyle was attempting to become the first Briton to win the Green Jacket.

Having captured The Claret Jug at Royal St Georges three years previously, Lyle once more found himself in Major Championship contention when he reached Amen Corner with a two-stroke lead.

However his seemingly solid challenge began to unravel with a bogey on the 11th which preceded a watery grave and subsequent double bogey on the 12th, meaning Lyle stood on the 15th tee one shot behind American Mark Calcavecchia.

After holing a reinvigorating 15ft birdie putt on the 16th to negate that deficit and making par on the 17th, he walked to the 18th knowing that a three would more than likely secure the coveted Green Jacket.

Lyle intended to lay-up short of the two left-hand fairway bunkers but with the adrenalin pumping he carried his one iron tee shot straight into the sand.

With playing partner Ben Crenshaw already struggling on Augusta National’s iconic closing hole, Lyle’s mental resolve came under severe scrutiny but a favourable lie gave him the conviction to play what would become the greatest shot of his career.

With 146 yards to the pin, Lyle knew a seven iron was the ideal club. Keeping his balance, he produced the near-perfect stroke, jumping from the bunker to see the outcome as growing cheers from the crowd greeted the balls pitch on the green 30feet past the flag, followed by a languid descent downhill coming to rest 10ft from the hole. 

From there, Lyle rolled in the clinching birdie and broke into a joyous dance which has become almost as memorable as the remarkable bunker shot that preceded it. 

In the pantheon of great golf shots, Lyle’s seven iron is right up there and 23 years on, his memory of that decisive finale remains as crisp as the Augusta greens. 

“The way I won the tournament from out the bunker has been replayed and replayed and is etched in many people’s minds,” said Lyle.

“It’s one of the great bunker shots. There’s hardly a week goes by that I’m not reminded about. Each week I play in Pro-Ams and the guys will say “oh yeah, I remember that five iron from the bunker”. And I’ll say, well seven iron actually, but they still remember that bunker shot.

“It has stayed in a lot of people’s memories. I’m still the only person to make a birdie from the bunker on the 18th – there has been a few birdies on the 18th to win the Masters since I’ve done it, O’Meara and Mickelson, but not from the bunker. So it was something a little different.

“I’m always reminded about the Masters and that’s great. That just shows the importance of the tournament. You can win all around the world but the Masters really counts.

“Winning the Masters was a schoolboy dream and I achieved it.”

Lyle’s victory heralded a four year long British domination of the Masters Tournament, with Sir Nick Faldo capturing the Green Jacket in 1989 and 1990 and Ian Woosnam succeeding him in 1991.

The 18 time European Tour champion was arguably at the peak of his powers when he blazed that particular trail. Having secured his first tournament victory anywhere since 1992 in the recent ISPS Handa Senior Masters presented by Mission Hills China on the European Senior Tour, Lyle is looking forward to his 30th Augusta visit – and 23rd as a former Champion – as well as another opportunity to be at close – but hopefully not too close – proximity to the bunker he has become inextricably linked with.

“I’ve had a couple of weeks to practice and maximise my distance in the air as there is no run on the fairway it is usually all carry,” said the 53 year old. “I’ve been continuing to the work on the short game that worked so well in China. I’ve also been trying to keep fit and work on the legs as it’s quite a long course. You know you’ve walked 18 holes when you play at Augusta!”

Green Jacket Memories for Gary Player

Gary Player

Gary Player was already a major champion when he played the Masters in 1961. By the time the tournament ended, the South African had defeated Arnold Palmer and become the first international player to wear the green jacket. It also marked him as a rising star.

"Confidence is a very, very big thing in this sport," Player said by phone this month. "There is such a fine line that winning at Augusta like that meant an awful lot to me."

Player is now 75 and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first of his three Masters victories. The nine-time major champion will again lead Augusta National's par-3 tournament with the other members of the game's beloved "Big Three" of Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.

Player will also get to relish the long-ago Monday - the final round was delayed because of rain - when he stared down "Arnie's Army" with a magnificent up-and-down from the bunker on No. 18. It was a hole Palmer later double-bogeyed to finish a shot behind.

"Anytime you win a major, it means a lot for your career," Player said. "Winning at Augusta with President Eisenhower, Bobby Jones and people like that, it leads itself to a very special, special victory."

Player had won the British Open 1959, but had yet to fully establish himself with U.S. golf fans in the era when Palmer - the "King" - ruled. So when Player gave away his four-shot lead to Palmer on Augusta's punishing back nine with a double bogey on No. 13 and a bogey on No. 15, the "Army" couldn't wait to celebrate their hero's second straight Masters win and third in four years.

Player, though, wasn't through. He made three crucial pars, including one from the bunker alongside the 18th green, that left him a shot off Palmer's lead.

Palmer maintained that edge and was in good shape on the 18th with a solid drive in the fairway. That's when things went wrong, Palmer recalled. He said he was distracted before hitting his approach. The 7-iron landed in the right bunker.

"Where Gary got up and down from that same trap an hour or so earlier, I hit a poor sand shot that went over the green and down the slope on the other side," Palmer said.

A pitch and two putts later, Palmer took a 6, and Player was the Masters champion. Palmer says he long considered it one of his most crushing defeats.

"It was an incredible moment," Player said.

Player won twice more at Augusta National, in 1974 and 1978. With his last victory, the "Black Knight" became the oldest golfer, at 42, to wear the green jacket. That distinction was eclipsed by Nicklaus' rousing Masters triumph in 1986. Player was also the oldest person to make the cut at Augusta when he was 62 in 1998.

This time, granddaughter Savannah will caddy for Player at the par-3 event. Player also will host a charity event in Augusta April 10-11.

In addition, he plans to stop by his newest headquarters in South Carolina. Along with offices for the Gary Player Group, work is nearly complete on a signature course, The Cliffs At Mountain Park.

Player keeps a full schedule that has him traveling to courses and events around the world. He competes about five or six times a year, more than enough to keep him happy.

"I've had a feast," he says. "Now, I'm ready to get up from the table because I've had enough. There are so many other interests in life."

Besides being golf's worldwide ambassador, Player is actively involved in raising awareness on childhood obesity and urging fitness for people of all ages.

"The young people should be eating more vegetables and fruit," he said.

In all, Player competed 52 times at Augusta National. Few of them compared with that first victory.

Down the stretch, Player knew the fans were behind "their fair-haired boy in Arnold," he said. But Player said he was fortified by each cheer from "Arnie's Army."

Pressure, the 25-year-old Player learned then, was "not to be feared, it was to be loved and it has stuck with me ever since."

That first victory at Augusta National also helped Player in promoting the international side of golf, something he's being doing since.

"Winning the Masters proved that I could win in the USA, which was a huge help in reaching that goal," he said.

[AP]

Woosnam Marks 20th Masters Anniversary

Lyle, Langer, Woosnam. Olazabal, Ballesteros and Faldo in 1995

For past Masters Champions the drive down Magnolia Lane will always be a nostalgic one but for Ian Woosnam this year’s visit to Augusta National takes on additional poignancy.

The 53 year old next week marks the 20th anniversary of his triumph in the 1991 Masters Tournament and despite his glittering achievements over the past two decades, Woosnam insists slipping into the Green Jacket remains the high water mark of his distinguished career.

He might have led Europe to Ryder Cup glory in 2006, won 29 European Tour titles as well as three Order of Merits – including one in 2008 on the European Senior Tour - and held the World Number One position for 50 weeks but for Woosnam Major Championship glory is what defines a golfer’s legacy.

As he prepares for his 23rd appearance in the traditional opening Major of the golfing calendar, the Welshman is all too well aware of the significance of his one stroke victory over Spaniard José Maria Olazábal.

“It was the greatest achievement of my career and something I had dreamed of for many years,” said Woosnam. “Winning the Masters allowed me to be recognised as a household name.

“The 20th anniversary brings up the question ‘where have all the years gone?!’. I don’t really have any plans at the present to mark the anniversary, other than to have a few quite beers with friends staying with me. I’m too old for partying!

“I always look forward to being part of this special tournament though. With it being the first major of the year, it’s always exciting.”

Woosnam’s triumphed on just his fourth appearance at Augusta National and the victory came at the height of Europe – and Britain’s – domination of the Masters Tournament. He inherited the Green Jacket from Sir Nick Faldo, the 1989 and 1990 winner, who in turn and had received it from Sandy Lyle, Woosnam’s old rival from Shropshire county golf who returns to Augusta for a European record 30th time this year.

Today, while Lyle and Woosnam compete on the Senior Tour, the baton has been taken on by Martin Kaymer, Lee Westwood, Luke Donald and Graeme McDowell, the top four on the Official World Golf Ranking, but 20 years ago it was Woosnam spearheading the European challenge.

Having been anointed World Number One on the Monday of the 1988 Masters Tournament, Woosnam could easily have felt constrained by the considerable weight of that title but the 5ft 4½in former amateur boxer has always been up for the fight. If anything, Woosnam felt compelled to step up to the mantle. 

“My frame of mind was extremely confident on that first Monday of The Masters,” he recalled. “Becoming World Number One after winning in New Orleans gave me “an edge” for that week to win. I don’t remember feeling any pressure at the time, just extremely confident. I felt brilliant, ready for anything.”

While the gruelling Augusta National might prove a little too long for ‘Woosie’ these days at the age of 53, the milestone of his 20th anniversary will undoubtedly be an occasion he savours, such is the reception afford to all previous Masters champions.

In 2006, 15 years after his Masters win, Woosnam captained Europe to a record equalling 18½-9½ victory in The Ryder Cup in Ireland, an achievement he ranks alongside his Masters victory as one of his most profound honours, given that he was responsible for 12 other players and the hopes of a continent.

The following year he missed the Masters Tournament for the first time since his debut in 1988, due a form of ME that can be traced to his endeavours at The K Club and his on-going battle with the rheumatic disease Ankylosing Spondylitis, a condition that was actually first diagnosed a year before his Masters win.

He returned to Augusta National in 2008 - the year he also became the first former European Tour Order of Merit winner to repeat the feat on the Senior Tour - and made the cut for the first time since the 2000.

Repeating that will be the target again this year but whatever happens, Woosnam will always take special memories from the place where he 

fulfilled a childhood dream. 

“When I received the Green Jacket from Nick Faldo in 1988, it was a great feeling to win my first Major,” he said. “I became a part of history.”