
The Masters Tournament History

For golfers and golf fans, this weekend means just one thing: the culmination of The Masters. At the moment of this writing, the first round at iconic Augusta provided plenty of surprise and intrigue—but then, this tournament just does that, again and again across its history. Here's a look back at the battle for the green jacket:
1931... Bobby Jones buys 360-acre Fruitland Nurseries in Augusta for $70,000
1934... Precursor to the first Masters Tournament played on Jones’
private golf club, Augusta National
1935... Gene Sarazen’s “shot heard ’round the world” double eagle to
force playoff
Gene Sarazen putting, 1930
1943... Tournament suspended, livestock raised on grounds for war effort
1948... Pimiento cheese and egg salad sandwiches made by Herndon
family, of Augusta
1949... First green jacket awarded to Masters champion
1956... CBS begins televising the tournament, covering only final four holes
1958... Term “Amen Corner” (11, 12 and 13) first used in
Sports Illustrated
1960... First time Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player
compete together
1966... Nicklaus first to win two consecutive Masters
1975... Bunker sand replaced by now-signature quartz white feldspar
for tournament
1977... Longtime chairman Clifford Roberts commits suicide on
banks of Ike’s Pond
1980... Spaniard Seve Ballesteros wins, becoming first European champion
1982... Dave Loggins’ soothing piano theme debuts on CBS television
coverage
1983... Players allowed to bring their own caddies for the first time
1986... Nicklaus wins record sixth Masters
1989... First year for Jim Nantz to anchor CBS coverage
1990... Augusta National accepts its first black member, Ron Townsend
1996... Greg Norman loses six-stroke lead on final round in epic collapse
1997... Tiger Woods, only 21, wins first Masters by 12 strokes

Tiger Woods plays his first U.S. Open, Tim Hipps, 1997
2012... Condoleezza Rice becomes first female member of Augusta National
2012... Bubba Watson hooks wedge through trees to win in sudden death
2015... Jordan Spieth ties Masters record of 18-under par
2017... Green jacket found at thrift store auctions for $139,000
This authentic Masters jacket from the 1950s was found in a Toronto thrift store in 1994. Bought for $5, it sold for $139,349 this morning! pic.twitter.com/W41JefI8C9
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) April 9, 2017
2018... CBS runs only four minutes of commercials per hour of coverage