Posted 4/14/03 9:57 am ET

2003 Masters History & Records
By Sal Johnson Contributing Editor, GOLFONLINE Where: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Ga. When: April 10-13, 2003 Yardage: 7,290 Par: 36-36--72 Purse: Announced the weekend of the championship (last year's was $5.6 million, with $1,008,000 going to the winner) Greens: Bentgrass Tees: Bermudagrass overseeded with ryegrass Fairways: Bermudagrass overseeded with ryegrass Rough: 419 Bermudagrass overseeded with ryegrass While playing championship golf, Bobby Jones had always hoped to build a championship golf course somewhere near his Atlanta home. Upon his retirement after the 1930 U.S. Amateur, Jones set out to complete his dream. In the 1920s, he met New York banker Clifford Roberts, who agreed to help Jones realize his dream. In looking at several places, they both decided on Augusta, Ga. as the site because it provided the best weather in the winter months. They scouted the area for a piece of land that, according to Jones plans, would utilize the natural shape and slope of the property to build the course. Jones didn’t want a course that relied on severe rough as a hazard and also hoped that he could find a piece of property that would have a stream running through it so that he could build several holes around water hazards. He also wanted to build a championship course that would be very playable for the average golfer, one that would use mounds and slopes as hazards instead of sand bunkers. Also helping Jones and Roberts on their search was Thomas Barrett Jr., who knew of a piece of property in Augusta that he thought would be perfect for Jones' dream course. He recommended a piece of property called Fruitlands Nursery. The land consisted of 365 acres that were once an indigo plantation owned by a man who bought it in 1857, Louis Mathieu Edouard Berckmans, who was a horticulturist by hobby. Along with his son Julius Alphonse, an agronomist and horticulturist by profession, they formed a business in 1858 to import trees and plants from various countries. It would be the first commercial nursery in the South and they called the it, Fruitlands Nursery. Along with a great variety of flowering plants and trees, a long double row of magnolias were planted before the Civil War, which today serve as the club's entrance. But Prosper’s claim to fame was that he was the one that popularized a plant called the azalea. Upon Prosper’s death in 1910, the business stopped operations and the heirs looked for a buyer. That buyer came around in late 1930, when Tom Barrett first showed Jones and Roberts Berchman’s nursery. Upon seeing the property from what is now the practice putting green, Jones knew he had the perfect land for a perfect golf course. He told Roberts and Barrett that he thought the ground had been lying there all these years waiting for someone to come along and lay a golf course on it. An option was taken on the property for $70,000 and it was decided to establish a national membership for the club, and Jones proposed Augusta National would be an appropriate name. Jones also decided in the planning stage he wanted Dr. Alister Mackenzie of Scotland to serve as the course architect since the pair held similar views. Before coming to Augusta, Mackenzie had designed two courses in California, Pasatiempo and Cypress Point. Jones and Mackenzie completed the plans and the construction started in July of 1931. Unfortunately Mackenzie died after the construction work had been finished but before Augusta National was fully covered with grass. The course was finished and opened in December 1932 with a limited amount of member play. Formal opening took place in January 1933. The average green size at Augusta is 6,150 square feet, which is about the average on the PGA Tour, and water comes into play on five holes on the back side. There are only 43 bunkers on the course. This will be the 67th edition of the Masters, which has been played ever year except for between 1943-45 when WWII suspended the championship. Ever year it is played at Augusta National, the only major played on the same course each year. In the early years of the club, Bobby Jones had always dream of having a U.S. Open played on Augusta National. But with the hot summers in June, Jones approached the USGA with the idea of playing the Open on Augusta in April, but the USGA turned him down. So Jones and Roberts decided to hold their own annual event beginning in 1934. Roberts proposed the event be called the Masters Tournament, but Jones objected thinking it too presumptuous. The name Augusta National Invitation Tournament was adopted and the title was used for five years until 1939 when Jones relented and the name was officially changed.
LOWEST 72-HOLE SCORE:	270 by Tiger Woods (70-66-65-69) in 1997 271 by Jack Nicklaus (67-71-64-69) in 1965 271 by Raymond Floyd (65-66-70-70) in 1976 272 by Tiger Woods (70-66-68-68) in 2001 274 by Ben Hogan (70-69-66-69) in 1953 274 by Ben Crenshaw (70-67-69-68) in 1995 274 by David Duval (71-66-70-67) in 2001
LOWEST 72-HOLE SCORE BY A NON-WINNER:	274 by David Duval (71-66-70-67) in 2001 275 by Davis Love III (69-69-71-66) in 1995
LOWEST 18-HOLE SCORE:	63 by Nick Price third round, 1986 63 by Greg Norman first round, 1996 64 by Lloyd Mangrum first round, 1940 64 by Jack Nicklaus third round, 1965 64 by Maurice Bembridge final round, 1974 64 by Hale Irwin final round, 1975 64 by Gary Player final round, 1978 64 by Miller Barber second round, 1979 64 by Greg Norman final round, 1988 64 by Mike Donald first round, 1990 64 by Jay Haas, 2nd round, 1995 64 by David Toms final round, 1998
LARGEST WINNING MARGIN:	12 shots by Tiger Woods (270 in 1997 9 shots by Jack Nicklaus (271) in 1965 8 shots by Raymond Floyd (271) in 1976
BEST COMEBACK AFTER 54 HOLES BY WINNER:	8 shots by Jack Burke Jr. (72-71-75-71) in 1956 7 shots by Gary Player (72-72-69-64) in 1978 6 shots by Art Wall (73-74-71-66) in 1959 6 shots by Fuzzy Zoeller (70-71-69-70) in 1979 6 shots by Nick Faldo (69-67-73-67) in 1996
MOST MONEY WON:	$2,827,760.00 by Tiger Woods in 8 Masters $1,872,420.00 by Jose Maria Olazabal in 15 Masters $1,349,892.00 by Phil Mickelson in 10 Masters $1,321,000.00 by David Duval in 7 Masters $1,203,500.00 by Vijay Singh in 9 Masters $1,177,625.00 by Greg Norman in 22 Masters $1,141,609.00 by Nick Faldo in 19 Masters $1,121,050.00 by Ernie Els in 9 Masters $1,113,883.00 by Fred Couples in 18 Masters $1,113,824.00 by Davis Love III in 13 Masters $1,033,938.00 by Bernhard Langer in 20 Masters $924,675.00 by Ben Crenshaw in 31 Masters $914,177.00 by Mark O'Meara in 19 Masters $757,359.00 by Jack Nicklaus in 42 Masters $748,350.00 by Tom Watson in 29 Masters
LOWEST SCORING AVG. MIN. 20 ROUNDS:	70.63 by Tiger Woods with 30 rounds 71.18 by Phil Mickelson with 38 rounds 71.19 by David Duval with 24 rounds 71.44 by Ernie Els with 34 rounds 71.50 by Jose Maria Olazabal with 54 rounds 71.68 by Fred Couples with 72 rounds 71.74 by Jack Nicklaus with 158 rounds 71.78 by Tom Watson with 104 rounds 71.96 by Jerry Pate with 28 rounds 72.00 by Brad Faxon with 38 rounds 72.06 by Jim Furyk with 26 rounds
FOUR ROUNDS IN 60s SAME MASTERS:	None (only major it hasn't be done at) Players who went into the final round with a chance to do it: Gary Player (69-68-69-74) in 1961 Arnold Palmer (69-68-69-70) in 1964 Ed Sneed (68-67-69-76) in 1979 Seve Ballesteros (66-69-68-72) in 1980 Fred Couples (69-67-69-70) in 1992 Raymond Floyd (69-68-69-71) in 1992 Craig Parry (69-66-69-78) in 1992 Retief Goosen (69-67-69-74) in 2002
NO. TIMES ROUND LEADER OR CO-LEADER WENT ON TO WIN:	1st Round-14 in 66 championships 2nd Round-26 in 66 championhips 3rd Round-37 in 66 championships

 

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