This was a memorable but not a pleasant day in Masters history. On this date in 1968, Bob Goalby was declared the winner of the Masters when it was revealed Roberto De Vicenzo signed an incorrect scorecard and had to accept a 4 instead of a 3 on the 17th hole in the final round. Tommy Aaron had written down the wrong score and Roberto didn’t notice it and had to take the higher number according to the Rules of Golf.
On this date in 1969, George Archer, the Gilroy Cowboy from California, all 6-foot-5 of him, shot an even-par 72 for a seven-under 281 total to win by just one shot over Gay Brewer, Tom Weiskopf and George Knudson.
On this date in 1981, Tom Watson shot a one-under-par 71 to win the Masters by two shots over Johnny Miller and Jack Nicklaus. It was the second Masters victory for Watson. The year was the first for the tournament to be played on bentgrass greens.
On this date in 1965, Jack Nicklaus shot a 69 to top off a record-breaking performance when he won the Masters with a four-round total of 271, 17 under par. He won his second Masters, nine shots ahead of Arnold Palmer and Gary Player.
On this date in 1949, Sam Snead shot a second-straight 67 to win the Masters by three shots over Johnny Bulla and Lloyd Mangrum. This was also the day the green jacket was awarded for the first time in Masters history.
On this date in 1950, Jimmy Demaret shot a 69 while Jim Ferrier fell back with 75 and Demaret became the first three-time Masters winner with a score of 283. Demaret was six under par on the par-5 13th for the week but was one over par for the rest of the course.
On this date in 1935, Gene Sarazen, who had made his famous double eagle on 15 the day before, won a 36-hole playoff with Craig Wood to be crowned the 2nd Masters winner and complete a career Grand Slam. Sarazen shot even-par 144 to Wood’s 149.
On this date in 1940, Jimmy Demaret shot a 71 to comfortably win the Masters by four shots over Lloyd Mangrum. It was Demaret’s second Masters played and his first of three victories.
On this date in 1978, John Schlee was a surprise first-round leader in the Masters with a 68, over a surprise second-place player Joe Inman, who had 69. But by the end, more familiar names Tom Watson, Hubert Green, Rod Funseth and the winner Gary Player were the top contenders. Player shot 64 to beat the other three by one shot.
On this date in 1956, amateur Ken Venturi shot a six-under-par 66 to take a one-shot lead over Cary Middlecoff in the Masters Tournament. A few days later he entered the final round in position to be the first amateur winner but skied to 80 and lost by one shot to Jack Burke Jr.
On this date in 1937, Byron Nelson shot a 70 for a 283 total to win the fourth Masters Tournament by two shots over Ralph Guldahl. Nelson famously made up six shots on Guldahl at Amen Corner, Nelson had 2-3—birdie/eagle—on Nos. 12 and 13 compared with Guldahl’s 5-6 to take command.
On this date in 1947, Bob Jones shot a 75 in the first round of the Masters Tournament. It was his second-to-last year to play the tournament he started. He finished tied for 55th that year and played the Masters for the final time in 1948.
On this date in 1939, Ralph Guldahl won the sixth Masters Tournament by one shot over Sam Snead after shooting 70 and 69 in a 36-hole final day due to a Thursday rainout. Guldahl had an overall nine-under score of 279 and stopped a two-year streak of finishing second.
Born on this date in 1901, one year before Gene Sarazen and Bobby Jones, was Johnny Farrell in White Plains, New York. Farrell was an underappreciated player in the Jones-Sarazen years, winning the 1928 U.S. Open during their reign. Farrell won more than 20 tour events but established himself as a premier club pro, prominently at Baltusrol in Springfield, New Jersey.
Of special birthday significance, World Golf Hall of Famer Tommy Bolt was born in Haworth, Oklahoma, on this date in 1916, and three-time U.S. Senior Open champion Miller Barber was born on March 31, 1931, in Shreveport, Louisiana. Each had a pair of unique nicknames; Bolt was Terrible Tempered Tommy and Thunder Bolt and Barber was known as Precious and the Mysterious Mr. X.
On this date in 1957, Arnold Palmer shot a 70 in the third round of the Azalea Open and went on to win the following day with a score of 282 to pick up first place and $1,700.
On this date in 1992, Dottie Mochrie, aka Dottie Pepper, won the Nabisco Dinah Shore at Rancho Mirage, California, after a sudden-death playoff with Juli Inkster. They had tied at 279, nine-under par.
There have been six eight-hole, sudden-death playoffs in PGA Tour history, the most number of holes played to produce a winner. (Cary Middlecoff and Lloyd Mangrum played 11 in the 1949 Motor City Open but they were declared co-winners due to darkness.) On this date in 1965, the first eight-hole playoff was held when Dick Hart defeated Phil Rodgers at the Azalea Open at Cape Fear Country Club in Wilmington, North Carolina.
On this day in 1968, the PGA announced that the United States team to compete in the World Cup would be made up of the champions at the U.S. Open and PGA Championship, if American, of course.
On this date in 1951, the one-year-old LPGA Tour saw Patty Berg win the Sandhills Women’s Open at Southern Pines Country Club in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Berg shot 221 to win by 10 shots over Babe Zaharias and take home the $750 first prize out of a total prize pot of $3,000.