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1961 Masters Tournament

Golf tournament held in 1961

Field	Value
name	1961 Masters Tournament
image	1961_Masters_Tournament_Official_Guide_cover.jpg
caption	Front cover of the 1961 Masters Guide
dates	April 6–10, 1961
location	Augusta, Georgia
course	Augusta National Golf Club
org	Augusta National Golf Club
tour	PGA Tour
par	72
yardage	6980 yd
field	88 players, 41 after cut
cut	149 (+5)
purse	$109,100
winners_share	$20,000
champion	ZAF Gary Player
score	280 (−8)
previous	[1960](1960-masters-tournament)
next	[1962](1962-masters-tournament)
map	USA#USA Georgia
map_relief	yes
map_label	Augusta National
map_caption	Location in the United States##Location in Georgia
coordinates

The 1961 Masters Tournament was the 25th Masters Tournament, held April 6–10 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

Due to heavy rains and flooding of several greens, Sunday's final round was halted before 4 p.m. and the scores were erased, even though ten players had completed their rounds. Third round leader Gary Player was even par through eleven holes, and defending champion Arnold Palmer was two-under through nine. The entire round was replayed the next day.

In the final round on Monday, Player defeated Palmer and amateur Charles Coe by one stroke to become the first international champion at the Masters. Player made an up and down from the bunker on the final hole but thought he had lost the tournament, after carding a disappointing 40 (+4) on the back nine. In the final pairing with a one-shot lead, Palmer needed a par on the final hole for the win. From the fairway, his approach shot also landed in the bunker right of the green. With a poor lie, Palmer's bunker shot went past the hole and off the green and down a hillock. Using his putter from off the green, he failed to get the fourth shot close, then missed the 15 ft bogey putt which would have forced a playoff.

It was the first of three green jackets for Player, age 25, and the second of his nine major titles. His other wins at Augusta came over a decade later in 1974 and 1978. Jack Nicklaus, 21, recorded the first of his 22 top-10 finishes at the Masters, his last as an amateur. He tied for seventh, but the low amateur honors went to Coe. Nicklaus regained the U.S. Amateur title in September at Pebble Beach and turned professional in November.

A field of 88 players entered the tournament and 41 of them made the cut at five-over-par (149).

Amateur Deane Beman won the Par 3 contest with a score of 22; he turned pro in 1967 and later became the second commissioner of the PGA Tour, from 1974 to 1994.

Field

;1. Masters champions Jack Burke Jr. (4,8,11), Jimmy Demaret, Doug Ford (4,10,11), Claude Harmon (8), Ben Hogan (2,3,4,8,9), Herman Keiser, Cary Middlecoff (2,11), Byron Nelson (2,4), Arnold Palmer (2,8,9,10), Gene Sarazen (2,3,4), Horton Smith, Sam Snead (3,4,8,10,11), Craig Wood (2)

Ralph Guldahl (2), Henry Picard (4), and Art Wall Jr. (11) did not play.

;The following categories only apply to Americans

;2. U.S. Open champions Tommy Bolt (8), Julius Boros (8,9,11), Billy Burke, Billy Casper (8,9), Jack Fleck (9), Ed Furgol, Tony Manero, Lloyd Mangrum, Dick Mayer, Fred McLeod, Sam Parks Jr., Lew Worsham

;3. The Open champions Jock Hutchison (4), Denny Shute (4)

;4. PGA champions Walter Burkemo, Dow Finsterwald (8,9,11), Vic Ghezzi, Chick Harbert, Chandler Harper, Jay Hebert (10,11), Lionel Hebert (8), Johnny Revolta, Bob Rosburg (8,11), Jim Turnesa

;5. U.S. Amateur and Amateur champions Deane Beman (6,7,a), Dick Chapman (a), Charles Coe (6,a), Jack Nicklaus (6,8,9,a), Robert Sweeny Jr. (a)

;6. Members of the 1959 U.S. Walker Cup team William C. Campbell (a), Bill Hyndman (7,a), Chuck Kocsis (a), Billy Joe Patton (8,a), Bud Taylor (8,a), Ward Wettlaufer (a)

Tommy Aaron had turned professional. Campbell and Kocsis were reserves for the team. Harvie Ward did not play.

;7. 1960 U.S. Amateur quarter-finalists John Farquhar (a), Robert W. Gardner (a), Charles Lewis III (a), Steve Spray (a), Claude Wild (a)

;8. Top 24 players and ties from the 1960 Masters Tournament Fred Hawkins, Don January (10), Ted Kroll (9), Mike Souchak (9,11), Ken Venturi

Ed Oliver did not play.

;9. Top 16 players and ties from the 1960 U.S. Open Jerry Barber, George Bayer, Don Cherry (a), Paul Harney, Bob Harris, Dutch Harrison, Johnny Pott

;10. Top eight players and ties from 1960 PGA Championship Wes Ellis, Doug Sanders

Jim Ferrier (4) did not play

;11. Members of the U.S. 1959 Ryder Cup team

;12. One player, either amateur or professional, not already qualified, selected by a ballot of ex-Masters champions Gene Littler

;13. One professional, not already qualified, selected by a ballot of ex-U.S. Open champions Bob Goalby

;14. One amateur, not already qualified, selected by a ballot of ex-U.S. Amateur champions Bob Cochran (a)

;15. Two players, not already qualified, from a points list based on finishes in the winter part of the 1961 PGA Tour Bill Collins, Mason Rudolph

;16. Foreign invitations Keith Alexander (a), Al Balding, Phil Brownlee (a), Antonio Cerdá, Bruce Crampton (8), Roberto De Vicenzo, Mário Gonzalez, Bill Kerr, Stan Leonard (8), Sebastián Miguel, Ángel Miguel, Kel Nagle (3), Gary Player (3,8), Chi-Chi Rodríguez, Miguel Sala, Peter Thomson (3)

Numbers in brackets indicate categories that the player would have qualified under had they been American.

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, April 6, 1961

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	USA Arnold Palmer	68	−4
USA Bob Rosburg
3	ZAF Gary Player	69	−3
4	USA Jack Nicklaus (a)	70	−2
T5	USA Doug Ford	71	−1
USA Paul Harney
USA Byron Nelson
USA Johnny Pott
T9	USA Tommy Bolt	72	E
USA Billy Casper
USA Charles Coe (a)
USA Jay Hebert
CAN Stan Leonard
USA Gene Littler
USA Ken Venturi

Source

Second round

Friday, April 7, 1961

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	USA Arnold Palmer	68-69=137	−7
ZAF Gary Player	69-68=137
3	USA Bob Rosburg	68-73=141	−3
4	USA Don January	74-68=142	−2
T5	USA Tommy Bolt	72-71=143	−1
USA Walter Burkemo	74-69=143
USA Charles Coe (a)	72-71=143
USA Lionel Hebert	74-69=143
USA Ted Kroll	73-70=143
USA Byron Nelson	71-72=143
USA Ken Venturi	72-71=143

Source

Third round

Saturday, April 8, 1961

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	ZAF Gary Player	69-68-69=206	−10
2	USA Arnold Palmer	68-69-73=210	−6
T3	USA Charles Coe (a)	72-71-69=212	−4
USA Paul Harney	71-73-68=212
5	USA Bill Collins	74-72-67=213	−3
T6	USA Jack Burke Jr.	76-70-68=214	−2
USA Don January	74-68-72=214
USA Bob Rosburg	68-73-73=214
T9	USA Ted Kroll	73-70-72=215	−1
USA Jack Nicklaus (a)	70-75-70=215
USA Doug Sanders	76-71-68=215
USA Ken Venturi	72-71-72=215

Source:

Final round

Sunday, April 9, 1961

Monday, April 10, 1961

Summary

Play on Sunday was washed out due to heavy rain and wind shortly after 4 pm and all scores were erased; the final round was replayed on Monday. Although Player was the leader after 54 holes, he finished his round nearly an hour ahead of Palmer's double-bogey at the final hole.

Final leaderboard

(c) = past champion

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money (US$)
1	ZAF Gary Player	69-68-69-74=280	−8	20,000
T2	USA Charles Coe (a)	72-71-69-69=281	−7	0
USA Arnold Palmer (c)	68-69-73-71=281	12,000
T4	USA Tommy Bolt	72-71-74-68=285	−3	7,000
USA Don January	74-68-72-71=285
6	USA Paul Harney	71-73-68-74=286	−2	4,800
T7	USA Jack Burke Jr. (c)	76-70-68-73=287	−1	3,200
USA Billy Casper	72-77-69-69=287
USA Bill Collins	74-72-67-74=287
USA Jack Nicklaus (a)	70-75-70-72=287	0

Leaderboard below the top 10	Place	Player	Score	To par
T11	USA Walter Burkemo	74-69-73-72=288	E	1,667
USA Robert W. Gardner (a)	74-71-72-71=288	0
USA Doug Sanders	76-71-68-73=288	1,667
USA Ken Venturi	72-71-72-73=288
T15	CAN Stan Leonard	72-74-71-72=289	+1	1,300
USA Gene Littler	72-73-72-72=289
USA Bob Rosburg	68-73-73-75=289
USA Sam Snead (c)	74-73-69-73=289
T19	USA Dick Mayer	76-72-70-73=291	+3	1,133
USA Johnny Pott	71-75-72-73=291
AUS Peter Thomson	73-76-68-74=291
T22	ARG Roberto De Vicenzo	73-74-71-74=292	+4	1,000
USA Lew Worsham	74-71-73-74=292
T24	ARG Antonio Cerdá	73-73-72-75=293	+5	1,000
USA Fred Hawkins	74-75-72-72=293
USA Ted Kroll	73-70-72-78=293
27	CAN Al Balding	74-74-70-76=294	+6	1,000
T28	USA Mason Rudolph	77-69-72-77=295	+7	500
USA Mike Souchak	75-72-75-73=295
T30	USA Jay Hebert	72-75-69-80=296	+8	500
USA Lionel Hebert	74-69-74-79=296
T32	USA Doug Ford (c)	71-76-78-73=298	+10	500
USA Ben Hogan (c)	74-73-72-79=298
USA Byron Nelson (c)	71-72-78-77=298
35	USA Chick Harbert	74-73-76-76=299	+11	500
36	USA Bob Goalby	74-73-76-77=300	+12	500
37	USA Jerry Barber	74-72-78-77=301	+13	500
38	COL Miguel Sala	74-75-78-81=308	+20	500
CUT	USA Deane Beman (a)	73-77=150	+6
USA Chuck Kocsis (a)	77-73=150
USA Charles Lewis III (a)	74-76=150
USA Cary Middlecoff (c)	75-75=150
ESP Ángel Miguel	75-75=150
PRI Chi-Chi Rodríguez	77-73=150
USA Jim Turnesa	80-70=150
USA George Bayer	77-74=151	+7
USA Julius Boros	75-76=151
USA Robert Sweeny Jr. (a)	74-77=151
CAN Keith Alexander (a)	76-76=152	+8
USA Dow Finsterwald	73-79=152
BRA Mário Gonzalez	76-76=152
ESP Sebastián Miguel	74-78=152
USA Bud Taylor (a)	74-78=152
USA Don Cherry (a)	79-74=153	+9
AUS Bruce Crampton	80-73=153
USA Jimmy Demaret (c)	75-78=153
CAN Bill Kerr	75-78=153
AUS Kel Nagle	75-78=153
USA Billy Joe Patton (a)	78-75=153
USA Bill Hyndman (a)	74-80=154	+10
USA Lloyd Mangrum	80-75=155	+11
USA Sam Parks Jr.	80-75=155
USA Ed Furgol	75-81=156	+12
USA Gene Sarazen (c)	79-77=156
USA William C. Campbell (a)	76-81=157	+13
USA Vic Ghezzi	74-83=157
USA Claude Harmon (c)	76-81=157
USA Bob Harris	79-78=157
CAN Phil Brownlee (a)	79-79=158	+14
USA Dick Chapman (a)	80-79=159	+15
USA Steve Spray (a)	80-79=159
USA Billy Burke	81-79=160	+16
USA Bob Cochran (a)	80-80=160
USA John Farquhar (a)	77-83=160
USA Craig Wood (c)	80-80=160
USA Claude Wild (a)	78-83=161	+17
USA Herman Keiser (c)	81-81=162	+18
USA Tony Manero	80-82=162
USA Johnny Revolta	84-80=164	+20
USA Denny Shute	77-88=165	+21
USA Ward Wettlaufer (a)	80-85=165
USA Horton Smith (c)	86-83=169	+25
WD	USA Jack Fleck	74-71-73=218	+2
USA Wes Ellis	75-73-74=222	+6
USA Dutch Harrison	74-74-78=226	+10
USA Chandler Harper	74	+2
USA Jock Hutchison
USA Fred McLeod

Sources:

Scorecard

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	5	4	3	4	3	4	5	4	4	4	3	5	4	5	3	4	4
ZAF Player	−11	−12	−12	−12	−12	−12	−12	−12	−12	−11	−11	−11	−9	−9	−8	−8	−8	−8
USA Palmer	−6	−7	−7	−7	−7	−8	−8	−9	−9	−9	−9	−9	−9	−9	−9	−9	−9	−7
USA Coe	−4	−5	−5	−6	−6	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−4	−4	−5	−6	−7	−7	−7	−7

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par :{|class="wikitable" span = 50 style="font-size:85%; |- |Eagle -- |Birdie |Bogey |Double bogey |Triple bogey+ -- |} Source:--

References

(April 8, 1961). "Player, Palmer tie for Masters lead". Milwaukee Sentinel.
(April 10, 1961). "Rain washes out Masters; finish today". Milwaukee Sentinel.
Bartlett, Charles. (April 10, 1961). "Masters washed out by rain". Chicago Daily Tribune.
Bartlett, Charles. (April 11, 1961). "Palmer flops on 18th, Player takes Masters". Chicago Daily Tribune.
(April 11, 1961). "Player wins Masters (280)". Milwaukee Sentinel.
Bisher, Furman. (April 11, 1961). "Palmer played it like a duffer". Miami News.
Wright, Alfred. (April 17, 1961). "A duel golfers will never forget".
Gundelfinger, Phil. (April 11, 1961). "Player wins as Palmer blows lead". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Gundelfinger, Phil. (April 7, 1961). "Palmer, Rosburg fire 68s, lead Masters". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
(April 8, 1961). "Second-round Masters golf scores". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
(April 8, 1961). "Masters golf tourney scores". Youngstown Vindicator.
Bartlett, Charles. (April 8, 1961). "Gary Player catches Palmer at 137". Chicago Daily Tribune.
Bartlett, Charles. (April 9, 1961). "Player pulls ahead of Palmer in Masters golf". Chicago Sunday Tribune.
"Masters – Past Winners & Results". Augusta National Inc..
"Past results – Masters tournament". PGA Tour.

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