The 1975 Masters Tournament was the 39th

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first ma ...

, held April 10–13 at

Augusta National Golf Club Augusta National Golf Club, sometimes referred to as Augusta or the National, is a golf club in Augusta, Georgia, United States. Unlike most private clubs which operate as non-profits, Augusta National is a for-profit corporation, and it does ...

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Geor ...

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. He won 117 professional tou ...

won his fifth Masters and thirteenth

major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

title, one stroke ahead of runners-up

Johnny Miller John Laurence Miller (born April 29, 1947) is an American former professional golfer. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s. He was the first to shoot 63 in a major championship to win the 1973 U.S. Open, and he ran ...

and At age 40,

Lee Elder Robert Lee Elder (July 14, 1934 – November 28, 2021) was an American professional golfer. In 1975, he became the first African-American to play in the Masters Tournament, where he missed the cut. Elder was invited to the tournament after he won ...

became the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

to compete at the tournament, but missed the cut by four strokes. The 1975 Masters is widely considered to be one of the greatest majors ever, with three great players at the peak of their games dueling in a thrilling Sunday finish. Had a playoff been required, it would have been a full 18-hole round on Monday. Prior to the next Masters in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

, a sudden-death format was introduced and was first used in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

. Nicklaus won his sixth green jacket eleven years later in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

at age 46.

Course

Field

;1. Masters champions

Tommy Aaron Thomas Dean Aaron (born February 22, 1937) is an American former professional golfer who was a member of the PGA Tour during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Aaron is best known for winning the 1973 Masters Tournament. He is also known for an erro ...

(12),

George Archer George William Archer (October 1, 1939 – September 25, 2005) was an American professional golfer who won 13 events on the PGA Tour, including one major championship, the Masters in 1969. Early years Born in San Francisco, California, Arc ...

Gay Brewer Gay Robert Brewer Jr. (March 19, 1932 – August 31, 2007) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and won the 1967 Masters Tournament. Life Brewer was born in Middletown, Ohio, and raised in Lexington, Kentucky. As an amat ...

(12),

Billy Casper William Earl Casper Jr. (June 24, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American professional golfer. He was one of the most prolific tournament winners on the PGA Tour from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. In his youth, Casper started as a caddie a ...

(12),

Charles Coody Billy Charles Coody (born July 13, 1937) is an American professional golfer, best known for winning the 1971 Masters Tournament. Coody was born in Stamford, Texas and raised in Abilene, Texas. He attended Abilene Christian University before tran ...

Doug Ford Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario since June 2018 and leader of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party since March 2018. He ...

Bob Goalby Robert George Goalby (March 14, 1929 – January 19, 2022) was an American professional golfer. He won the Masters Tournament in 1968, after Roberto De Vicenzo notably made an error on his scorecard. It was Goalby's lone major championship amo ...

(8),

(2,3,4,8,9,10,11,12),

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...

(8,9,12),

Gary Player Gary James Player DMS, OIG (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tou ...

(3,4,8,9,10,11),

Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (pronounced English_phonology">sni:d.html" ;"title="English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d">English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an ...

(8,10), Art Wall Jr. *'' Jack Burke Jr.,

Jimmy Demaret James Newton Demaret (May 24, 1910 – December 28, 1983) was an American professional golfer. He won 31 PGA Tour events in a long career between 1935 and 1957, and was the first three-time winner of the Masters, with titles in 1940, 1947, and ...

Ralph Guldahl Ralph J. Guldahl (November 22, 1911 – June 11, 1987) was an American professional golfer, one of the top five players in the sport from 1936 to 1940. He won sixteen PGA Tour-sanctioned tournaments, including three majors (two U.S. Opens and one ...

Claude Harmon Eugene Claude Harmon Sr. (July 14, 1916 – July 23, 1989) was an American professional golfer and golf instructor. Born in Savannah, Georgia, Harmon spent much of his boyhood in Florida, in the Orlando area. A youthful prodigy, he qualified for ...

Ben Hogan William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory an ...

Herman Keiser Herman W. Keiser (October 7, 1914 – December 24, 2003) was an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour, best known for winning the Masters Tournament in 1946, his only major title. Keiser was born and raised in Springfield, Missouri. Li ...

Cary Middlecoff Emmett Cary Middlecoff (January 6, 1921 – September 1, 1998) was an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour from 1947 to 1961. His 39 Tour wins place him tied for tenth all-time, and he won three major championships. Middlecoff graduated a ...

Byron Nelson John Byron Nelson Jr. (February 4, 1912 – September 26, 2006) was an American professional golfer between 1935 and 1946, widely considered one of the greatest golfers of all time. Nelson and two other legendary champions of the time, Ben Hoga ...

Henry Picard Henry Gilford Picard (November 28, 1906 – April 30, 1997) was an American professional golfer. Born in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Picard learned to play golf while caddying at the Plymouth Country Club. Already a talented player by his early 20s ...

, and

Gene Sarazen Gene Sarazen (; born Eugenio Saraceni, February 27, 1902 – May 13, 1999) was an American professional golfer, one of the world's top players in the 1920s and 1930s, and the winner of seven major championships. He is one of five players (alon ...

did not play.'' ;The following categories only apply to Americans ;2. U.S. Open champions (last five years)

Hale Irwin Hale S. Irwin (born June 3, 1945) is an American professional golfer. He was one of the world's leading golfers from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. He is one of the few players in history to win three U.S. Opens, becoming the oldest ever U.S. Op ...

(8,9),

(8,11),

Lee Trevino Lee Buck Trevino (born December 1, 1939) is an American retired professional golfer who is regarded as one of the greatest players in golf history. He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. Trevino won six major championships and ...

(3,4,10,11,12) ;3.

The Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

champions (last five years)

Tom Weiskopf Thomas Daniel Weiskopf (November 9, 1942 – August 20, 2022) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. His most successful decade was the 1970s. He won 16 PGA Tour titles between 1968 and 1982, inclu ...

(8,9,11,12) ;4. PGA champions (last five years) Dave Stockton (8,11) ;5. 1974 U.S. Amateur semi-finalists John Grace (a), Gary Koch (7,a),

Jerry Pate Jerome Kendrick Pate (born September 16, 1953) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour Champions, formerly on the PGA Tour. As a 22-year-old rookie, he won the U.S. Open in 1976. Early years Born in Macon, Georgia, Pate grew up in the ...

(6,7,a),

Curtis Strange Curtis Northrup Strange (born January 30, 1955) is an American professional golfer and TV color commentator. He is the winner of consecutive U.S. Open titles and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. He spent ...

(7,a) ;6. Previous two U.S. Amateur and

Amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History ...

champions

Dick Siderowf Richard L. Siderowf (born July 3, 1937) is an American amateur golfer, who is best known for winning the British Amateur twice. Early life Siderowf was born in New Britain, Connecticut. He attended Duke University and played golf for the Blue De ...

(a),

Craig Stadler Craig Robert Stadler (born June 2, 1953) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level, including one major championship, the 1982 Masters Tournament. Early life Stadler was bor ...

(a) ;7. Members of the 1974 U.S.

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958, it is named after Dwight D. Eise ...

team

George Burns George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film and television. His arched eyebr ...

(a) ;8. Top 24 players and ties from the

1974 Masters Tournament The 1974 Masters Tournament was the 38th Masters Tournament, held on April 11–14 at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Gary Player won the second of his three Masters titles at 278 (−10), two strokes ahead of runners-up Dave ...

Buddy Allin (9,11), Miller Barber (11), Frank Beard (9), Jim Colbert (9,11),

Ben Crenshaw Ben Daniel Crenshaw (born January 11, 1952) is a retired American professional golfer who has won 19 events on the PGA Tour, including two major championships: the Masters Tournament in 1984 and 1995. He is nicknamed '' Gentle Ben''. Profession ...

Raymond Floyd Raymond Loran Floyd (born September 4, 1942) is an American retired golfer who has won numerous tournaments on both the PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour, including four majors and four Senior major golf championships, senior majors. He was inducted ...

(9),

Hubert Green Hubert Myatt Green (December 28, 1946 – June 19, 2018) was an American professional golfer who won 29 professional golf tournaments, including two major championships: the 1977 U.S. Open and the 1985 PGA Championship. He was inducted into the ...

(10,11),

Jerry Heard Jerry Michael Heard (born May 1, 1947) is an American professional golfer who won several PGA Tour events in the 1970s. Early life Heard was born in Visalia, California. He attended Fresno State College (now Fresno State University) for a short ...

Dave Hill David John Hill (born 4 April 1946) is an English rock musician. He is the lead guitarist, a backing vocalist and the sole continuous member in the English band Slade. Hill is known for his flamboyant stage clothes and hairstyle. Early life B ...

(10,11,12),

Ralph Johnston Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

Bobby Nichols Robert Herman Nichols (born April 14, 1936) is an American professional golfer, best known for winning the PGA Championship in 1964. Early years Born in April 1936 and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Nichols attended St. Xavier High School. Wh ...

(11),

Phil Rodgers Phil Rodgers (April 3, 1938 – June 26, 2018) was an American professional golfer. Life Rodgers was born in San Diego, California. He won the 1958 NCAA Division I Championship while playing at the University of Houston. Immediately afte ...

Chi-Chi Rodríguez Juan Antonio "Chi-Chi" Rodríguez (born October 23, 1935) is a Puerto Rican professional golfer. The winner of eight PGA Tour events, he was the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Early years Rodríguez was born ...

(12),

Dan Sikes Daniel David Sikes, Jr. (December 7, 1929 – December 20, 1987) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour. Sikes won nine tournaments as a pro, including six PGA Tour events. He was influential as the cha ...

;9. Top 16 players and ties from the 1974 U.S. Open

Forrest Fezler Forrest Oliver Fezler (September 23, 1949 – December 21, 2018) was an American golf course design consultant and PGA Tour professional golfer. His most prosperous year as a professional came in 1974, when he won the Southern Open and finished ...

(11),

Lou Graham Louis Krebs Graham (born January 7, 1938) is an American professional golfer who won six PGA Tour tournaments including the 1975 U.S. Open. Most of his wins were in the 1970s. Lou Graham was born in Nashville, Tennessee. He started playing go ...

(12),

Tom Kite Thomas Oliver Kite Jr. (born December 9, 1949) is an American professional golfer and golf course architect. He won the U.S. Open in 1992 and spent 175 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 1989 and 1994. Career Kite w ...

John Mahaffey John Drayton Mahaffey Jr. (born May 9, 1948) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments including 10 PGA Tour events. Mahaffey was born in Kerrville, Texas. He attended the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. He turn ...

, Mike Reasor, Tom Watson (11),

Bert Yancey Albert Winsborough Yancey (August 6, 1938 – August 26, 1994) was an American professional golfer who won seven times on the PGA Tour and later played on the Senior PGA Tour. Biography Born in Chipley, Florida, Yancey lived much of his adult li ...

Larry Ziegler Larry Ziegler (born August 12, 1939) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. Ziegler was born in St. Louis and grew up in Creve Coeur, Missouri. He was one of 14 children; he had seven brothers an ...

(11) ;10. Top eight players and ties from

1974 PGA Championship The 1974 PGA Championship was the 56th PGA Championship, played August 8–11 at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons, North Carolina, a suburb southwest of Winston-Salem. Lee Trevino won the first of his two PGA Championships, one stroke ahead of defending ...

Al Geiberger Allen Lee Geiberger Sr. (born September 1, 1937) is an American former professional golfer. Professional career Geiberger turned pro in 1959 and joined the PGA Tour in 1960. Geiberger won 11 tournaments on the PGA Tour, the first being the 1962 ...

(11) ;11. Winners of

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

events since the previous Masters

Rod Curl Rod, Ror, Ród, Rőd, Rød, Röd, ROD, or R.O.D. may refer to: Devices * Birch rod, made out of twigs from birch or other trees for corporal punishment * Ceremonial rod, used to indicate a position of authority * Connecting rod, main, coupling ...

Terry Diehl Terry J. Diehl (born November 9, 1949) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour from 1973 to 1983. Diehl was born and raised in Rochester, New York. At the age of 15, he won the international long drive competition when he ...

, Pat Fitzsimons,

Gary Groh } Gary Mathieu Groh (born October 11, 1944) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1970s. Groh was born in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Michigan State University and turned pro in 1968. Groh played on the PGA To ...

, Richie Karl,

Gene Littler Gene Alec Littler (July 21, 1930 – February 15, 2019) was an American professional golfer and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Known for a solid temperament and nicknamed "Gene the Machine" for his smooth, rhythmical swing, he once said ...

Mac McLendon Benson Rayfield McLendon Jr. (August 10, 1945 – July 4, 2022) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1960s and 1970s. McLendon was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from Louisiana State University in Bat ...

Bob Menne Robert Menne (February 19, 1942 – June 2, 2023) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour, the Champions Tour, and the European Seniors Tour. Menne was born and raised in Gardner, Massachusetts, where he was graduated from ...

, Allen Miller,

Bob Murphy Robert, Rob, Bob or Bobby Murphy may refer to: Sports Ice hockey * Robert Ronald Murphy or Ron Murphy (1933–2014), Canadian ice hockey player * Bob Murphy (ice hockey) (born 1951), Canadian retired professional ice hockey player * Rob Murphy (ic ...

, J. C. Snead (12),

Ed Sneed Edgar Sneed Jr. (born August 6, 1944) is an American professional golfer, sportscaster and course design consultant, who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. Sneed was born in Roanoke, Virginia. He graduated from Ohio State University ...

;12. Members of the U.S.

1973 Ryder Cup The 20th Ryder Cup Matches were held at Muirfield in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. The United States team won the competition by a score of 19 to 13 points. For the first time, what had previously been the "Great Britain" team was called "Grea ...

team

Homero Blancas Homero Blancas, Jr. (born March 7, 1938) is an American professional golfer who has played on both the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the Champions Tour). Amateur career Blancas, who is of Mexican American descent, was born in Ho ...

;13. Foreign invitations

Isao Aoki is a Japanese professional golfer. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004. Career Aoki was born in Abiko, Chiba, Japan. He was introduced to golf while caddying at the Abiko Golf Club as a schoolboy. He turned professional in 196 ...

Hugh Baiocchi Hugh John Baiocchi (born 17 August 1946) is a South African professional golfer who has won more than 20 professional tournaments around the world. Professional career Baiocchi was born in Johannesburg. He turned professional in 1971 and spe ...

, Maurice Bembridge (8), Bob Charles, Bobby Cole (10),

Bruce Crampton Bruce Crampton (born 28 September 1935) is an Australian professional golfer. Early life Crampton was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and attended Kogarah High School from 1948 to 1950. In August 1953 he reached final of the New South Wales Am ...

(8),

Roberto De Vicenzo Roberto De Vicenzo (14 April 1923 – 1 June 2017) was a professional golfer from Argentina. He won a record 229 professional tournaments worldwide during his career, including seven on the PGA Tour and most famously the 1967 Open Championship. ...

Bruce Devlin Bruce William Devlin (born 10 October 1937) is an Australian professional golfer, sportscaster and golf course designer. Devlin was born in Armidale, Australia. He turned pro in 1961 and joined the PGA Tour in 1962 after an amateur career in ...

, Dale Hayes, Tony Jacklin (2),

Lu Liang-Huan Lu Liang-Huan (, 10 December 1936 – 15 March 2022), also known as Mister Lu (Mr Lu) to British golf fans, was a successful Taiwanese golfer who won several important tournaments on the Asian and European circuits between 1959 and 1987. Earl ...

Graham Marsh Graham Vivian Marsh MBE (born 14 January 1944) is a retired professional golfer who was one of the leading Australian players of his generation. During his career he won more than 70 tournaments around the world, including 10 on the European T ...

, Peter Oosterhuis,

Masashi Ozaki is a Japanese professional golfer. Ozaki is often known as Jumbo Ozaki (ジャンボ尾崎 ''Janbo Ozaki'') on account of his height and length off the tee. He featured in the top ten of the Official World Golf Rankings for almost 200 weeks be ...

Victor Regalado Victor Regalado (born 15 April 1948) is a Mexican professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour. Early life Regalado was born and raised in Tijuana, Mexico. Amateur career As an amateur, he played in tournaments in the San Diego, Californ ...

(11) *''Numbers in brackets indicate categories that the player would have qualified under had they been American.''

Round summaries

First round

''Thursday, April 10, 1975'' *(a) =

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History ...

Source:

Second round

''Friday, April 11, 1975'' Snead, age 62, was one-over-par after 27 holes when he withdrew due to a back injury. Source:

Third round

''Saturday, April 12, 1975'' Nicklaus entered the weekend with a five-shot lead but struggled with a one-over 73 in the final pairing with

. Weiskopf carded a 66 (–6) to take a one-stroke lead and Miller a 65 to climb into solo third. Nicklaus three-putted four times on Saturday and was three-over-par on the last four holes to lose the lead. Source:

Final round

''Sunday, April 13, 1975''

Summary

Although Nicklaus was in solo second after 54 holes, he played with Tom Watson in the penultimate pairing, followed by Miller and leader Weiskopf. Nicklaus was three-under for the round and led Weiskopf by a stroke at the 14th tee, but he bogeyed while Weiskopf birdied for a two-shot swing and a lead change. On the par-3 16th hole, Nicklaus listened on the green as both Weiskopf and Miller birdied on the 15th green, as he had done. Nicklaus then sank a birdie putt, while Weiskopf and Miller watched from the 16th tee. Weiskopf left his tee shot short and bogeyed, while Miller made par and birdied 17. Both were a stroke behind with makeable birdie putts on the 72nd green to tie Nicklaus, who had just missed his birdie attempt. Miller missed left and low from while Weiskopf's eight-footer (2.4 m) missed right.

Final leaderboard

Sources:

Scorecard

''Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par'' : Source:

References

External links

Masters.com
– past winners and results
Augusta.com
– 1975 Masters leaderboard and scorecards {{DEFAULTSORT:Masters Tournament

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1975 in golf 1975 in American sports 1975 in sports in Georgia (U.S. state) April 1975 sports events in the United States