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Posted February 16, 2012, 5:16 pm
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Numbers show why 1986 is so special

  • Article Photos
    Numbers show why 1986 is so special
    Photos description
    Jack Nicklaus finished the third round in 1986 with 69, which put him in contention to win.
  • Article Photos
    Numbers show why 1986 is so special
    Photos description
    Jack Nicklaus II caddied for his father. It was the first time the golfer won without Willie Peterson.

Plenty of famous charges have occurred at the Masters. Just not many in the past 25 years.

Byron Nelson put up the first memorable charge in 1937 when he made up six strokes on Ralph Guldahl in the final round.

Nelson made birdie at the 12th and eagle at the 13th, while Guldahl played the same holes in 3-over.

The first Masters telecast was in 1956, and drama and Augusta National's second nine seemed to be a perfect match. That was the year Jack Burke Jr. made up eight strokes on amateur Ken Venturi in windy conditions.

In 1957, Doug Ford shot a final-round 66 that included 32 on the second nine. He holed out from the bunker for a birdie on the final hole to punctuate his three-shot win over Sam Snead.

Arnold Palmer got the best of Venturi in 1958, but not without some controversy at the 12th hole. A ruling over a drop at that hole went Palmer's way. When he scored an eagle on the 13th, the action inspired Herbert Warren Wind to use the phrase Amen Corner to describe the action that day.

In 1959, Art Wall Jr. made birdies on five of the last six holes to secure his only major championship. A year later, Palmer grabbed his second green coat by making birdies on the final two holes to break Venturi's heart again.

Perhaps the most memorable shootout involving multiple players came in 1975, when Jack Nicklaus held off Tom Weiskopf and Johnny Miller. The defining moment of that tournament was Nicklaus' 40-foot birdie putt on the 16th.

Three years later, Gary Player was trailing by seven entering the final round. But a round of 64, including 30 on the final nine, allowed Player to pass nine players and earn his third and final green jacket.

In 1986, Nicklaus entered the final round four shots behind Greg Norman. After a birdie at the ninth, he still trailed by four.

Then Nicklaus put together a memorable charge with an eagle, five birdies and one bogey to shoot 30 and complete a round of 65. At age 46, he was a champion again.

IN GOOD COMPANY

Gary Player is the only other Masters Tournament champion to post scores like Nicklaus' in 1986. Player won in 1978 with a final-round score of 64. Like Nicklaus, Player had 30 on the final nine. The only other champion to approach that number is Phil Mickelson, who had 31 on the final nine when he won in 2004.

IN THE FINAL PAIRING

Securing a place in Sunday's final pairing has been a good omen over the past 25 years.

The winner has come out of that pairing all but five times, including 19 of the past 20. Fourteen of the past 25 winners have either held the lead or were tied for the lead going into the final round.

Zach Johnson is the only man to start outside the final twosome and win since 1990. He shot 69 in cold and windy conditions in 2007 to claim his first major title.

Nick Faldo won his first two green jackets (1989 and 1990) after starting out of the final pairing. For his third win, in 1996, he was in the final pair with Greg Norman. Faldo made up six strokes when he shot 67; Norman collapsed with 78.

NO. 12

How a player handles the pressure of Amen Corner - specifically the par-3 12th - is a good barometer for Masters winners.

Sandy Lyle is the last player to hit his tee shot into Rae's Creek on the 12th in the final round and win.

Jack Nicklaus in 1986, Tiger Woods in 2001 and Trevor Immelman in 2008 survived final-round bogeys on the hole during their victories.

Lyle came into the final nine holes in 1988 with a two-shot lead.

"It's not the most comfortable feeling in the world," he said. "I wanted to get through Amen Corner without too much calamity."

He 3-putted the 11th for bogey. Then, his tee shot came up short at the 12th, and he made double bogey.

"I needed another two feet in the air and it would have been perfect," Lyle said. "As it was, I said at least I've got two par-5s coming up. There's still some room to gather speed and stay in touch with the leader at the time."

Lyle didn't make up ground on the par-5s, but he did birdie the 16th and 18th holes for a one-shot win over Mark Calcavecchia.

EAGLE HAS(N'T) LANDED

Masters winners have made plenty of eagles on the final nine holes in the past 25 years, right?

Wrong.

Since Jack Nicklaus curled in a short eagle putt on the 15th hole in 1986, only two other golfers have made an eagle on the final nine and gone on to win.

Bernhard Langer made eagle on the 13th in his second Masters win in 1993. A year later, Jose Maria Olazabal used an eagle on the 15th to hold off Tom Lehman for his first win at Augusta National.

Augusta National's two par-5 holes on the second nine are easily reachable in two shots. But with water on both, they can exact a heavy price for an errant shot.

All but two of the winners since 1986 made up ground on at least one of the par-5 holes. Only Sandy Lyle (1988) and Fred Couples (1992) made pars on both and still won.

1986 hole-by-hole and stats

Photo: Jack Nicklaus
Jack Nicklaus
 
» 1986 Leaderboard 

Hole By Hole Scores
4th Round - The Augusta National
Hole123456789Out101112131415161718INTot
Par454343454364435453443672
Rd 4444443453353344432343065
Tot-2-3-3-2-2-2-2-2-3-3-4-5-4-5-5-7-8-9-9-9-9
 
 
3rd Round - The Augusta National
Hole123456789Out101112131415161718INTot
Par454343454364435453443672
Rd 3444353443344326453443569
Tot10001110-1-1-1-2-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2
 
 
2nd Round - The Augusta National
Hole123456789Out101112131415161718INTot
Par454343454364435453443672
Rd 2454343444355434452543671
Tot22222221112221110111+1
 
 
1st Round - The Augusta National
Hole123456789Out101112131415161718INTot
Par454343454364435453443672
Rd 1455343454374544453443774
Tot00111111111232222222+2
 
 

Tournament Recap
 
 11646900
 EaglesBirdiesParsBogeys2X BogeysOther

Performance by Round
 Par 3sPar 4sPar 5s
Rnd 1+1+2-1
Rnd 2-1+2-2
Rnd 3-1-1-1
Rnd 4+1-4-4
All RndsE-1-8