They all look good in green
They come from different eras, They find different ways to win. But one thing unites them.
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1938
Henry Picard didn't mind waiting an extra day to earn his first major victory.
Inclement weather pushed the start of the tournament back to Saturday, and 36 holes were played Sunday. Picard, a native of Charleston, S.C., handled the conditions and took a one-stroke lead over four golfers into Monday's final round.
Picard played the front nine in 32 in the final round en route to a 70 and his two-shot win over Ralph Guldahl and Harry Cooper.
1948
Which golfer's only professional victory came at the Masters?
If you guessed Claude Harmon, go to the head of the class. Harmon was best known for being the club pro at a pair of private clubs, Winged Foot and Seminole, but that all changed with a record-setting week at Augusta National.
Harmon's total of 279 matched the low score in the tournament's brief history and his five-stroke win over Cary Middlecoff established a record for margin of victory.
1978
Gary Player's third and final victory at Augusta was his most improbable.
At 42, the South African wasn't expected to challenge for another Masters title. And with a deficit of seven strokes to make up, Player definitely faced long odds.
But Player was up to the challenge with a round that still stands as the lowest final-round score by a champion. He birdied seven of the final 10 holes, including the 18th, on his way to 64 and a one-shot win over Rod Funseth, Hubert Green and Tom Watson.
1988
When Sandy Lyle hit his tee shot on the final hole into the front-left fairway bunker, it appeared he and Mark Calcavecchia were headed for a sudden-death playoff.
Not so fast.
The Scottish golfer hit his 7-iron approach above the pin, then watched as it settled about 10 feet from the hole. He made the birdie putt for the win, then danced an impromptu jig on the 18th green.
1998
Mark O'Meara has never been known for his brash predictions, but he made one to his caddie as he prepared to play the final two holes.
Trailing David Duval and Fred Couples by one shot, O'Meara was irked by missing a birdie opportunity on the 16th hole.
"I'll just birdie the last two holes,'" O'Meara told Jerry Higgenbotham.
At No. 17, he made a 10-foot birdie putt to pull into a tie for the lead. On No. 18, his approach left him with a 20-foot putt. True to his word, he sank the birdie putt to become the first golfer since Arnold Palmer in 1960 to birdie the final two holes and win the Masters.
