We remember the classics. Adam Scott over Angel Cabrera in 2013 Masters was a jewel. So was Bubba Watson over Louis Oosthuizen in 2012. Those were both playoffs. I got to thinking about those two tournaments recently and wondered what the most frequent winning margin at the Masters has been over its history.
There have been 79 Masters tournaments played since the first one in 1934. Here's how many strokes they were decided by.
Playoff: 16
One stroke: 21
Two strokes: 19
Three strokes: 9
Four strokes: 6
Five strokes: 3
Six strokes: 1
Seven strokes: 1
Eight strokes: 1
Nine strokes: 1
Twelve strokes: 1
Of course, that famous 12-stroke win was by Tiger Woods in 1997. Tom Kite finished 6 under that year. Woods finished at 18 under. Preposterous.
It seems inevitable that over half would have been decided by one or two strokes. And over 70 percent have been one, two or a playoff. What's funny is that we remember Jordan Spieth's win in 2015 quite fondly. Yet the numbers tell me it was one of the 14 "worst" outcomes in Masters history.
Your other huge winners are Arnold Palmer by six in 1964, Cary Middlecoff by seven (over Ben Hogan) in 1955, Raymond Floyd by eight in 1976 and Jack Nicklaus by nine (over Arnold Palmer and Gary Player) in 1965.