1955 Masters Tournament
The 1955 Masters Tournament was the 19th Masters Tournament, held April 7–10 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. It was the last one before CBS began televising the tournament the following year.
Tournament information | |
---|---|
Dates | April 7–10, 1955 |
Location | Augusta, Georgia |
Course(s) | Augusta National Golf Club |
Organized by | Augusta National Golf Club |
Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
Statistics | |
Par | 72 |
Length | 6,950 yards (6,355 m)[1] |
Field | 78 players |
Cut | None |
Prize fund | $25,000 |
Winner's share | $5,000 |
Champion | |
279 (−9) | |
Cary Middlecoff shot a 65 in the second round, including a then-record 31 on the first nine, to win his only Masters, seven strokes ahead of runner-up Ben Hogan,[2][3] and the second of his three major championships.
After a third round at even-par 72, Middlecoff entered the final round with a four shot lead over Hogan, the champion in 1951 and 1953.[4][5] The victory margin of seven strokes was a tournament record for ten years, until Jack Nicklaus won by nine strokes over Arnold Palmer and Gary Player in 1965, later increased to twelve in 1997 by Tiger Woods. The previous record was five strokes, set in 1948 by Claude Harmon and tied by Hogan in 1953. The runner-up finish was Hogan's fourth at the Masters.
Arnold Palmer, a professional for less than a year, finished tied for tenth in his first Masters.[6]
The Sarazen Bridge, approaching the left side of the 15th green, was dedicated on Wednesday to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Gene Sarazen's double eagle in 1935.[7][8][9] Included was a contest to duplicate the 232-yard (212 m) shot, with the closest by Fred Haas at just over 4 feet (1.2 m) away.[10]
Course
Hole | Name | Yards | Par | Hole | Name | Yards | Par | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | White Pine | 400 | 4 | 10 | Camellia | 470 | 4 | |
2 | Woodbine | 555 | 5 | 11 | Dogwood | 445 | 4 | |
3 | Flowering Peach | 355 | 4 | 12 | Golden Bell | 155 | 3 | |
4 | Palm | 220 | 3 | 13 | Azalea | 470 | 5 | |
5 | Magnolia | 450 | 4 | 14 | Spanish Dagger | 420 | 4 | |
6 | Juniper | 190 | 3 | 15 | Firethorn | 505 | 5 | |
7 | Pampas | 365 | 4 | 16 | Redbud | 190 | 3 | |
8 | Yellow Jasmine | 520 | 5 | 17 | Nandina | 400 | 4 | |
9 | Carolina Cherry | 420 | 4 | 18 | Holly | 420 | 4 | |
Out | 3,475 | 36 | In | 3,475 | 36 | |||
Source:[1] | Total | 6,950 | 72 |
^ Holes 1, 2, 4, 11, and 14 were later renamed.
Past champions in the field
Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ben Hogan | 1951, 1953 | 73 | 68 | 72 | 73 | 286 | −2 | 2 | |
Sam Snead | 1949, 1952, 1954 | 72 | 71 | 74 | 70 | 287 | −1 | 3 | |
Byron Nelson | 1937, 1942 | 72 | 75 | 74 | 72 | 293 | +5 | T10 | |
Claude Harmon | 1948 | 77 | 75 | 78 | 73 | 303 | +15 | T28 | |
Henry Picard | 1938 | 78 | 79 | 75 | 75 | 307 | +19 | T41 | |
Herman Keiser | 1946 | 82 | 79 | 75 | 76 | 312 | +24 | T56 | |
Horton Smith | 1934, 1936 | 81 | 81 | 79 | 74 | 315 | +27 | T59 | |
Craig Wood | 1941 | 81 | 81 | 79 | 76 | 317 | +29 | 62 | |
Gene Sarazen | 1935 | 83 | 80 | WD |
- The Masters did not have a 36-hole cut until 1957
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, April 7, 1955
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jack Burke, Jr. | 67 | −5 | |
T2 | Julius Boros | 71 | −1 | |
Mike Souchak | ||||
T4 | Cary Middlecoff | 72 | E | |
Byron Nelson | ||||
Bob Rosburg | ||||
Sam Snead | ||||
T8 | Walter Burkemo | 73 | +1 | |
Pete Cooper | ||||
Ben Hogan | ||||
Skee Riegel |
Source:[11]
Second round
Friday, April 8, 1955
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cary Middlecoff | 72-65=137 | −7 | |
2 | Ben Hogan | 73-68=141 | −3 | |
T3 | Jack Burke, Jr. | 67-76=143 | −1 | |
Sam Snead | 72-71=143 | |||
5 | Bob Rosburg | 72-72=144 | E | |
6 | Mike Souchak | 71-74=145 | +1 | |
T7 | Tommy Bolt | 76-70=146 | +2 | |
Julius Boros | 71-75=146 | |||
Walter Burkemo | 73-73=146 | |||
Pete Cooper | 73-73=146 | |||
Ed Furgol | 74-72=146 | |||
Skee Riegel | 73-73=146 | |||
Harvie Ward (a) | 77-69=146 |
Source:[12]
Third round
Saturday, April 9, 1955
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cary Middlecoff | 72-65-72=209 | −7 | |
2 | Ben Hogan | 73-68-72=213 | −3 | |
3 | Jack Burke, Jr. | 67-76-71=214 | −2 | |
4 | Bob Rosburg | 72-72-72=216 | E | |
T5 | Sam Snead | 72-71-74=217 | +1 | |
Mike Souchak | 71-74-72=217 | |||
T7 | Julius Boros | 71-75-72=218 | +2 | |
Walter Burkemo | 73-73-72=218 | |||
Stan Leonard | 77-73-68=218 | |||
T10 | Lloyd Mangrum | 74-73-72=219 | +3 | |
Skee Riegel | 73-73-73=219 |
Final round
Sunday, April 10, 1955
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cary Middlecoff | 72-65-72-70=279 | −9 | 5,000 | |
2 | Ben Hogan | 73-68-72-73=286 | −2 | 3,125 | |
3 | Sam Snead | 72-71-74-70=287 | −1 | 2,125 | |
T4 | Julius Boros | 71-75-72-71=289 | +1 | 1,333 | |
Bob Rosburg | 72-72-72-73=289 | ||||
Mike Souchak | 71-74-72-72=289 | ||||
7 | Lloyd Mangrum | 74-73-72-72=291 | +3 | 875 | |
T8 | Stan Leonard | 77-73-68-74=292 | +4 | 812 | |
Harvie Ward (a) | 77-69-75-71=292 | 0 | |||
T10 | Dick Mayer | 78-72-72-71=293 | +5 | 696 | |
Byron Nelson | 72-75-74-72=293 | ||||
Arnold Palmer | 76-76-72-69=293 |
Scorecard
Final round
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
Eagle Birdie Bogey Double bogey Triple bogey +
References
- Wind, Herbert Warren (April 4, 1955). "The Augusta National: a hole by hole study". Sports Illustrated. p. 20.
- Bartlett, Charles (April 11, 1955). "Middlecoff's 279 wins Masters golf". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, part 4.
- Wind, Herbert Warren (April 18, 1955). "The Doc shows the Masters how". Sports Illustrated. p. 58.
- Bartlett, Charles (April 10, 1955). "Middlecoff's 209 holds Masters lead; 18 to go". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, part 2.
- Fullerton, Hugh, Jr. (April 10, 1955). "Careful Cary's 72 holds Ben 4 back". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. p. 1, sports.
- "Middlecoff wins Masters with 279". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. April 11, 1955. p. 22.
- "Special day for golfdom's Squire". Chicago Daily Tribune. United Press photo. April 7, 1955. p. 1, sec. 6.
- Bartlett, Charles (April 7, 1955). "That historic double eagle". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, sec. 6.
- "The Sarazen Bridge". masters.com. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
- "Haas closest to Sarazen's double eagle". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. April 7, 1955. p. 18.
- Bartlett, Charles (April 8, 1955). "Burke's 67 leads Masters; Snead has 72". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, part 4.
- Bartlett, Charles (April 9, 1955). "Middlecoff's 137 takes lead in Masters". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, part 3.
External links
- Masters.com – past winners and results
- About.com – 1955 Masters
- Augusta.com – 1955 Masters leaderboard and scorecards