Jack Nicklaus, six-time Masters champion in 1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, and 1986, which is a record, is one of three golfers to successfully defend his title. He is also one of five champions to win wire-to-wire, in 1972.
The Masters Tournament is a golf competition that was established in 1934, with Horton Smith winning the inaugural tournament.[1] The Masters is the first of four major championships to be played each year, with the final round of the Masters always being scheduled for the second Sunday in April.[2] The Masters is the only one of the four majors to use the same course every year; the Augusta National Golf Club.[3] Masters champions are automatically invited to play in the other three majors (the U.S. Open, the Open Championship (British Open), and the PGA Championship) for the next five years, and earn a lifetime invitation to the Masters. They also receive membership on the PGA Tourfor the following five seasons and invitations to the Players Championship for the five years following their victory.[4]The champion also receives the "Green Jacket", the first one being won by Sam Snead in 1949. The champion takes the jacket home for a year and returns it thereafter. A multiple-time champion will only have one jacket unless his size changes dramatically.[5]
Jack Nicklaus holds the record for the most Masters victories, winning the tournament six times during his career. Nicklaus is also the oldest winner of the Masters: he was 46 years 82 days old when he won in 1986.[6] Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods co-hold the record for most consecutive victories with two. Woods was the youngest winner of the Masters, 21 years 104 days old when he won in 1997.[6] Woods also set the record for the widest winning margin (12 strokes). The lowest winning score, with 268, 20-under-par, was scored by Dustin Johnson in 2020.[7]
