Masters champions since 1997
The first major of the year is soon to be upon us. The Masters Tournament will be scheduled for the first week of April, 2018. As the Augusta National gets ready for the most anticipated tournament of the year, we at PledgeSports take a trip down “Magnolia” lane and analyse the past champions over the last 20 years of the tournament.
If you suffer from a love/hate relationship with playing golf, then maybe you should take some time to watch the pro’s battle it out at Augusta. It is one of those tournaments that any sports fan adores. Huge crowds gather to witness the world’s best golfers take on what Augusta National throws at them. With that said, only a few players have been lucky enough to claim the green jacket. The most prestigious jacket in all of sport. The last 20 years of the tournament has seen players from all across the globe compete and with that numerous different nationalities have won the event.
Masters Champions from the last 20 Years –
At PledgeSports, we are golf lovers and we thought it might be of your interest to take a look back at the Masters champions over the last 20 years. Check it out below –
As you can see the list of Masters champions over the last 20 years show some very familiar faces, Tiger woods claimed his first Masters win in 1997 at only 21 years old, he then went on to secure a further 3 in a eight year period. It may hard to believe Tiger hasn’t won the tournament since 2005. However looking into the 2018 tournament, he fit and healthy on return from injury and he is surely a red hot favourite once again.
Phil Mickelson came to light in 2004, winning his first Master’s with a score of -9 around Augusta National. Phil has since won a further two Masters tournaments, the last being in 2010 were he shot a low four rounds of -16. Runner-up Lee Westwood failed to make an impact on the final after leading by as much as 5 shots in round 3. Phil oozed class and shot a 67 in round 4 and won the Masters by 3 shots.
The 10 greatest golfers of all time
Aside from the American duo of Woods and Mickelson, there has been some surprise Masters champions in the last couple of decades. Mike Weir was the first Canadian to claim the green jacket in 2003, Angel Cabrera stunned the crowd in 2009, Charl Schwartzel won his first major in 2011 and more recently Danny Willett in 2016. Willet was the first english man to win the Masters in 20 years, the last being Sir Nick Faldo. Willett’s victory came as Jordan Speith suffered a surprise collapse on the final day. Speith blow a 5 shot lead as Danny shot a superb bogey free round of 67. A surprise victory to all, albeit well deserved!
Image – PGA.com
Garcia had waited a long time for his first major after being runner up multiple times including a dramatic playoff in 2007 for the Open championship against Padraig Harrington. However GarcÃa broke through and won the Masters Tournament with victory on the first sudden-death playoff hole against Justin Rose. GarcÃa became the third Spanish player to be crownded Masters champion, after Seve Ballesteros and José MarÃa Olazábal. The victory also came on what would’ve been Ballesteros’ 60th birthday.
Multiple Champions –
Source: Wikipedia.org
Only a select few golfers have managed to claim more than one Masters Tournament. The difficulty to win multiple championships has proven to difficult as we have witness huge leads disappear overnight around Augusta. The legend of golf, Jack Nicklaus leads the way with 6 “Green Jackets”. Some say he will never be caught. Time will tell, Tiger Woods only needs 2 more championship wins to tie with Jack, and Phil needs 3 more.
As we all prepare for another great tournament this April, we may witness the old veterans close in on Nicklaus’ tally but who’s to say it will not be a new kid on the block that will take Augusta National by storm?
PledgeSports is the global leader in crowdfunding & sponsorship for sport.
Are you or someone you know raising money for sport? If so, get in touch with us via [email protected], or visit www.pledgesports.org and hit €œCreate A Campaign€ to start raising money today!
For all the latest sports news follow PledgeSports on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
