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.

1955 Masters Tournament
Tournament information
DatesApril 7–10, 1955
LocationAugusta, Georgia
Course(s)Augusta National Golf Club
Organized byAugusta National Golf Club
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par72
Length6,950 yards (6,355 m)[1]
Field78 players
CutNone
Prize fund$25,000
Winner's share$5,000
Champion
Cary Middlecoff
279 (−9)
Augusta 
Location in the United States

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

HoleNameYardsParHoleNameYardsPar
1White Pine400410Camellia4704
2Woodbine555511Dogwood4454
3Flowering Peach355412Golden Bell1553
4Palm220313Azalea4705
5Magnolia450414Spanish Dagger4204
6Juniper190315Firethorn5055
7Pampas365416Redbud1903
8Yellow Jasmine520517Nandina4004
9Carolina Cherry420418Holly4204
Out3,47536In3,47536
Source:[1]Total6,95072

^ Holes 1, 2, 4, 11, and 14 were later renamed.

Past champions in the field

PlayerCountryYear(s) wonR1R2R3R4TotalTo parFinish
Ben Hogan United States1951, 195373687273286−22
Sam Snead United States1949, 1952, 195472717470287−13
Byron Nelson United States1937, 194272757472293+5T10
Claude Harmon United States194877757873303+15T28
Henry Picard United States193878797575307+19T41
Herman Keiser United States194682797576312+24T56
Horton Smith United States1934, 193681817974315+27T59
Craig Wood United States194181817976317+2962
Gene Sarazen United States19358380WD
  • The Masters did not have a 36-hole cut until 1957

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, April 7, 1955

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Jack Burke, Jr. United States67−5
T2Julius Boros United States71−1
Mike Souchak United States
T4Cary Middlecoff United States72E
Byron Nelson United States
Bob Rosburg United States
Sam Snead United States
T8Walter Burkemo United States73+1
Pete Cooper United States
Ben Hogan United States
Skee Riegel United States

Source:[11]

Second round

Friday, April 8, 1955

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Cary Middlecoff United States72-65=137−7
2Ben Hogan United States73-68=141−3
T3Jack Burke, Jr. United States67-76=143−1
Sam Snead United States72-71=143
5Bob Rosburg United States72-72=144E
6Mike Souchak United States71-74=145+1
T7Tommy Bolt United States76-70=146+2
Julius Boros United States71-75=146
Walter Burkemo United States73-73=146
Pete Cooper United States73-73=146
Ed Furgol United States74-72=146
Skee Riegel United States73-73=146
Harvie Ward (a) United States77-69=146

Source:[12]

Third round

Saturday, April 9, 1955

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Cary Middlecoff United States72-65-72=209−7
2Ben Hogan United States73-68-72=213−3
3Jack Burke, Jr. United States67-76-71=214−2
4Bob Rosburg United States72-72-72=216E
T5Sam Snead United States72-71-74=217+1
Mike Souchak United States71-74-72=217
T7Julius Boros United States71-75-72=218+2
Walter Burkemo United States73-73-72=218
Stan Leonard Canada77-73-68=218
T10Lloyd Mangrum United States74-73-72=219+3
Skee Riegel United States73-73-73=219

Source:[4][5]

Final round

Sunday, April 10, 1955

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney ($)
1Cary Middlecoff United States72-65-72-70=279−95,000
2Ben Hogan United States73-68-72-73=286−23,125
3Sam Snead United States72-71-74-70=287−12,125
T4Julius Boros United States71-75-72-71=289+11,333
Bob Rosburg United States72-72-72-73=289
Mike Souchak United States71-74-72-72=289
7Lloyd Mangrum United States74-73-72-72=291+3875
T8Stan Leonard Canada77-73-68-74=292+4812
Harvie Ward (a) United States77-69-75-71=2920
T10Dick Mayer United States78-72-72-71=293+5696
Byron Nelson United States72-75-74-72=293
Arnold Palmer United States76-76-72-69=293

Source:[2][6]

Scorecard

Final round

Hole  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18 
Par454343454443545344
Middlecoff−7−8−8−8−7−8−9−9−9−7−7−8−8−8−9−9−8−9
Hogan−3−3−3−3−2−2−2−3−3−2−1−1−2−2−2−2−2−2
SneadEEEEE+1+1+1+1+1+1+1EE−1−1−1−1
Boros+2+2+2+2+3+3+4+4+4+4+4+4+3+3+2+1+1+1
Rosburg+1+1+1+2+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+2+3+1+1+1+1
Souchak+1EEEEEE−1EEEE+1+1E+1+1+1
Burke−1−1−1−1−1−1−1−1−1EE+1+5+5+5+5+6+6

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Eagle Birdie Bogey Double bogey Triple bogey +

References

  1. Wind, Herbert Warren (April 4, 1955). "The Augusta National: a hole by hole study". Sports Illustrated. p. 20.
  2. Bartlett, Charles (April 11, 1955). "Middlecoff's 279 wins Masters golf". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, part 4.
  3. Wind, Herbert Warren (April 18, 1955). "The Doc shows the Masters how". Sports Illustrated. p. 58.
  4. Bartlett, Charles (April 10, 1955). "Middlecoff's 209 holds Masters lead; 18 to go". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, part 2.
  5. Fullerton, Hugh, Jr. (April 10, 1955). "Careful Cary's 72 holds Ben 4 back". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. p. 1, sports.
  6. "Middlecoff wins Masters with 279". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. April 11, 1955. p. 22.
  7. "Special day for golfdom's Squire". Chicago Daily Tribune. United Press photo. April 7, 1955. p. 1, sec. 6.
  8. Bartlett, Charles (April 7, 1955). "That historic double eagle". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, sec. 6.
  9. "The Sarazen Bridge". masters.com. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  10. "Haas closest to Sarazen's double eagle". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. April 7, 1955. p. 18.
  11. Bartlett, Charles (April 8, 1955). "Burke's 67 leads Masters; Snead has 72". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, part 4.
  12. Bartlett, Charles (April 9, 1955). "Middlecoff's 137 takes lead in Masters". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, part 3.

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