Profile Of A Masters Champion

What skills are required to land the Green Jacket? What must you do to prevail at Augusta? The answers may surprise you

- Fergus Bisset

One of the more compelling aspects of professional golf is the variety and diversity of the champions it produces. Some are athletes who demonstrate power and technique; others rely more heavily on consistency and tenacity. The methods may vary but the objective is the same: winning.

In considering The Masters, the line-up of past champions shows players known for displaying differing golfing attributes – magicians like Seve, technicians like Hogan and power players like Bubba. On the surface, they seem very different to one another, but each of these players has cracked the code to win at Augusta.

Here, we consider how that puzzle has been solved by recent Masters victors and the common ground they have shared...

EXPERIENCE

Only three players have won The Masters on their first outing – Horton Smith and Gene Sarazen in the first two editions and then Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. The consensus is that experience around Augusta is important, if not quite essential, when it comes to determining the champion.

Two recent winners have added weight to the ‘not quite essential’ bit – Jordan Spieth came close to success on his debut in 2014 and then prevailed in his second outing the following year. In 2016, Danny Willett won on his second Masters start. Having said that, Sergio Garcia took the title in 2017 playing in his 19th Masters.

Looking at an average of the previous five Masters Champions, the winner has been playing in their eighth Masters and 34th Major. They have recorded seven previous top-ten Major finishes and their average age has been 31. Experience is valuable at Augusta.

PREPARATION