1966 Masters Tournament

The 1966 Masters Tournament was the 30th Masters Tournament, held April 7–11 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

Jack Nicklaus, age 26, earned his third Green Jacket in an 18-hole Monday playoff and became the first back-to-back champion at the Masters. He ended regulation at even-par 288, tied with Tommy Jacobs and Gay Brewer. Nicklaus shot a 70 in the extra round on Monday to defeat Jacobs (72) and Brewer (78). Nicklaus' score the previous year in 1965 was significantly lower at 271 (−17), a record which stood for 32 years.

On Sunday, Brewer shot a 33 (−3) on the front nine and then had eight pars as he came to the 72nd hole with a one-shot lead. After hitting his approach shot onto the green, he three-putted from , missing a putt for par to win. This was the last Masters that two-time champion Byron Nelson played in; he shot 76 and 78 and missed the cut by one stroke. The 36-hole cut at 153 (+9) was the highest to date, exceeded only in 1982.

A close friend of Nicklaus was among four that died in a private plane crash in Tennessee on Wednesday, while en route to Augusta from Columbus, Ohio. Nicklaus learned of the incident late that night and responded with a 68 in the first round, but fell back with a 76 on Friday.

It was the fifth of 18 major titles for Nicklaus, and his only successful defense of a major. Three months later, he completed the first of his three career grand slams at Muirfield in the Open Championship. Later back-to-back winners at Augusta were Nick Faldo (1989 and 1990, both playoffs), Tiger Woods (2001 and 2002) and Rory Mcilroy (2025 and 2026).

Terry Dill won the seventh Par 3 contest on Wednesday with a score of 22.

Brewer rebounded and won the tournament the next year, while Nicklaus' attempt at three consecutive titles ended early with a rare missed cut. Jacobs never won a major; he was also a runner-up in the U.S. Open in 1964 at Congressional.

CBS commentator Jack Whitaker referred to the gallery at the end of the 18-hole Monday playoff as a "mob" and was banned from the next five Masters (1967–1971).

Course

HoleNameYardsPar HoleNameYardsPar1White Pine4004 10Camellia47042Woodbine555511Dogwood44543Flowering Peach355412Golden Bell15534Palm220313Azalea47555Magnolia450414Chinese Fir42046Juniper190315Firethorn52057Pampas365416Redbud19038Yellow Jasmine530517Nandina40049Carolina Cherry420418Holly4204Out3,48536In3,49536Source: Total6,98072 ^ Holes 1, 2, 4, and 11 were later renamed.

Field 1. Masters champions Jack Burke Jr. (4,10), Doug Ford, Claude Harmon, Ben Hogan (8), Herman Keiser, Cary Middlecoff (2), Byron Nelson (8), Jack Nicklaus (2,4,8,10), Arnold Palmer (2,3,8,11), Henry Picard, Gary Player (2,3,4,8,9), Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead (10), Art Wall Jr. Jimmy Demaret, Ralph Guldahl, and Craig Wood did not play.

The following categories only apply to Americans

2. U.S. Open champions (last 10 years) Tommy Bolt (8), Julius Boros (9,11), Billy Casper (10,11), Gene Littler (8,9,11), Dick Mayer, Ken Venturi (11)

3. The Open champions (last 10 years) Tony Lema (8,9,11)

4. PGA champions (last 10 years) Jerry Barber, Dow Finsterwald (8), Jay Hebert, Lionel Hebert, Dave Marr (10,11), Bobby Nichols, Bob Rosburg

5. U.S. Amateur and Amateur champions (last 10 years) Deane Beman (6,9,a), William C. Campbell (6,7,a), Charles Coe (a), Richard Davies (a), Bob Murphy (7,a), Harvie Ward (a)

Other champions forfeited their exemptions by turning professional.

6. Members of the 1965 U.S. Walker Cup team Don Allen (7,a), Dave Eichelberger (a), Downing Gray (a), John Mark Hopkins (a), Dale Morey (a), Billy Joe Patton (a), Ed Tutwiler (a), Ed Updegraff (a)

7. The first eight finishers and ties in the 1965 U.S. Amateur Tommy Barnes Jr. (a), Ron Cerrudo (a), Bob Dickson (a), Jimmy Grant (a), Bert Greene (a), Rod Horn (a), Cesar Sanudo (a), James Vickers (a)

8. Top 24 players and ties from the 1965 Masters Tournament Tommy Aaron (10), George Bayer, Frank Beard (9), Terry Dill, Wes Ellis, Al Geiberger (9), Paul Harney, Tommy Jacobs (11), Mason Rudolph (9), Doug Sanders (9), Dan Sikes

9. Top 16 players and ties from the 1965 U.S. Open Gay Brewer, Raymond Floyd, Billy Maxwell, Steve Oppermann, Dudley Wysong

10. Top eight players and ties from 1965 PGA Championship Jacky Cupit, Gardner Dickinson, Rod Funseth, Bob McCallister, Bo Wininger

11. Members of the U.S. 1965 Ryder Cup team Don January, Johnny Pott

12. Two players selected for meritorious records on the fall part of the 1965 PGA Tour Charles Coody, Randy Glover

13. One player, either amateur or professional, not already qualified, selected by a ballot of ex-Masters champions Mike Souchak

14. One professional, not already qualified, selected by a ballot of ex-U.S. Open champions Bob Goalby

15. One amateur, not already qualified, selected by a ballot of ex-U.S. Amateur champions Bunky Henry (a)

16. Two players, not already qualified, from a points list based on finishes in the winter part of the 1966 PGA Tour Phil Rodgers, R. H. Sikes

17. Foreign invitations Peter Alliss, Michael Bonallack (5,a), Peter Butler, Bob Charles (3), Chen Ching-Po, Neil Coles, Bruce Crampton (8), Roberto De Vicenzo, Bruce Devlin (8,9,10), Rodney Foster (a), Jean Garaïalde, Harold Henning, Jimmy Hitchcock, Bernard Hunt, Tomoo Ishii, George Knudson (8), Cobie Legrange, Kel Nagle (3,8,9), Lionel Platts, Luis Silverio (a), Ramón Sota (8), Dave Thomas, George Will

Numbers in brackets indicate categories that the player would have qualified under had they been American.

Round summaries First round Thursday, April 7, 1966 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Jack Nicklaus 68 −4T2 Billy Casper 71 −1 Charles Coe (a) Don January Mike Souchak T6 Peter Butler 72 E Raymond Floyd Randy Glover Jay HebertT10 Dow Finsterwald 73 +1 Lionel Hebert Rod Horn (a) George Knudson Bob Rosburg R. H. Sikes Source

Second round Friday, April 8, 1966 PlacePlayerScoreTo parT1 Peter Butler 72-71=143 −1 Paul Harney 75-68=143 T3 Don January 71-73=144 E Jack Nicklaus 68-76=144 Arnold Palmer 74-70=144 Bob Rosburg 73-71=144 Doug Sanders 74-70=144 T8 Raymond Floyd 72-73=145 +1 Ben Hogan 74-71=145 Mike Souchak 71-74=145 Source

Third round Saturday, April 9, 1966 PlacePlayerScoreTo parT1 Tommy Jacobs 75-71-70=216 E Jack Nicklaus 68-76-72=2163 Don January 71-73-73=217 +1 T4 Gay Brewer 74-72-72=218 +2 Ben Hogan 74-71-73=218 Arnold Palmer 74-70-74=218 T7 Raymond Floyd 72-73-74=219 +3 Paul Harney 75-68-76=219 Jay Hebert 72-74-73=219 Doug Sanders 74-70-75=219 Source

Final round Sunday, April 10, 1966

Final leaderboard Champion Silver Cup winner (low amateur)(a) = amateur(c) = past champion Top 10PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney (US$)T1 Gay Brewer 74-72-72-70=288 E Playoff Tommy Jacobs 75-71-70-72=288 Jack Nicklaus (c) 68-76-72-72=288T4 Arnold Palmer (c) 74-70-74-72=290 +2 5,700 Doug Sanders 74-70-75-71=290T6 Don January 71-73-73-75=292 +4 3,900 George Knudson 73-76-72-71=292T8 Raymond Floyd 72-73-74-74=293 +5 2,500 Paul Harney 75-68-76-74=293T10 Billy Casper 71-75-76-72=294 +6 1,770 Jay Hebert 72-74-73-75=294 Bob Rosburg 73-71-76-74=294 Leaderboard below the top 10PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)T13 Tommy Aaron 74-73-77-71=295 +7 1,570 Peter Butler 72-71-79-73=295 Ben Hogan (c) 74-71-73-77=29516 Ken Venturi 75-74-73-74=296 +8 1,500T17 Tommy Bolt 75-72-78-72=297 +9 1,335 Bruce Crampton 74-75-71-77=297 Terry Dill 75-72-74-76=297 Doug Ford (c) 75-73-73-76=297 Phil Rodgers 76-73-75-73=297T22 Frank Beard 77-71-77-73=298 +10 1,300 Chen Ching-Po 75-77-76-70=298 Roberto De Vicenzo 74-76-74-74=298 Harold Henning 77-74-70-77=298 Tony Lema 74-74-74-76=298 Bobby Nichols 77-73-74-74=298T28 Julius Boros 77-73-73-76=299 +11 1,175 Bruce Devlin 75-77-72-75=299 Gardner Dickinson 76-75-76-72=299 Jimmy Grant (a) 74-74-78-73=299 0 Gary Player (c) 74-77-76-72=299 1,175T33 Rod Funseth 80-70-76-74=300 +12 1,175 Ramón Sota 79-73-77-71=300 Mike Souchak 71-74-77-78=300T36 William C. Campbell (a) 76-77-76-72=301 +13 0 Wes Ellis 76-75-73-77=301 1,175 Dan Sikes 76-74-75-76=301T39 Billy Maxwell 75-77-77-73=302 +14 1,150 R. H. Sikes 73-78-74-77=302 Dudley Wysong 77-75-73-77=302T42 George Bayer 76-77-76-74=303 +15 1,150 Sam Snead (c) 77-72-76-78=303T44 Don Allen (a) 74-72-75-83=304 +16 0 Jack Burke Jr. (c) 75-73-79-77=304 1,150 Jacky Cupit 78-74-77-75=304 Al Geiberger 76-71-79-78=304 Gene Littler 76-76-72-80=304 Ed Updegraff (a) 76-75-77-76=304 0T50 Charles Coe (a) 71-77-85-72=305 +17 Bob Dickson (a) 77-74-75-79=305 Steve Oppermann 74-74-73-84=305 1,12553 Randy Glover 72-74-81-79=306 +18 1,125T54 Ron Cerrudo (a) 76-77-72-82=307 +19 0 Downing Gray (a) 75-77-76-79=307 Ed Tutwiler (a) 79-74-73-81=307T57 Dow Finsterwald 73-76-77-82=308 +20 1,125 Dale Morey (a) 75-78-76-79=308 0T59 Bob Goalby 76-77-82-77=312 +24 1,125 Bob Murphy (a) 76-77-81-78=312 0T61 Jimmy Hitchcock 76-77-78-83=314 +26 1,125 Luis Silverio (a) 77-76-77-84=314 0CUT John Mark Hopkins (a) 74-80=154 +10 Dave Marr 78-76=154 Byron Nelson (c) 76-78=154 James Vickers (a) 82-72=154 Bo Wininger 77-77=154 Michael Bonallack (a) 79-76=155 +11 Charles Coody 78-77=155 Bernard Hunt 78-77=155 Bob McCallister 79-76=155 Kel Nagle 78-77=155 Dave Thomas 78-77=155 Art Wall Jr. (c) 75-80=155 Bob Charles 78-78=156 +12 Dave Eichelberger (a) 78-78=156 Jean Garaïalde 77-79=156 Bunky Henry (a) 77-79=156 Rod Horn (a) 73-83=156 Herman Keiser (c) 78-78=156 Billy Joe Patton (a) 78-78=156 Johnny Pott 78-78=156 Deane Beman (a) 78-79=157 +13 Bert Greene (a) 80-77=157 Mason Rudolph 81-76=157 Jerry Barber 78-80=158 +14 Tommy Barnes Jr. (a) 76-82=158 Dick Mayer 82-76=158 George Will 80-78=158 Cobie Legrange 78-81=159 +15 Lionel Platts 80-79=159 Cesar Sanudo (a) 81-78=159 Peter Alliss 76-84=160 +16 Rodney Foster (a) 82-79=161 +17 Henry Picard (c) 78-83=161 Gene Sarazen (c) 82-80=162 +18 Tomoo Ishii 82-81=163 +19 Richard Davies (a) 83-82=165 +21 Harvie Ward (a) 81-84=165WD Neil Coles 77-72-76=225 +9 Lionel Hebert 73-79-81=233 +17 Cary Middlecoff (c) 83 +11 Claude Harmon (c) 87 +15

Sources:

Scorecard Hole  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18 Par454343454 443545344 Nicklaus +1EE+1+1+1+2+1+1+2+2+2+2+1EEEE Jacobs EEEEEEE+1+1+2+2+2+1+1EEEE Brewer +2+1+1+1+1EEE−1−1−1−1−1−1−1−1−1E Palmer +2+2+2+2+2+2+1EEEE+1E+1+1+1+1+2 Sanders +2+2+2+2+3+3+2+2+2+3+4+4+4+3+3+3+2+2 January +2+1E+1+2+4+4+4+4+5+5+5+5+4+3+3+4+4 Knudson +5+5+4+5+4+4+4+3+3+3+3+5+4+4+3+4+4+4 Hogan +3+3+2+2+2+2+3+3+4+4+4+5+5+6+5+5+7+7 Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par BirdieBogeyDouble bogey

Playoff Monday, April 11, 1966 PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)1 Jack Nicklaus 70 −2 20,0002 Tommy Jacobs 72 E 12,3003 Gay Brewer 78 +6 8,300

Scorecard Hole  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18 Par454343454 443545344 NicklausE−1−1EE−1−1−2−1−1−2−1−1−1−2−2−2−2 Jacobs−1−1−1−1−1−1−1−2−1EE+1+1+1EEEE BrewerE+1+1+1+1+1+2+2+2+2+3+5+5+5+4+3+5+6 Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par BirdieBogeyDouble bogey Source:

References

External links Masters.com – Past winners Augusta.com – 1966 Masters leaderboard and scorecards