The Masters is the one golf major that every player wants to win at some stage in their career. To don that famous green jacket is to be granted access to the annals of sporting greatness, and with the 2023 tournament just around the corner, it’s a chance for a new name to taste Masters glory.
The latest golf betting has the likes of Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm as the favourites this year, but history tells us that the winner of the Masters does not always follow the form books. Let’s take a look at the last five victors at Augusta National.
2018: Patrick Reed
Patrick Reed was the man who got his hands on the famous green jacket back in 2018. Reed performed sensationally across the four days, especially in rounds two and three, where he recorded scores of 66 and 67. The American then managed to hold his nerve on an edgy final day to see off the challenges of Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm to earn his one and only major championship triumph to date.
Reed hasn’t always been the most popular figure in the golfing world, but no one could deny him his moment in the sun in April 2018.
2019: Tiger Woods
In 2019, we witnessed one of the greatest moments in the history of the sport. Tiger Woods, who hadn’t won a major for over a decade, and had been through a huge amount of personal turmoil in the intervening years, produced a performance for the ages at Augusta to win a fifth Masters crown and send the gathered spectators into raptures.
Woods’ magnificent 67 in round three put him into a strong position heading into Masters Sunday, and it was the red-shirted Woods who produced the goods when it mattered most to hold off a rabid chasing pack and deliver a triumph for the ages.
2020: Dustin Johnson
The 2020 Masters had a unique feel to it, owing to the fact that the tournament took place in November as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Heavy rain in the build-up to the event meant it was a more forgiving Augusta course than it would usually be in the springtime, and Dustin Johnson took full advantage to coast to victory with an incredible final score of 20 under par.
Johnson had been the form player at that time on the PGA Tour, and he gave a true exhibition of his best qualities as he held off the attentions of Sungjae Im and Cameron Smith to lay claim to a maiden green jacket.
2021: Hideki Matsuyama
Ahead of the 2021 Masters, not many people were tipping Hideki Matsuyama to emerge triumphant, but the Japanese star produced some fine form to earn a maiden major title. The highlight was a jaw-dropping seven-under-par round of 65 on day three, which set Matsuyama up as the man to beat on the final day.
Despite some jittery moments, Matsuyama held his nerve to win the green jacket and keep Will Zalatoris at bay.
2022: Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler has been one of the form players of the last couple of years on the PGA Tour, and he backed up his champion credentials last spring by winning the Masters. Scheffler produced a performance defined by coolness under pressure, consigning Smith to another near miss while keeping a resurgent McIlroy at bay too.
Scheffler will be one of the hot favourites for the 2023 tournament. Can he become the first man to win back-to-back green jackets since Woods did so in the early 2000s?
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