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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Blake Schuster

5 times the Masters required a rare Monday finish

There are few things that irk the all-powerful members of Augusta National more than breaking with tradition. It’s why there are no phones allowed on the grounds, why the food prices remain unchanged and why the second weekend in April every year is reserved for the Masters.

The 2023 tournament will put one of Augusta’s favorite traditions to the test.

Masters Leaderboard: Live leaderboard, Schedule, Tee times

Due to an increasingly unfavorable weather forecast, the Masters might have to consider finishing up the final round of play on a Monday — that means no twilight ceremony to place the green jacket on the new champion outside Butler Cabin.

Rain — and a couple of fallen trees — delayed the end of the second round until early Saturday morning. The third round only made it about 10 minutes into the TV broadcast before the horn was sounded and play was halted for the day.

The top two players on the leader board, Brooks Koepka (13-under) and Jon Rahm (9-under), had only made it through six holes at that point.

So with nearly half of the third round still to play, plus another 18 holes in the final round, a Sunday finish is getting dicey. The Masters have completed 36 holes in one day on four occasions, but the last instance was in 2003. A lot has changed since then — especially when it comes to broadcast rights.

Which brings us back to the dreaded Monday finish. It’s only happened five times in the history of the tournament. Could this year’s Masters become the sixth?

1936

Horton Smith is all smiles after winning the Masters Invitation Golf Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, March 26, 1934. Smith proved himself a real champion after sinking a four-foot putt on the home green after being hard pressed by Craig Wood who finished second. AP Photo

Horton Smith won his second Masters title on a marathon Monday in 1936.

Yes, one of the only times the Masters completed 36 holes on one day was also one of the only times the Masters has completed play on a Monday. That didn’t seem to bother Smith at all. He shot 68-72 in two rounds that Monday to claim the green jacket by one stroke at 3-under par.

1938

Henry Picard is shown in this Feb 23, 1942 file photo. Picard was elected tot he World Golf hall of Fame on Wednesday, April 19, 2006. Picard, who died in 1997, won 26 times on the PGA Tour, including the 1938 Masters and the 1939 PGA Championship. (AP Photo)

Henry Picard won two majors in consecutive years starting with the Masters in 1938. Two years after Smith’s wild Monday victory, Picard carded 71-72-72-70 = 285 to win by two strokes at 3-under-par.

Bad weather caused the Augusta National to scrap plans the usual schedule and instead hosted the first round on Saturday, the second and third rounds on Sunday and the final on Monday.

Picard went on to win the PGA Championship the following year.

1961

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 06: Gary Player reacts during the Par 3 Contest prior to the start of the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 6, 2016 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

It’s hard to imagine a situation like the 1961 Masters ever playing out again. The rain on Sunday became so intense that the tournament hosts decided to end play before 4 p.m., erase the entire final round from the record books and replay the last 18 holes on Monday instead.

Gary Player was 2-under-par through nine holes when play was called. He came back on Monday and went 2-under on the front nine again before playing the back nine at 3-over. Luckily it didn’t impact his lead.

Player won his first of three green jackets and helped turn the Masters into the massive spectacle it is today.

1973

Tommy Aaron, the winner of the 1973 Masters, uses a little body english on the first hole drive, in round 1 of the 2001 Masters Tournament Thursday at the Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo by Eileen Blass, USA TODAY)

And so began the Curse of the 3s at Augusta National.

After escaping any further delays for a decade, the rain once again forced the Masters to complete play on Monday. That helped Tommy Aaron secure the only major victory of his career with a final round of 68 fending off C.J. Snead — the nephew of Golf Hall of Famer Sam Snead — by one stroke.

1983

Spain’s Seve Ballesteros, former British Open winner, follows his tee shot from the first tee durnig the first official day of practice for the upcoming British Open golf tournament which starts at Royal Lytham St Annes in north west England in this July 15, 1996 (AP Photo/Dave Caulkin)

Seve Ballesteros won his second Masters title on a Monday in 1983 after heavy rain on Friday pushed the tournament schedule back.

It clearly didn’t impact Ballesteros’ game at all. He shot 68-70-73-69 = 280 to win by four strokes at 8-under-par.

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