It’s difficult enough to win the Masters, but it’s even more challenging to win the green jacket two years in a row. Only a small amount of golfers have accomplished this feat.
This week at Augusta National, Rory McIlroy has the chance to add his name to this short list of elite golfers. He finally won his first green jacket last year after 11 years of anticipating completing his career grand slam. Now he’s seen as one of the favorites to win this year.
If McIlroy is able to win another green jacket this week he will be adding his name to the golf history books once again.
Who has been able to complete back-to-back Masters? Through 91 Masters, only three golfers can say they’ve been able to achieve this feat.
Who has won back-to-back Masters titles?
The three golfers who won consecutive Masters titles happen to be three of the winningest golfers at Augusta National, too. Jack Nicklaus holds the record with six Masters wins, and he was the first golfer to win back-to-back titles there. Two-plus decades later, Englishman Nick Faldo completed the difficult task at Augusta National. He won three Masters in his professional career. The last person to accomplish this goal was none other than Tiger Woods, who won his second and third Masters in consecutive years. He now has five wins at Augusta National.
| Golfer | Back-to-Back Years |
|---|---|
| Jack Nicklaus | 1965–66 |
| Nick Faldo | 1989–90 |
| Tiger Woods | 2001–02 |
Who came close to winning back-to-back Masters?
There definitely could be more names on this short list as a few other golfers came very close to winning consecutive Masters. Here’s a few of those instances.
In 1954, Ben Hogan almost became the first golfer to win back-to-back Masters after he won in ‘53. Hogan faced Sam Snead in a playoff to finish the tournament and lost to Snead.
Then, in1958, Doug Ford attempted to become the first golfer to win back-to-back Masters after he won in ‘57. He ended up tying for second place behind none other than Arnold Palmer, who won his first Masters that year. Imagine if Palmer didn’t win that year? Golf history would look a lot different.
Palmer’s four Masters wins nearly came in consecutive years. He captured his green jackets in 1958, ‘60, ‘62 and ‘64, so in every other year. He nearly made history in ‘61 as he led the tournament when arriving on the final hole, but a double bogey pushed his score back to put him in second behind Gary Player. He rebounded the next year.
Nicklaus almost made history a couple years prior to when he actually made a Masters record by becoming the first golfer to win in consecutive years. He won his first of six Masters in 1963, and he nearly won in ‘64, but finished as the runner-up to Palmer.
The most recent instance in which a golfer almost won back-to-back Masters at Augusta National came in 2016 when Jordan Spieth was looking to defend his ‘15 win. He had a big lead early in Sunday’s final round but then collapsed on the back nine and finished in second place.
We’ll see if McIlroy can add his name to the history books this week.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Who Has Won Back-to-Back Masters? Rory McIlroy Could Join That List This Year.
