PHOTO GALLERY: Ranking the 9 most obscure Masters champions
By Golf Digest Middle East
|April 11, 2017
Danny Willett
How he won:
A WWII vet, Keiser’s final-round 74 held off a charging Ben Hogan to win by one.
Compelling narrative:
Keiser was an outsider, and by his account, members of Augusta National tried to keep him from winning. Grantland Rice tried to assess Keiser with a slow-play penalty, which he had no authority to do. The club gave him the wrong tee time . . . and a 13-year-old caddie. Some of this could be apocryphal, but others throughout the years have validated some of Keiser’s claims.
How obscure was he:
Only one other major top-10 finish in his career.
How he won:
Despite shooting final-round 75, cruised to three-shot victory as entire field struggled in tough conditions.
Compelling narrative:
Underwent surgery to remove a noncancerous tumor on his diaphragm four months before win.
How obscure was he:
Not a household name, but won 2006 Rookie of the Year and was 29th in world rankings before capturing green jacket.
How he won:
Tied with Jack Nicklaus entering Sunday, Coody beat the Golden Bear to win the green jacket by two.
Compelling narrative:
Redemption, as Coody lost the ‘69 Masters thanks to bogeys on the final three holes.
How obscure was he:
Two previous wins, the Masters would be his final victory on tour.
Charl Schwartzel in 2011
How he won:
Shot Sunday 67, aided by a certain someone’s quadruple bogey at the 12th hole.
Compelling narrative:
The guy not named Jordan Spieth who won the Masters.
How obscure was he:
Top 15 player in the world, but relatively unknown outside of England.
How he won:
Shot a final-round 69 in windy conditions, winning with the highest score (289) in tournament history.
Compelling narrative:
Dispelled notion a player has to be a bomber to win at Augusta: Johnson failed to reach a par 5 in two during the week.
How obscure was he:
This has aged well, as Johnson added the claret jug to his resume. However, his only pre-Masters win was the 2004 BellSouth Classic, a lower-tier tour event. Entered week outside the top 50 in the world.
AR
