The Masters: Ranking the 25 most exceptional performances at Augusta
By Bill Felber
4: Arnold Palmer, 1964 Masters, 276 (-12), Std. Deviation -2.87
Of Palmer’s four Masters victories, the 1964 performance was his most dominant. This was true even though Palmer failed to match his 1960 feat of holding the sole lead in all four rounds. His Thursday 69 merely shared first with Bob Goalby, Davis Love Jr., Kel Nagle and Gary Player.
From that point on, the tournament was all Palmer’s. With his famed gallery “Army” in full-throated motion, he fired a Friday 68 to build a four-stroke advantage on Player. On Saturday, while Player’s even par 72 dropped him into a tie for fourth, Palmer fired a 69 and led Bruce Devlin by five strokes.
With that advantage, nobody expected Palmer to falter on Sunday, and he never did. He played the front nine in a steady 35, no challenger ever drawing closer than three strokes. With steady play, he built that lead to five strokes though 13 holes, then birdied 14 and 15 to lead Jack Nicklaus by six.
His play was so pristine that it impressed even Palmer, a noted self-critic. Now a four-time champion, he told reporters afterward that his prior wins had always left him wondering about “the weather or some other factor” intervening on his behalf. This time, he added, “I really won it on my own.”