The Masters: Ranking the 25 most exceptional performances at Augusta

1: Jack Nicklaus, 1965 Masters, 271, (-17), Std. Deviation -3.48

Nicklaus was 25, the 1963 champion and in the midst of the first of his two periods of dominance when he posted a Thursday 67 that left him in a tie for second, two behind Gary Player.  When Nicklaus, Palmer and Player found themselves in a three-way deadlock though Friday, it appeared to set up a weekend confrontation among the Tour’s acknowledged three kings.

That changed suddenly and dramatically on Saturday. While Palmer posted a 72 and Player 69, Nicklaus stunned the gallery with the week’s best round, a 64. That score, which included a front nine 31, matched Lloyd Mangrum’s 25-year-old 18-hole record.

Leading Player by five, Nicklaus played effortlessly on Sunday, a posture that only widened his margin. He birdied two of the first four holes, built his lead to eight strokes and held that margin through the front nine. Birdies at 12 and again at 17 finalized the 9-stroke victory over Palmer and Player, a performance that impressed even the game’s immortals.

“It is frightening to think what this boy may do in the years to come,” said Byron Nelson, who tied for 15th at 290, 19 strokes off the pace. Against the pace set by Nicklaus, that was actually above average. The four-round field average of 291.69 was 20 and one-half strokes worse than Nicklaus’ 271.