Masters Tournament: The ten best players in Augusta National history

1 Jack Nicklaus 1962-1989, (1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1986), -31.80

Every aspect of Nicklaus’ record at Augusta National establishes him as the event’s premier player. He has the most victories, and he complements them with three second-place finishes. He won at age 23 and also at age 46.

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He has 22 top 10 finishes at Augusta, 16 of them coming in an 18-year stretch between 1961 and 1979.

Nicklaus’ 1965 Masters victory, by nine strokes over Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, remains today the most dominant performance in Masters history as measured by standard deviation. Nicklaus was 3.48 standard deviations better than the field that week, an even more dominant level of performance than the 3.20 standard deviations by which Woods outclassed the field in 1997. By margin of victory, it is the second largest, surpassed only by Woods’ 12-stroke 1997 win

Bobby Jones famously summed up Nicklaus’ 1965 performance, asserting that he “plays a game with which I am not familiar.”

Nicklaus was capable of playing any game. He could dominate, as he did in 1965. He could also survive. Of Nicklaus’ six victories, three — in 1963, 1975 and 1986 —  came by a single stroke. A fourth, in 1966, required an 18-hole playoff in which he beat Gay Brewer and Tommy Jacobs.

Twice, in 1975 and 1986, he marshaled Sunday charges to rally from off the lead for a victory. Of all the greats to ever play at the Masters, there’s no doubt that Jack Nicklaus still stands above the rest.