Masters Tournament: The ten best players in Augusta National history
By Bill Felber
10: Jimmy Demaret – 1939, 1958, (1940, 1947, 1950); -8.94
With a victory in that winter’s Los Angeles Open, Demaret was just emerging as a popular player when first invited to Augusta in 1939. He managed only a tie for 33rd, but he returned in 1940 and won with an eight-under par total of 280 that was four strokes better than Lloyd Mangrum.
He was sixth in 1942, tied for fourth when the tournament resumed after the conclusion of World War II in 1946, and in 1947 won for a second time…and in wire-to-wire fashion.
In 1950 Demaret began the final round four strokes behind Jim Ferrier and two in back of Hogan, and he trailed by seven strokes with just 11 holes to play. But birdies at the eighth and ninth were two of five Demaret would make coming home. Ferrier, meanwhile, bogeyed five of the final six holes, closing with a 75. That allowed Demaret to move in front with pars on each of the final two holes and shoot 69, good for a two-stroke win.
In 16 Masters starts, Demaret added four top 10s to his three victories. Like other stars of the 1940s, his record was crimped by World War II, which cancelled the 1943-45 Masters. Demaret was in his early 30s at the time, so those years probably would have been solidly within his golfing prime.