The 2020 virtual Masters: The 10 statistical favorites
By Bill Felber
Tom Watson, 1977, 1981 (1977-1986), -1.54
Watson’s 1977 victory kicked off a decade of sustained excellence at The Masters. He added the 1981 championship, finished second three more times, and also had fourth and fifth-place showings. That’s eight top-fives in a 10-year window.
Begin with 1977, when Watson held off a charging Jack Nicklaus. Tied through three rounds with Ben Crenshaw, Watson strung together four front-nine birdies to open up a six-stroke advantage on that challenger. Nicklaus was another matter. Shooting a front nine 33 of his own, he lurked two back after Watson bogeyed the 10th, which Nicklaus birdied.
They were tied by the 14th, but Watson’s 20-foot birdie putt at 17 provided the winning margin. When Nicklaus bunkered his approach at 18 for a bogey, Watson’s margin grew to two.
He nearly repeated in 1978, eagling the 13th on Sunday to tie Rod Funseth and Hubert Green for the lead. But Gary Player birdied three of the final four holes to pass all three of them for the one-stroke victory, Watson, Green and Funseth tying for second.
Again in 1979, Watson battled to the finish, this time tying Ed Sneed and Fuzzy Zoeller, all three at -8. All three birdied the first playoff hole, but Zoeller birdied the second to take the title. In short, between 1977 and 1979 Watson missed being the tournament’s only back-to-back-to-back winner by a margin of one stroke plus one playoff.
Watson’s second victory came in 1981, and again he wrestled Nicklaus – along with Johnny Miller – for it. Leading Nicklaus by one stroke through three rounds, he closed with 71 to beat Miller and Nicklaus by two.
Watson’s record makes him a contender in a virtual meeting of the Masters’ best.