The 2020 virtual Masters: A dozen potential contenders

The 2020 virtual Masters: A dozen potential surprises

By Bill Felber | Apr 7, 2020

Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain hits a tee shot off the first tee 07 April 1999 during the final practice round for the Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, GA. The Masters golf tournament will start 08 April 1999. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO (Photo by JEFF HAYNES / AFP) (Photo by JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images) /

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Jimmy Demaret, a three-time Masters champion: Allsport Hulton/Archive /

Jimmy Demaret, 1940, 1947, 1950 (1941-1950), -1.22

Demaret’s 31 PGA Tour victories included three Masters titles, the first of which he won in only his second appearance in 1940. His first-round 67 lagged three strokes behind Lloyd Mangrum’s course-record 64. But Demaret caught Mangrum with a 72 on Friday, and took a one-stroke lead unto the final round. On that Sunday Demaret gradually pulled away to beat Mangrum by four strokes and Byron Nelson by five.

In the second post-war Masters, Demaret again dominated. He opened with a 69 to share the lead with Nelson, carried a three-stroke lead into Sunday, and outlasted Nelson and Frank Stranahan to win by two.

His final championship, in 1950, was easily also his most dramatic. Tied for third, four strokes behind Jim Ferrier through three rounds, Demaret was seven strokes behind on the eighth tee. But he birdied five of the final 11 holes, tied Ferrier with a birdie on 16 and took the lead when Ferrier bogeyed the 17th.

Between his 1940 and 1950 victories, Demaret three times contended, finishing fourth in 1946, sixth in 1942 and eighth in 1959. Although three of his prime competitive seasons were wiped out by World War II, Demaret never finished outside the top 20 during that most competitive window.

Virtual Masters projection: 11th.

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