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Player becomes first foreign winner
South African's title hopes dim in 1961 until Arnie's collapse 1961
Posted: Wednesday April 09, 2003 10:58 PM
Updated: Thursday April 10, 2003 7:52 AM
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Gary Player had some dramatic moments as he battled defending champion Arnold Palmer for the 1961 Masters title. File/AugustaChronicle |
By John Boyette
The Augusta Chronicle
Almost from the start of the Masters Tournament, Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts made sure foreign-born players were an integral part of the annual event.
The men understood that golf was a global game and that bringing the best players from around the world would only make their tournament stronger.
The first 24 Masters failed to produce an international champion.
That changed in 1961, the silver anniversary of the tournament.
South African Gary Player entered the 1961 Masters as the PGA Tour's leading money winner through the winter tour, but he took a back seat to Arnold Palmer in the days leading up to the opening round.
After all, Palmer was the defending champion, the darling of the media and the galleries that followed his every move.
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Palmer had the win in hand until he double-bogeyed 18 on Sunday to hand the green jacket to Player. File/AugustaChronicle |
Palmer and Player didn't disappoint, sharing the lead through 36 holes. Player forged ahead in the third round, besting Palmer by four strokes. Both men would have to wait an extra day to complete the duel after heavy rain washed out Sunday's final round.
When the round did get under way, Player wasted little time asserting his front-running position. He birdied the first two holes, then ran off a string of pars to complete the first nine holes in 34.
Palmer, though, wasn't about to give up his crown without making a run. He did Player one better on the front, turning in 33, and that's when things got interesting.
Slowly but surely, Player began to give strokes away on the back nine. He made bogey at the 10th, followed by a double bogey at the 13th after finding a tributary of Rae's Creek. And he made bogey at the 15th, after trouble on the green. Player had stumbled home in 40, opening the door for Palmer and amateur Charlie Coe.
By the time Palmer had played the 15th hole, he was one shot ahead of Player, who had finished well ahead of his rival. Pars on the next two holes brought Palmer to the 18th with his one-shot cushion, and after a perfect drive he appeared to be on the verge of becoming the first man to successfully defend his Masters title.
But Palmer's 7-iron approach found the bunker guarding the right side of the green, and he blasted out long and over the green. Suddenly Palmer was in a struggle just to preserve a tie, and his fourth shot went about 15 feet past the hole. His putt for bogey missed, giving him a double-bogey six.
Player, who was "almost in tears" after his back-nine collapse, according to Sports Illustrated, could hardly believe his eyes. Watching the conclusion with his wife and Clifford Roberts, he saw Palmer commit his gaffe on the 18th.
He could hardly believe it, but Gary Player had become the first international Masters champion.
Copyright 2003 The Augusta Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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