1954 Masters Tournament Winner and Scores

Two of the heavyweights of their time (or any other time in golf history), Sam Snead and Ben Hogan, battled with an amateur in the final round for the 1954 Masters Tournament title. In the end, it was Slammin' Sam who came away with the trophy, beating Hogan in a playoff.

Winner: Sam Snead, 289

Where it was played: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia

Tournament dates: April 8-12, 1954

Leader after first round: Dutch Harrison and Billy Joe Patton, 70

Leader after second round: Billy Joe Patton, 144

Leader after third round: Ben Hogan, 214

What Happened In the 1954 Masters Tournament

One of the better-known Sam Snead quotes (although one he denied saying) is this: "The three things I fear most in golf are lightning, Ben Hogan and a downhill putt." At the 1954 Masters, Snead had to face one of those fears — Hogan — in an 18-hole playoff. And Snead beat Hogan by one stroke in that playoff, shooting 70 to Hogan's 71. The victory was Snead's third at The Masters, which tied Jimmy Demaret for the most Masters victories to that point in tournament history.

Hogan led Snead by three strokes after three rounds, but Snead carded a final-round 72 to Hogan's 75. The playoff was tight throughout, with neither player holding more than a one-stroke edge through the 15th hole. But the playoff turned on the 16th hole, where Hogan three-putted from 11 feet. That put Snead two up with two to play, and his bogey on the final hole didn't matter.

It was Hogan's third runner-up finish in The Masters (he eventually had four, but also won it in 1951 and 1953). Snead's 72-hole total of 289 is tied for the highest winning total ever in The Masters. It was his seventh and last major championship victory (he previously won The Masters in 1949 and 1952), although he remained competitive for another 20 years, and even made PGA Tour cuts in his mid-60s.

The 1954 Masters is also remembered as the tournament an amateur almost won. Billy Joe Patton was the second-round leader, and he held the outright lead in the final round when he reached the par-5 13th hole. After a great drive, Patton decided to go for the green in two, but his approach found the water and he wound up with a 7 on the hole. After a 6 on the 15th, Patton eventually finished in third place, one stroke out of the playoff.

Snead and Hogan were both 41 years old at the time. His victory made Snead the oldest Masters winner, a record he held until the 1978 Masters.

1954 Masters Final Scores

Sam Snead 74-73-70-72—289
Ben Hogan 72-73-69-75—289
a-Billy Joe Patton 70-74-75-71—290
Dutch Harrison 70-79-74-68—291
Lloyd Mangrum 71-75-76-69—291
Jerry Barber 74-76-71-71—292
Jack Burke Jr. 71-77-73-71—292
Bob Rosburg 73-73-76-70—292
Al Besselink 74-74-74-72—294
Cary Middlecoff 73-76-70-75—294
a-Dick Chapman 75-75-75-70—295
Tommy Bolt 73-74-72-77—296
Chick Harbert 73-75-75-73—296
Byron Nelson 73-76-74-73—296
Lew Worsham 74-74-74-74—296
Julius Boros 76-79-68-74—297
Jay Hebert 79-74-74-70—297
Peter Thomson 76-72-76-73—297
a-Ken Venturi 76-74-73-74—297
a-Charlie Coe 76-75-73-74—298
a-Harvie Ward Jr. 78-75-74-71—298
Walt Burkemo 74-77-75-73—299
Pete Cooper 73-76-75-75—299
Marty Furgol 76-79-75-69—299
Gene Littler 79-75-73-72—299
Ed Oliver 75-75-75-74—299
Earl Stewart Jr. 78-75-75-71—299
Bob Toski 80-74-71-74—299
Jimmy Demaret 80-75-72-73—300
Vic Ghezzi 73-79-73-75—300
Dick Mayer 76-75-72-77—300
Gardner Dickinson 73-78-76-74—301
Jimmy Clark 76-82-72-72—302
George Fazio 78-79-74-71—302
Doug Ford 77-78-74-73—302
Fred Haas Jr. 76-78-78-70—302
Johnny Palmer 75-81-77-69—302
Clarence Doser 74-78-72-79—303
Lawson Little 76-77-74-76—303
Al Mengert 76-79-73-75—303
Skee Riegel 75-76-76-76—303
Horton Smith 80-78-71-74—303
Billy Maxwell 75-77-77-75—304
a-Frank Stranahan 79-75-72-78—304
Felice Torza 74-78-74-78—304
Skip Alexander 80-77-73-75—305
a-Bruce Cudd 76-78-73-78—305
Leland Gibson 75-77-78-75—305
Bud Holscher 78-77-73-77—305
Bill Nary 78-74-78-75—305
a-Bill Campbell 73-77-75-81—306
Ted Kroll 78-76-75-77—306
a-Arnold Blum 75-82-75-75—307
Dave Douglas 72-76-77-82—307
Claude Harmon 77-75-77-78—307
Jack Isaacs 76-79-76-76—307
Gene Sarazen 79-75-78-75—307
a-Don Cherry 80-79-74-76—309
Fred Hawkins 78-80-76-75—309
Bill Ogden 81-76-77-76—310
Johnny Revolta 81-79-75-75—310
Jim Turnesa 83-79-75-73—310
a-Bob Sweeny 81-76-79-76—312
a-James Jackson 75-82-79-78—314
a-Robert Kuntz 80-77-82-75—314
a-Jimmy McHale 78-82-79-76—315
a-Don Albert 77-79-83-77—316
a-Angelo Santilli 79-81-82-75—317
Denny Shute 73-85-82-77—317
a-Raymond Palmer 84-78-80-77—319
Craig Wood 87-80-78-75—320
Sam Parks Jr. 86-79-79-80—324

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