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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