1970 Masters Tournament Winner and Scores
The 1970 Masters was the 34th time the tournament was played. Billy Casper and Gene Littler, who were childhood friends growing up in California, met in an 18-hole playoff. Casper was the winner.
Winner: Billy Casper, 279
Where it was played: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia
Tournament dates: April 9-13, 1970
Leader after first round: Tommy Aaron, 68
Leader after second round: Gene Littler and Bert Yancey, 139
Leader after third round: Billy Casper, 208
What Happened In the 1970 Masters Tournament
Gene Littler and Billy Casper were born one year apart in San Diego, California, played junior and amateur golf together, played the PGA Tour together, were lifelong friends. Both wound up in the World Golf Hall of Fame.At the 1970 Masters, Casper and Littler were tied after 72 holes at 9-under, so the two friends went into a playoff for the Green Jacket. And it was an 18-hole playoff, the last time an 18-hole playoff was used in The Masters.
Casper birdied the first playoff hole and never looked back. He built a five-stroke lead on the front nine and maintained it on the back nine. In the end, Casper scored 69 in the playoff to Littler's 74.
Casper won 51 times on the PGA Tour in his career. This was the 45th of those wins, and was the last of his three major championship victories. For Littler (who won 29 times on the PGA Tour, including one major), this was the first of two losses in playoffs at majors. He also lost the 1977 PGA Championship to Lanny Wadkins in a sudden-death playoff.
Future two-time champion Tom Watson played The Masters for the first time in 1970, missing the cut as an amateur after shooting 77-76. At the other end of the career spectrum, 57-year-old Sam Snead made the cut and finished tied for 23rd. Henry Picard, 2-time major winner and victor at the 1938 Masters, withdrew during the first round in his final appearance.
The 18-hole playoff format was still in place through 1975, but wasn't used in any of the years after 1970. In 1976, the format was changed to sudden death, and the first sudden-death playoff at The Masters took place in 1979.
1970 Masters Final Scores
| x-Billy Casper | 72-68-68-71—279 |
| Gene Littler | 69-70-70-70—279 |
| Gary Player | 74-68-68-70—280 |
| Bert Yancey | 69-70-72-70—281 |
| Tommy Aaron | 68-74-69-72—283 |
| Dave Hill | 73-70-70-70—283 |
| Dave Stockton | 72-72-69-70—283 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 71-75-69-69—284 |
| Frank Beard | 71-76-68-70—285 |
| Bob Lunn | 70-70-75-72—287 |
| Chi Chi Rodriguez | 70-76-73-68—287 |
| Charles Coody | 70-74-67-77—288 |
| Bert Greene | 75-71-70-72—288 |
| Tony Jacklin | 73-74-70-71—288 |
| Don January | 76-73-69-70—288 |
| Takaaki Kono | 75-68-71-74—288 |
| Bob Charles | 75-71-71-72—289 |
| Howie Johnson | 75-71-73-71—290 |
| Dick Lotz | 74-72-72-72—290 |
| Orville Moody | 73-72-71-74—290 |
| Miller Barber | 76-73-77-65—291 |
| Terry Wilcox | 79-70-70-72—291 |
| Deane Beman | 74-72-72-74—292 |
| Julius Boros | 75-71-74-72—292 |
| a-Charlie Coe | 74-71-72-75—292 |
| Bob Murphy | 78-70-73-71—292 |
| Sam Snead | 76-73-71-72—292 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 73-73-72-74—292 |
| Yung Yo Hsieh | 75-75-69-74—293 |
| Jimmy Wright | 75-72-71-75—293 |
| George Archer | 73-72-74-75—294 |
| Gay Brewer | 78-70-72-74—294 |
| Bruce Devlin | 72-74-78-70—294 |
| Larry Hinson | 72-72-71-79—294 |
| Ken Still | 74-73-74-73—294 |
| Arnold Palmer | 75-73-74-73—295 |
| Dan Sikes | 70-77-71-77—295 |
| Maurice Bembridge | 77-72-70-77—296 |
| Bruce Crampton | 75-71-75-75—296 |
| Dale Douglass | 76-74-72-74—296 |
| a-Vinny Giles | 78-72-72-74—296 |
| Grier Jones | 73-75-73-75—296 |
| a-Steve Melnyk | 73-76-71-77—297 |
| Bob Rosburg | 77-73-75-73—298 |
| Al Geiberger | 73-77-74-75—299 |
| George Knudson | 73-72-78-76—299 |
| R.H. Sikes | 70-75-77-78—300 |
| Dean Refram | 76-74-78-75—303 |
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