Highest Winning Scores Ever in The Masters Tournament
Has a Masters Tournament winner ever finished over par? Yes, it has happened three times. Each of those three golfers won with a score of 1-over-par 289, which makes 289 the highest winning score in the history of The Masters.
You might first think this is a record that a golfer wouldn't want to hold. But the key is that these are winning scores. Rest assured the golfer who wins The Masters doesn't care if he has tied or set this record in so doing. But it's still interesting from a historical perspective.
These are the three golfers who share this record:
Sam Snead, 1954, 289
The 1954 Masters Tournament featured a battle in the final round, and in an 18-hole playoff, between Sam Snead and Ben Hogan. Snead began the final round three behind leader Hogan, but shot 72 to Hogan's 75 in the fourth round to tie. In the playoff, Snead took a lead with a birdie on the 10th, extended the lead to two when Hogan bogeyed the 16th, and won by a stroke, 70 to 71.
Jack Burke Jr., 1956, 289
The 1956 Masters is most famous for the collapse of then-amateur Ken Venturi, who opened the tournament with a 66. Scoring was good the first two rounds but soared in the very blustery conditions of the final two rounds. Both Venturi and Burke had 75s in Round 3, leaving Burke eight strokes behind going into the final round. But in that fourth round, Burke carded a 71 (one of just two players under par) while Venturi struggled with the conditions and pressure and shot 80. That gave Burke the one-stroke victory.
Zach Johnson, 2007, 289
Johnson's victory in the 2007 Masters also happened over the course of a blustery weekend. The third round saw the highest scores, with Johnson scoring 76 in that round. But his final-round 69 included birdying three of the last six holes. He won by two strokes over the threesome of Retief Goosen, Rory Sabbatini and Tiger Woods (Woods failed to break par in any of the four rounds).
