Wills Masters Golf Tournament (Australia) Winners, Records

The Wills Masters was a professional golf tournament played in Australia (and not to be confused with the same-named tournament that took place in New Zealand in some of the same years) in the 1960s and 1970s. It usually drew a strong international field and its winners list includes Arnold Palmer and Gary Player.

First played: 1963

Last played: 1975

The title sponsor was the British tobacco company W.D. & H.O. Wills, which issued a set of golf trading cards in the 1930s and sponsored other golf tournaments including the W.D. & H.O. Wills Tournament in England in the 1960s-70s. The tournament ended when cigarette makers were banned from sports sponsorship.

Winners of the Wills Masters Tournament in Australia

1963 — Arnold Palmer, 285
1964 — Cobie Legrange, 277
1965 — Bruce Devlin, 286
1966 — Kel Nagle, 278
1967 — Alan Murray, 290 (def. Roberto de Vicenzo in playoff)
1968 — Gary Player, 277 (def. Peter Townsend in playoff)
1969 — George Knudson, 279
1970 — Brian Barnes, 288
1971 — Bruce Crampton, 281
1972 — Bob Murphy, 278
1973 — Ted Ball, 282
1974 — Ted Ball, 281
1975 — David Graham, 282

The Wills Masters got off to a smashing start in 1963 when Arnold Palmer won, two strokes in front of the runner-up, Jack Nicklaus. Nicklaus was second again the next year, tied with Bruce Devlin. Then Devlin won in Year 3.

The third member of "the Big 3" (with Palmer and Nicklaus) was Gary Player, and Player took the trophy in 1968 by beating Peter Townsend in a sudden-death playoff on the second extra hole. Player was runner-up in 1974, when Australian Ted Ball won for the second year in a row to become the tournament's only multiple champion.

Aussie legend Peter Thomson never won, but finished second twice, in 1965 and 1969. Roberto De Vicenzo was another legend who was twice runner-up without winning.

The Wills Masters' 72-hole scoring record was 277, first set by South African Cobie Legrange in 1964, and matched by Player and Townsend in 1968. The largest margin of victory was just three strokes, recorded three times: by Legrange, then by Bruce Crampton in 1971 and Bob Murphy in 1972.

Golf courses: The tournament rotated among a handful of courses. It debuted at The Lakes Golf Club near Sydney, and was last played at Victoria Golf Club near Melbourne. It also took place at The Australian Golf Club (Sydney) and Manly Golf Club.