Biggest Comebacks to Win in The Masters
The record for largest come-from-behind victory in The Masters Tournament is nine strokes. That is the margin by which Jack Burke Jr. trailed at one point in the final round of the 1956 Masters before coming back to win. In this article, we'll list the largest final-round comeback victories in The Masters, plus a few other Masters tournament records for come-from-behind wins.
Largest Comeback Wins After 54 Holes
These are the Masters champions who trailed by the most after the end of the third round. The largest final-round comebacks are:- 8 strokes — Jack Burke Jr., 1956. At the start of the final round in 1956, Burke trailed the leader, amateur Ken Venturi, by eight. And early in the final round, Burke fell nine behind Venturi. But Venturi stumbled on to an 80 while Burke scored 71, and Burke won by one stroke over Venturi.
- 7 strokes — Gary Player, 1978. Player's third Masters win was a late-career surprise. He started the final round tied for 10th place, seven behind leader Hubert Green. But Player scored 64 to win by one over a trio of runners-up, including Green, who had a 72. Player, age 42, set records at the time for oldest Masters champion and lowest final-round score by the winner.
- 6 strokes — Art Wall, 1959. Wall started the final round outside the Top 10 and six behind co-leaders Arnold Palmer and Stan Leonard. In the final round, Palmer scored 74 and Leonard 75. Wall shot 66 to win by one over Cary Middlecoff.
- 6 strokes — Fuzzy Zoeller, 1979. Zoeller was tied four fourth place but six behind Ed Sneed after 54 holes. In the final round, Zoeller scored 70 to Sneed's 76. Tom Watson joined them in the playoff, which Zoeller won on the second hole. It was the first sudden-death playoff in Masters history.
- 6 strokes — Nick Faldo, 1996. Greg Norman led Faldo by six strokes after the third round. The 1996 Masters is mostly remembered for Norman's collapse — he had a 78. But Faldo played great, with a 67. Faldo went from trailing by six to winning by five.
Masters Comebacks Over the Final Holes
What about come-from-behind Masters wins that happened over the late holes of the final round? These golfers weren't necessarily that far off the lead at the start of the final round, but had to scramble back from a late deficit to achieve victory.- 5 strokes behind with 6 holes to play: Danny Willett, 2016. Jordan Spieth was the front-runner, but started his back nine with two bogeys, then quadruple-bogeyed No. 12.
- 5 strokes behind with 7 holes to play: Art Wall, 1959. After starting the final round six behind, Wall still trailed Arnold Palmer by five after Wall's 11th hole. But Palmer triple-bogeyed No. 12, and Wall birdied five of the last six holes.
- 3 strokes behind with 3 holes to play: Fuzzy Zoeller, 1979. Like Wall, Zoeller appears on the list above. But Zoeller's comeback was really Ed Sneed's "fallback" — Sneed bogeyed each of the last three holes to let Zoeller (and Tom Watson) into a playoff.
- 3 strokes behind with 3 holes to play: Nick Faldo, 1989. And a third golfer who appears on the list above, although for a different Masters. In the 1989 Masters, Faldo trailed Scott Hoch by three after the 15th hole. Over the final three holes, Faldo had two birdies and Hoch had one bogey. Faldo then beat Hoch in a playoff.
More Masters Comeback Victories
- Largest 18-hole deficit by eventual winner: The most anyone has trailed after the first round of a Masters Tournament and still won is seven strokes. Three golfers share this record — Nick Faldo (who appears in all three sections of this article) in the 1990 Masters; Tiger Woods in the 2005 Masters; and Rory McIlroy in the 2025 Masters.
- Largest 36-hole deficit by eventual winner: 8 strokes, Jack Burke Jr., 1956. Burke has the largest Masters comebacks after 36, after 54, and at any point in the final round (9 strokes).
Augusta National Golf Club. Historical Records & Stats, Best Comebacks, https://www.masters.com/en_US/scores/stats/historical/index.html.
Cheney, Will. "What are the greatest comebacks in the history of the Masters?", Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle, https://www.augustachronicle.com/story/sports/pga/2023/04/09/greatest-comebacks-masters-tournament-history/70095525007/.
Stafford, Ali. "The Masters: Five biggest final-round comebacks in Augusta history," Sky Sports, https://www.skysports.com/golf/news/24512/11693229/the-masters-five-biggest-final-round-comebacks-in-augusta-history.
