1953 Masters Tournament Explained

1953 Masters Tournament
Dates:April 9–12, 1953
Location:Augusta, Georgia
Course:Augusta National Golf Club
Org:Augusta National Golf Club
Tour:PGA Tour
Par:72
Yardage:6950yd
Field:71 players
Cut:none
Winners Share:$4,000
Score:274 (−14)
Previous:1952
Next:1954
Map:USA#USA Georgia
Map Relief:yes
Map Label:Augusta National
Coordinates:33.503°N -82.02°W

The 1953 Masters Tournament was the 17th Masters Tournament, held April 9–12 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

Ben Hogan shattered the Masters scoring record by five strokes with a 274 (−14),[1] which stood for twelve years, until Jack Nicklaus' 271 in 1965. Hogan shot four rounds of 70 or better,[2] and went on to win the U.S. Open by six strokes in June and the British Open by four in July. Through 2022, it remains the only time these three majors were won in the same calendar year.

Hogan, age forty, led by four strokes after 54 holes and finished five ahead of runner-up Ed Oliver to win his second Masters, the seventh of his nine major titles. This win was commemorated five years later in 1958 with the dedication of the Hogan Bridge over Rae's Creek at the par-3 12th hole.[3]

Hogan was the first Masters winner over age forty; a few months older than Hogan, Sam Snead won the next year at 41.

Course

See main article: Augusta National Golf Club.

HoleYardsParHoleYardsPar
1White Pine later Tea Olive-->400410Camellia-->4704
2Woodbine later Pink Dogwood-->555511-->4454
3Flowering Peach-->355412Golden Bell-->1553
4Palm later Flowering Crab Apple-->220313Azalea-->4705
5Magnolia-->450414Chinese Fir-->4204
6Juniper-->190315Firethorn-->5055
7Pampas-->365416Redbud-->1903
8Yellow Jasmine-->520517Nandina-->4004
9Carolina Cherry-->420418Holly-->4204
-->Out3,47536-->In3,47536
Source: Total6,95072

Field

1. Masters championsJimmy Demaret (10), Claude Harmon (9), Ben Hogan (2,6,9,10), Byron Nelson (2,6,9), Henry Picard (6), Gene Sarazen (2,4,6), Horton Smith (10), Sam Snead (4,6,9,10), Craig Wood (2)
2. U.S. Open championsJulius Boros (9,10), Billy Burke, Olin Dutra (6), Chick Evans (3,a), Lloyd Mangrum (9,10), Fred McLeod, Cary Middlecoff (9,10,12), Sam Parks Jr., Lew Worsham (9,10)
3. U.S. Amateur championsDick Chapman (5,a), Charles Coe (a), Skee Riegel (9), Jess Sweetser (5,a), Jack Westland (11,a)
4. British Open championsJock Hutchison (6), Denny Shute (6)
5. British Amateur championsFrank Stranahan (9,a), Robert Sweeny Jr. (a), Harvie Ward (9,a)
6. PGA championsJim Ferrier (9), Vic Ghezzi, Bob Hamilton (12), Chandler Harper, Johnny Revolta (9), Jim Turnesa (12)
7. Members of the U.S. 1953 Ryder Cup team
8. Members of the U.S. 1953 Walker Cup team
9. Top 24 players and ties from the 1952 Masters TournamentAl Besselink, Arnold Blum (a), Tommy Bolt (10), Jack Burke Jr., George Fazio (10), Doug Ford (10), Fred Hawkins, Clayton Heafner, Joe Kirkwood Jr., Chuck Kocsis (a), Ted Kroll (10,12), Johnny Palmer
10. Top 24 players and ties from the 1952 U.S. OpenAl Brosch, Johnny Bulla, Clarence Doser (12), Leland Gibson, Chick Harbert (12), Jimmy Jackson (a), Milon Marusic, Dick Metz, Ed Oliver, Earl Stewart, Harry Todd, Felice Torza, Bill Trombley, Bo Wininger
11. 1952 U.S. Amateur quarter-finalistsDon Cherry (a), Al Mengert
12. 1952 PGA Championship quarter-finalistsFrank Champ, Fred Haas
13. One amateur, not already qualified, selected by a ballot of ex-U.S. Amateur championsWilliam C. Campbell (a)
14. One professional, not already qualified, selected by a ballot of ex-U.S. Open championsSkip Alexander
15. Two players, not already qualified, with the best scoring average in the winter part of the 1953 PGA TourJerry Barber, Dick Mayer
16. Foreign invitationsJohn de Bendern (5,a), Ricardo Rossi, Peter Thomson

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, April 9, 1953

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1 68 −4
T2 69 −3
T4 70 −2
T6 71 −1
Bob Hamilton
Sam Snead
T10 72 E
Frank Stranahan (a)

[4] [5]

Second round

Friday, April 10, 1953

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1 70-69=139 −5
2 71-69=140 −4
T3 68-73=141 −3
71-70=141
T5 74-68=142 −2
70-72=142
69-73=142
T8 69-75=144 E
73-71=144
73-71=144
74-70=144

[6] [7]

Third round

Saturday, April 11, 1953

With a 66 (−6), 1951 champion Ben Hogan set the 54-hole scoring record at 205 (−11).[8]

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1 70-69-66=205 −11
2 69-73-67=209 −7
3 71-69-70=210 −6
4 68-73-70=211 −5
5 74-68-71=213 −3
T6 69-75-70=214 −2
71-75-68=214
71-70-73=214
9 74-72-69=215 −1
T10 78-69-69=216 E
73-71-72=216
73-72-71=216
73-72-71=216
Frank Stranahan (a) 72-75-69=216
Harvie Ward (a) 73-74-69=216

[8] [9]

Final round

Sunday, April 12, 1953

Final leaderboard

Champion
Silver Cup winner (low amateur)
(a) = amateur
(c) = past champion
Top 10!Place!!Player!!Score!!To par!!Money (US$)
1 Ben Hogan (c) 70-69-66-69=274 −14 4,000
2 69-73-67-70=279 −9 2,500
3 74-68-71-69=282 −6 1,700
4 71-69-70-73=283 −5 1,400
T5 71-75-68-71=285 −3 900
68-73-70-74=285
7 71-70-73-72=286 −2 700
8 78-69-69-71=287 −1 650
9 69-75-70-74=288 E 600
T10 73-71-75-70=289 +1 523
74-72-69-74=289
75-70-74-70=289

[10] [11]

Scorecard

Hole1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par454343454443545344
Hogan −11−12−12−13−13−12−12−11−11−11−11−11−12−12−13−13−13−14
Oliver −7−8−9−9−9−9−9−9−9−8−7−7−8−8−8−8−8−9
Mangrum −2−2−2−2−2−2−2−2−2−2−2−2−3−3−3−4−5−6
Hamilton −5−5−5−5−5−6−6−6−6−5−5−5−4−5−5−4−5−5
Bolt −2−3−3−3−3−3−3−3−3−2−2−2−3−3−3−3−3−3
Harbert −5−5−5−2−3−2−2−2−3−1−1−1−1−1−1−2−3−3
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
BirdieBogeyDouble bogeyTriple bogey +

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Hogan's record 274 wins Masters golf . Chicago Daily Tribune . Bartlett . Charles . April 13, 1953 . 1, part 4.
  2. News: Hogan's record 274 wins Masters golf . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Associated Press . April 13, 1953 . 20 . April 16, 2013.
  3. News: Augusta club honors Nelson and Hogan . Daytona Beach Morning Journal . Florida . Associated Press . April 3, 1958 . 8.
  4. News: Harbert leads Masters field with 68 . Palm Beach Post . United Press . April 10, 1953 . 15 . April 16, 2013.
  5. News: Harbert's 68 sets Masters tourney pace . Chicago Daily Tribune . April 10, 1953 . 2, part 3.
  6. News: Hogan takes Masters lead . Palm Beach Post . United Press . April 11, 1953 . 10 . April 16, 2013.
  7. News: Hogan takes Masters golf lead with 139 . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Associated Press . April 11, 1953 . 12 . April 16, 2013.
  8. News: Hogan's record 205 paces Masters golf . Chicago Sunday Tribune . Bartlett . Charles . April 12, 1953 . 1, part 2.
  9. News: Hogan shoots 66 to lead Masters . Palm Beach Post-Times . United Press . April 12, 1953 . 25 . April 16, 2013.
  10. Web site: Masters – Past Winners & Results . Augusta National Inc. . April 20, 2021.
  11. Web site: Past results – Masters tournament . PGA Tour . April 20, 2021.

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