5 most surprising Masters champions of the last 50 years
The Masters is arguably the second-most prestigious golf tournament in the world behind The Open. A victory can make a career, and missing out can forever relegate a player to the sport's second tier. The grand stage means slipups will be detailed in history books, while legendary shots will reverberate for eternity.
In this look at the tournament, PrimePutt compiled a ranking of the five most surprising Masters champions of the last 50 years using data from Sports Odds History. Champions were ranked according to their pretournament odds.
The pristine Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia has brought Johnny Miller, Greg Norman, and Rory McIlroy to their knees and lifted Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and a handful of unassuming pros who performed their best during one of the most significant golf weekends.
The Masters course is set on a plantation and nursery where laborers were once enslaved—a history that is reflected in the course's legacy. A Black player did not compete at Augusta until Lee Elder in 1975, and the club did not admit a Black member until 1990 or a woman until 2012.
The course's nursery history is ever present with perfectly manicured grass, blooming azaleas, and pink and white dogwoods framing the famous Rae's Creek at Amen Corner. Bridges commemorate greats of the game—Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, and Gene Sarazen—and plaques honor Jack Nicklaus, who won a record six green jackets, and Arnold Palmer. The artfully crafted exterior is the perfect backdrop for history-making every April.
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#5. Hideki Matsuyama (2021)
- Pretournament odds: +6000
Hideki Matsuyama became the first player from an Asian country to win the Masters, and he did so after an impressive stretch following a 77-minute weather delay. He shot a 65 on Saturday by finishing the last eight holes in 6 under and then played through final-round nerves that didn't abate until his ball rolled into the cup on #18, securing a bogey and one-shot triumph.
Ten years earlier, the Japanese star won the Silver Cup as the low amateur—the only one to make the cut—at the Masters. His only major championship came after a nearly four-year victory drought, and he has since won four times, giving him 19 career tournament titles.
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#4. Charl Schwartzel (2011)
- Pretournament odds: +10000
The 2011 Masters may be best remembered for Rory McIlroy's final-round 80, but Charl Schwartzel did everything and more to earn the green jacket. On Sunday, the 26-year-old birdied #1 by chipping in and holed out from 114 yards on #3 for eagle. He finished with four straight birdies—the first winner to do so—drawing comparisons to Jack Nicklaus, who finished eagle-birdie-birdie-par to win in 1986.
Schwartzel's emergence from a field of eight contenders—in just his second appearance at Augusta National—marked the South African's first win in a PGA Tour event. It was his country's third Masters victory 50 years after Gary Player recorded its first. Other than his Masters win, he only has one other top-five showing in a major.
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#2. Angel Cabrera (2009) (tie)
- Pretournament odds: +12500
After rounds of 68, 68, and 69, Angel Cabrera held a share of the Masters lead with Kenny Perry and had a chance to become the first player to shoot four rounds in the 60s. That Sunday was anything but smooth sailing, however. Following his third bogey on #10 and Perry's birdie on #12, Cabrera fell three strokes behind. He came back with birdies on three of the final six holes—and benefited from Perry's bogey-bogey finish—to force a three-way sudden-death playoff. Cabrera won with a pair of pars—but only after a lucky bounce off a pine tree.
Cabrera, also the 2007 U.S. Open champion, became the first player from South America to win the tournament and was the runner-up in 2013 when he lost to Adam Scott in a playoff.
From 2021 to 2023, Cabrera was imprisoned in Argentina for threatening and harassing two former partners. He has since been released on parole and is eligible for PGA Tour Champions events as long as it complies with the terms of his release and if he can get a visa.
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#2. Zach Johnson (2007) (tie)
- Pretournament odds: +12500
Zach Johnson's winning score of 1 over tied the highest tally of any Masters champion. Cold, windy weather was partly to blame, but Johnson was 11 under on par 5s. He separated himself on Sunday with three birdies from #13-16, and another highlight was a chip-in birdie on #8 surrounded by six pars.
Johnson edged Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen, and Rory Sabbatini by two strokes. Woods had won the last two majors and four of the previous eight. It was his first second-place finish at Augusta and ended a string of five wins in six Masters for Woods or Phil Mickelson.
Johnson in his only two previous Masters missed the cut and finished tied for 32nd. He had missed the cut in six of his nine other majors, with finishes of 17th, 37th, and 48th.
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#1. Trevor Immelman (2008)
- Pretournament odds: +15000
Trevor Immelman is the second South African Masters champion on this list. He won by three strokes a week after missing the cut at the Houston Open and four months after having a noncancerous tumor removed from his diaphragm. He got a boost from countryman Gary Player—the tournament winner in 1961, 1974, and 1978—who called him with words of encouragement after the third round.
Immelman, who finished tied for fifth at Augusta in 2005, did well to card a final-round 75 in blustery weather. On par 4s, the 28-year-old was 10 under, breaking Woods' tournament record for a champion from 2001. He also led the field in driving accuracy, ranked second in greens in regulation, and finished fourth in putts per round. The comprehensive performance marked his last victory, and his subsequent best showing in a major was 12th.
Data reporting by Karim Noorani. Story editing by Shanna Kelly. Additional editing by Elisa Huang. Copy editing by Robert Wickwire. Photo selection by Tim Bruns.
