The 1997 Masters Tournament was the 61st Masters Tournament, held April 10–13 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
Tiger Woods won his first major championship, twelve strokes ahead of runner-up Tom Kite. Through 2014, the margin of victory and four-day score of 270 (−18) are tournament records. Woods also became both the youngest (21) and the first non-white player to win at Augusta.[2]
Defending champion Nick Faldo, a three-time winner at Augusta, missed the cut by seven strokes.
Woods' victory set television ratings records for golf; the final round broadcast on Sunday was seen by an estimated 44 million viewers in the United States.[3]

Contents

Past champions in the field[edit]

Made the cut[edit]

PlayerCountryYear(s) wonR1R2R3R4TotalTo parFinish
Tom Watson United States1977198175686972284−44
Fred Couples United States199272697372286−2T7
Bernhard Langer Germany1985199372727468286−2T7
José María Olazábal Spain199471707472287−1T12
Craig Stadler United States198277727172292+4T26
Larry Mize United States198779697472294+6T30
Sandy Lyle Scotland198873737475295+7T34
Fuzzy Zoeller United States197975736978295+7T34
Jack Nicklaus United States196319651966,
197219751986
77707478299+11T39
Ian Woosnam Wales199177687579299+11T39
Ben Crenshaw United States1984199575737480302+1445

Missed the cut[edit]

PlayerCountryYear(s) wonR1R2TotalTo par
Gary Player South Africa1961197419787675151+7
Tommy Aaron United States19737777154+10
Raymond Floyd United States19767975154+10
Seve Ballesteros Spain198019838174155+11
Nick Faldo England1989199019967581156+12
Charles Coody United States19718377160+16
Billy Casper United States19708377160+16
Gay Brewer United States19678479163+19
Arnold Palmer United States19581960,
19621962
8987176+32
Doug Ford United States19578594179+35
Source:[4]

Round summaries[edit]

First round[edit]

Thursday, April 10, 1997
John Huston shot 67 (−5) to lead by one stroke over Paul StankowskiTiger Woods shot a 40 (+4) on the first nine, but came back into the clubhouse on the back nine with a score of 30 (−6) for a 70 (−2).[5]
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1John Huston United States67−5
2Paul Stankowski United States68−4
3Paul Azinger United States69−3
4Tiger Woods United States70−2
T5Costantino Rocca Italy71−1
José María Olazábal Spain
Nick Price Zimbabwe
T8Stuart Appleby Australia72E
David Berganio, Jr. United States
Fred Couples United States
Lee Janzen United States
Per-Ulrik Johansson Sweden
Bernhard Langer Germany
Davis Love III United States
Colin Montgomerie Scotland
Tommy Tolles United States
Willie Wood United States

Second round[edit]

Friday, April 11, 1997
Woods started the round three strokes back, but a 66 gave him his first lead in a professional major championship, three shots ahead of Colin Montgomerie from Scotland.[6]
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Tiger Woods United States70-66=136−8
2Colin Montgomerie Scotland72-67=139−5
3Costantino Rocca Italy71-69=140−4
T4Fred Couples United States72-69=141−3
José María Olazábal Spain71-70=141
Jeff Sluman United States74-67=141
T7Paul Azinger United States69-73=142−2
Nick Price Zimbabwe71-71=142
Paul Stankowski United States68-74=142
T10Ernie Els South Africa73-70=143−1
Davis Love III United States72-71=143
Tom Watson United States75-68=143

Third round[edit]

Saturday, April 12, 1997
Woods shot a 65 in the third round to increase his lead to nine shots; the closest competitor was Costantino Rocca from Italy.[7]
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Tiger Woods United States70-66-65=201−15
2Costantino Rocca Italy71-69-70=210−6
3Paul Stankowski United States68-74-69=211−5
T4Tom Kite United States77-69-66=212−4
Tom Watson United States75-68-69=212
T6Colin Montgomerie Scotland72-67-74=213−3
Jeff Sluman United States74-67-72=213
8Fred Couples United States72-69-73=214−2
9José María Olazábal Spain71-70-74=215−1
T10Fred Funk United States73-74-69=216E
Justin Leonard United States76-69-71=216
Jesper Parnevik Sweden73-72-71=216
Tommy Tolles United States72-72-72=216

Final leaderboard[edit]

Sunday, April 13, 1997
Woods won his first major championship, twelve strokes ahead of his nearest competitor, runner-up Tom Kite. It was the largest victory margin for a major until the U.S. Open in 2000, won by Woods with a 15-shot margin.[8]
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney ($)
1Tiger Woods United States70-66-65-69=270−18486,000
2Tom Kite United States77-69-66-70=282−6291,600
3Tommy Tolles United States72-72-72-67=283−5183,600
4Tom Watson United States75-68-69-72=284−4129,600
T5Costantino Rocca Italy71-69-70-75=285−3102,600
Paul Stankowski United States68-74-69-74=285
T7Fred Couples United States72-69-73-72=286−278,570
Bernhard Langer Germany72-72-74-68=286
Justin Leonard United States76-69-71-70=286
Davis Love III United States72-71-72-71=286
Jeff Sluman United States74-67-72-73=286

References[edit]