1962 Masters Tournament

The 1962 Masters Tournament was the 26th Masters Tournament, held April 5–9 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Arnold Palmer won the third of his four Masters titles in the tournament's first three-way playoff.^[1][2] It was the fifth of his seven major titles.

1962 Masters Tournament

Front cover of the 1962 Masters Guide
Tournament information
Dates	April 5–9, 1962
Location	Augusta, Georgia 33.503°N 82.020°W / 33.503; -82.020
Course(s)	Augusta National Golf Club
Organized by	Augusta National Golf Club
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	72
Field	110 players, 52 after cut
Cut	149 (+5)
Prize fund	$109,100
Winner's share	$20,000
Champion
Arnold Palmer
280 (−8), playoff
Location map
Augusta National Location in the United States Show map of the United States Augusta National Location in Georgia Show map of Georgia
← 1961 1963 →

The other two in the 18-hole Monday playoff were also major championship winners: defending champion Gary Player and Dow Finsterwald, winner of the PGA Championship in 1958. Out in 37 and down three strokes to Player at the turn, Palmer shot a 31 on the back nine for 68, while Player shot a 71 and Finsterwald a 77.^[3] In the lead after three rounds, Palmer was five-over for his final round after a double bogey at the 10th hole. After five pars, he birdied 16 and 17 to get into the Monday playoff with a 75 (+3).^[4] The gallery for the playoff was estimated at 16,000 spectators.^[1]

Henry Picard, the 1938 champion, made his final cut at Augusta at age 55. Jack Nicklaus, 22, tied for 15th in his fourth appearance, the first as a professional. He won the next major, the U.S. Open, in a playoff over Palmer at Oakmont near Pittsburgh.

With near misses in 1959 and 1961, Palmer said that it could have been his fifth consecutive title at Augusta.^[2]

The 36-hole cut was increased this year to include the low 44 plus ties and anyone within 10 shots of the lead (previously it was the low 40 plus ties). 110 players entered the tournament and 52 made the cut at 149 (+5).

Bruce Crampton won the third Par 3 contest with a score of 22.

Field

1. Masters champions

Jack Burke Jr. (4,8), Jimmy Demaret, Doug Ford (4,9,10,11), Claude Harmon, Ben Hogan (2,3,4,9), Herman Keiser, Cary Middlecoff (2), Byron Nelson (2,4), Arnold Palmer (2,3,8,9,10,11), Henry Picard (4), Gary Player (3,9), Gene Sarazen (2,3,4), Horton Smith, Sam Snead (3,4,8), Art Wall Jr. (10,11)

• Ralph Guldahl (2) and Craig Wood (2) did not play.

The following categories only apply to Americans

2. U.S. Open champions

Tommy Bolt (8), Julius Boros, Billy Burke, Billy Casper (8,11), Jack Fleck, Ed Furgol, Gene Littler (8,9,10,11), Tony Manero, Lloyd Mangrum, Dick Mayer (8), Fred McLeod, Sam Parks Jr., Lew Worsham (8)

3. The Open champions

Jock Hutchison (4), Denny Shute (4)

4. PGA champions

Jerry Barber (10,11), Walter Burkemo (8), Jim Ferrier, Dow Finsterwald (9,11), Vic Ghezzi, Chick Harbert, Chandler Harper, Jay Hebert (11), Lionel Hebert, Johnny Revolta, Bob Rosburg (8), Jim Turnesa

5. U.S. Amateur and Amateur champions

Deane Beman (6,8,a), Dick Chapman (a), Charles Coe (6,8,a), Ed Updegraff (a)

6. Members of the 1961 U.S. Walker Cup team

Gene Andrews (a), Don Cherry (a), Bob Cochran (a), Robert W. Gardner (8,a), Bill Hyndman (a), Billy Joe Patton (a), Charlie Smith (7,a)

• Bud Taylor did not play. Patton was first reserve for the team. Nicklaus had turned professional but qualified under other categories.

7. 1961 U.S. Amateur quarter-finalists

Sam Carmichael (a), Gene Francis (a), Marion Methvin (a), Richard Norville (a), Dudley Wysong (a)

8. Top 24 players and ties from the 1961 Masters Tournament

Bill Collins (11), Paul Harney, Fred Hawkins, Don January (10), Ted Kroll (10), Jack Nicklaus (9), Johnny Pott (10), Doug Sanders (9,10), Ken Venturi

9. Top 16 players and ties from the 1961 U.S. Open

Jacky Cupit, Gardner Dickinson, Dave Douglas, Al Geiberger, Bob Goalby, Eric Monti, Mike Souchak (11)

10. Top eight players and ties from 1961 PGA Championship

Wes Ellis

11. Members of the U.S. 1961 Ryder Cup team

12. Two players selected for meritorious records on the fall part of the 1961 PGA Tour

George Bayer, Gay Brewer

13. One player, either amateur or professional, not already qualified, selected by a ballot of ex-Masters champions

Dave Marr

14. One professional, not already qualified, selected by a ballot of ex-U.S. Open champions

Billy Maxwell

15. One amateur, not already qualified, selected by a ballot of ex-U.S. Amateur champions

R. H. Sikes (a)

16. Two players, not already qualified, from a points list based on finishes in the winter part of the 1962 PGA Tour

Dave Ragan, Phil Rodgers

17. Foreign invitations

Ben Arda, Al Balding, David Blair (a), Antonio Cerdá (8), Bob Charles, Gary Cowan (a), Bruce Crampton, Fidel de Luca, Roberto De Vicenzo (8), Gerard de Wit, Bruce Devlin, Juan Antonio Estrada (a), José Maria Gonzalez, Mário Gonzalez, Tom Haliburton, Harold Henning, Denis Hutchinson, Stan Leonard (8), Sebastián Miguel, Ángel Miguel, Kel Nagle (3), Frank Phillips, Chi-Chi Rodríguez, Leopoldo Ruiz, Miguel Sala, Syd Scott, Norman Von Nida, Brian Wilkes

• Numbers in brackets indicate categories that the player would have qualified under had they been American.

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, April 5, 1962

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Gary Player	67	−5
2	Julius Boros	69	−3
T3	Arnold Palmer	70	−2
	Mike Souchak
	Dave Ragan
	Gardner Dickinson
T7	George Bayer	71	−1
	Billy Maxwell
	Bob Rosburg
	Don January
	Gene Littler

Source^[5]

Second round

Friday, April 6, 1962

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Arnold Palmer	70-66=136	−8
2	Gary Player	67-71=138	−6
3	Gene Littler	71-68=139	−5
4	Gardner Dickinson	70-71=141	−3
T5	Julius Boros	69-73=142	−2
	Dow Finsterwald	74-68=142
	Mike Souchak	70-72=142
T8	Al Balding	75-68=143	−1
	Dave Ragan	70-73=143
T10	Jerry Barber	72-72=144	E
	Chi-Chi Rodríguez	72-72=144
	Billy Maxwell	71-73=144
	Bob Rosburg	71-73=144
	Don January	71-73=144

Source^[6]

Third round

Saturday, April 7, 1962

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Arnold Palmer	70-66-69=205	−11
2	Dow Finsterwald	74-68-65=207	−9
3	Gary Player	67-71-71=209	−7
4	Gene Littler	71-68-71=210	−6
T5	Jerry Barber	72-72-69=213	−3
	Gardner Dickinson	70-71-72=213
7	Julius Boros	69-73-72=214	−2
8	Gay Brewer	74-71-70=215	−1
T9	Lionel Hebert	72-73-71=216	E
	Ken Venturi	75-70-71=216
	Billy Maxwell	71-73-72=216
	Mike Souchak	70-72-74=216

Final round

Sunday, April 8, 1962

Final leaderboard

Champion

Silver Cup winner (low amateur)

(a) = amateur

(c) = past champion

Top 10

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money (US$)
T1	Dow Finsterwald	74-68-65-73=280	−8	Playoff
	Arnold Palmer (c)	70-66-69-75=280
	Gary Player (c)	67-71-71-71=280
4	Gene Littler	71-68-71-72=282	−6	6,000
T5	Jerry Barber	72-72-69-74=287	−1	3,600
	Jimmy Demaret (c)	73-73-71-70=287
	Billy Maxwell	71-73-72-71=287
	Mike Souchak	70-72-74-71=287
T9	Charles Coe (a)	72-74-71-71=288	E	0
	Ken Venturi	75-70-71-72=288		2,000

Leaderboard below the top 10
Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
T11	Julius Boros	69-73-72-76=290	+2	1,450
	Gay Brewer	74-71-70-75=290
	Jack Fleck	72-75-74-69=290
	Harold Henning	75-73-72-70=290
T15	Billy Casper	73-73-73-72=291	+3	1,160
	Gardner Dickinson	70-71-72-78=291
	Paul Harney	74-71-74-72=291
	Jack Nicklaus	74-75-70-72=291
	Sam Snead (c)	72-75-70-74=291
T20	Jacky Cupit	73-73-72-74=292	+4	1,000
	Lionel Hebert	72-73-71-76=292
	Don January	71-73-74-74=292
	Johnny Pott	77-71-75-69=292
24	Al Balding	75-68-78-72=293	+5	1,000
T25	Bob Charles	75-72-73-74=294	+6	625
	Bob Goalby	74-74-73-73=294
	Ted Kroll	72-74-72-76=294
	Dave Ragan	70-73-76-75=294
T29	Bill Collins	75-70-75-75=295	+7	500
	Bruce Crampton	72-75-74-74=295
	Cary Middlecoff (c)	75-74-73-73=295
	Lew Worsham	75-70-78-72=295
T33	Roberto De Vicenzo	77-72-70-77=296	+8	500
	Lloyd Mangrum	75-74-71-76=296
	Byron Nelson (c)	72-76-72-76=296
	Chi-Chi Rodríguez	72-72-75-77=296
	Doug Sanders	74-74-73-75=296
38	Ben Hogan (c)	78-71-75-73=297	+9	500
T39	Jack Burke Jr. (c)	78-69-73-78=298	+10	500
	Antonio Cerdá	74-75-75-74=298
	Henry Picard (c)	75-73-76-74=298
42	Don Cherry (a)	77-72-73-77=299	+11	0
43	Chick Harbert	75-74-74-77=300	+12	500
T44	George Bayer	71-76-74-80=301	+13	500
	Doug Ford (c)	75-72-76-78=301
	José Maria Gonzalez	75-74-73-79=301
	Brian Wilkes	74-75-74-78=301
T48	Juan Antonio Estrada (a)	75-74-76-77=302	+14	0
	Mário Gonzalez	73-76-77-76=302		500
	Chandler Harper	73-76-79-74=302
CUT	Walter Burkemo	74-76=150	+6
	Bob Cochran (a)	80-70=150
	Gerard de Wit	76-74=150
	Wes Ellis	74-76=150
	Dick Mayer	76-74=150
	Miguel Sala	74-76=150
	Charlie Smith (a)	76-74=150
	Art Wall Jr. (c)	76-74=150
	Sam Carmichael (a)	76-75=151	+7
	Dave Douglas	73-78=151
	Stan Leonard	77-74=151
	Dave Marr	78-73=151
	Marion Methvin (a)	72-79=151
	Ángel Miguel	74-77=151
	Eric Monti	77-74=151
	Frank Phillips	79-72=151
	Phil Rodgers	76-75=151
	Syd Scott	75-76=151
	Ed Updegraff (a)	74-77=151
	Denis Hutchinson	76-76=152	+8
	Jim Ferrier	80-73=153	+9
	Ed Furgol	76-77=153
	Tommy Bolt	74-80=154	+10
	Fidel de Luca	79-75=154
	Kel Nagle	75-79=154
	Billy Joe Patton (a)	76-78=154
	Jim Turnesa	79-75=154
	Deane Beman (a)	80-75=155	+11
	Norman Von Nida	78-77=155
	Gene Andrews (a)	77-79=156	+12
	Ben Arda	79-77=156
	Bruce Devlin	80-76=156
	Gene Francis (a)	81-75=156
	Al Geiberger	77-79=156
	Tom Haliburton	83-73=156
	Claude Harmon (c)	79-77=156
	Sebastián Miguel	77-79=156
	Richard Norville (a)	80-76=156
	Leopoldo Ruiz	82-74=156
	Denny Shute	77-79=156
	Dudley Wysong (a)	78-79=157	+13
	David Blair (a)	81-77=158	+14
	Robert W. Gardner (a)	78-80=158
	Fred Hawkins	81-77=158
	Vic Ghezzi	81-78=159	+15
	R. H. Sikes (a)	80-80=160	+16
	Gary Cowan (a)	83-80=163	+19
	Sam Parks Jr.	84-79=163
	Johnny Revolta	81-82=163
	Dick Chapman (a)	80-84=164	+20
	Horton Smith (c)	92-88=180	+36
WD	Gene Sarazen (c)	74-74=148	+4
	Jay Hebert	74	+2
	Herman Keiser (c)	75	+3
	Bill Hyndman (a)	76	+4
	Billy Burke
	Jock Hutchison
	Tony Manero
	Fred McLeod
DQ	Bob Rosburg	71-73-78=222	+6

Sources:^[7][8]

Scorecard

Final round

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	5	4	3	4	3	4	5	4	4	4	3	5	4	5	3	4	4
Palmer	−11	−11	−11	−10	−9	−9	−8	−8	−8	−6	−6	−6	−6	−6	−6	−7	−8	−8
Player	−6	−6	−5	−5	−6	−7	−6	−7	−8	−8	−9	−8	−8	−8	−8	−8	−8	−8
Finsterwald	−9	−10	−10	−9	−8	−8	−8	−8	−8	−8	−8	−8	−9	−9	−9	−9	−8	−8
Littler	−6	−6	−7	−7	−7	−7	−7	−7	−7	−6	−6	−6	−6	−6	−6	−6	−7	−6

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Birdie

Bogey

Double bogey

Playoff

Monday, April 9, 1962

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Arnold Palmer	68	−4	20,000
2	Gary Player	71	−1	12,000
3	Dow Finsterwald	77	+5	8,000

Source:^[9]

Scorecard

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	5	4	3	4	3	4	5	4	4	4	3	5	4	5	3	4	4
Palmer	E	E	E	E	E	E	+1	+1	+1	E	E	−1	−2	−3	−3	−4	−4	−4
Player	−1	−2	−2	−2	−1	−2	−2	−2	−2	−1	−1	E	E	+1	E	E	E	−1
Finsterwald	+1	+1	+1	+1	+2	+2	+3	+3	+4	+4	+5	+5	+4	+4	+5	+5	+5	+5

Source:^[9]