Back-To-Back Winners At The Masters

Outright favorite Scottie Scheffler is aiming to do what just three golfers have achieved in history – winning back-to-back Green Jackets at the Masters.

Jack Nicklaus – 1965-66
Nick Faldo – 1989-90
Tiger Woods – 2001-02

Jack Nicklaus (1965-66)

At the age of 25, Jack Nicklaus won the second of six Masters titles with a score of 271 (-17) which marked a tournament record at the time, three strokes clear of Ben Hogan’s 274 in 1953.

Nicklaus’ winning margin of nine strokes also stood for 32 years until 1997 when Tiger Woods won a maiden Green Jacket, shooting 270 (-18) around the famous Augusta course.

A year later in 1966, Nicklaus became the first back-to-back champion at the Masters in an 18-hole Monday play-off, shooting 70 to defeat Tommy Jacobs (72) and Gay Brewer (78).

This was Nicklaus’ only successful defence of a major championship and the fifth of 18 major titles for the ‘Golden Bear’.

Back-To-Back Winners At The Masters | Can Scottie Scheffler Make History? — Jack Nicklaus at the 1966 Masters

Nick Faldo (1989-90)

In 1989, Nick Faldo won the first of his three Masters titles and the second of his six major championships after turning it around on Sunday with a final-round 65 (-7) following a disastrous 77 (+5) on Saturday.

Faldo won with a birdie on the second hole of a sudden-death play-off against Scott Hoch, who missed a two-foot putt on the first play-off hole which would have sealed the victory.

Faldo became the first Englishman to win the Masters and successfully defended his title a year later, beating Raymond Floyd in a sudden-death play-off hole. It was the third consecutive year that the Masters had a champion from the United Kingdom, which had no winners prior to Sandy Lyle in 1988.

Both of Faldo’s wins came at the second hole of a sudden-death play-off at the 11th green.

Tiger Woods (2001-02)

Tiger Woods’ 2001 triumph at the Masters completed the ‘Tiger Slam,’ as he held all four major titles having won the US Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship in 2000.

Woods won a second Masters and his sixth major, defeating runner-up David Duval by two strokes. In 2002, Woods added another with a score of 276 (-12), three strokes ahead of Retief Goosen.

The course was lengthened by 285 yards (261m) from the previous year which proved no sweat off Tiger’s back as he became the third golfer to successfully defend a Green Jacket following Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo.

Can Scottie Scheffler complete consecutive triumphs at Augusta?

According to the best offshore sportsbooks, Scottie Scheffler is the joint-favorite alongside Rory McIlroy at +700 to win the Masters this year, closely followed by Jon Rahm at +900.

Last year, Scheffler won his first major and beat McIlroy by three strokes as attendance returned to full capacity at Augusta National for the first time since 2019 with 40,000 spectators per day.

Scheffler led by a record-tying five strokes after the second round and held off a late charge from McIlroy, who shot 64 (-8) to complete his best major finish since 2014.

When asked why he thought just three players had managed the feat of successfully defending the Green Jacket, Scheffler said:

“I think with a small sample size of back-to-back champions, that’s just because they’re really, really good at golf. Yes, I’m the defending champion and I would love to defend and bring this jacket back home with me.

“But I’m not going to be thinking about that standing there on the first tee. I’m going to be thinking about hitting the fairway and trying to hit the green.

“Everybody starts at even par. Doesn’t matter if I’m the defending champion or not, they don’t give me any shots.”

Back-To-Back Winners At The Masters | Can Scottie Scheffler Make History?

Joe Lyons