# 1978 Masters Tournament

The 1978 Masters Tournament was the 42nd Masters Tournament, held April 6–9 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Gary Player overcame a 7-shot deficit going into the final round to win his third Masters and ninth major championship. Player, age 42, shot a record-tying 64 (−8) in the final round to win by one stroke. The runners-up were Rod Funseth, defending champion Tom Watson, and 54-hole leader Hubert Green, the reigning U.S. Open champion, who shot an even-par 72.
Tied for tenth place at the start of the round, Player shot a 30 on the back nine in the summer-like heat. He holed seven putts ranging from 10 to 30 feet (3 to 9 m), including a final one of 15 feet (4.6 m) for birdie at 18. The leader in the clubhouse, Player had to wait forty minutes for the final groups to finish. Funseth had five birdies, but his two bogeys were both three-putts and he parred the last three holes. Watson eagled 13 and birdied both 15 and 16, but missed an 8-foot (2.4 m) putt for par on the final hole. After a bogey at 16, Green hit an outstanding approach shot at 18 which left a birdie putt from three feet (0.9 m) to tie, but he missed after being inadvertently distracted by a radio announcer.
Player became the oldest winner of the Masters and the first over forty in nearly a quarter century; Sam Snead won his third green jacket at age 41 in 1954. Player retained the honor for eight years, until Jack Nicklaus won his sixth at 46 in 1986.

## Field
### 1. Masters champions

Tommy Aaron, George Archer (8), Gay Brewer, Billy Casper (8), Charles Coody (10), Raymond Floyd (8,11,12), Doug Ford, Bob Goalby, Jack Nicklaus (4,8,9,10,11,12), Arnold Palmer (8), Gary Player (3,8,9), Sam Snead, Art Wall Jr., Tom Watson (3,8,9,10,11,12)
* Jack Burke Jr., Jimmy Demaret, Ralph Guldahl, Claude Harmon, Ben Hogan, Herman Keiser, Cary Middlecoff, Byron Nelson, Henry Picard, and Gene Sarazen did not play.

### 2. U.S. Open champions (last five years)

Lou Graham (8,9,10,12), Hubert Green (8,9,11,12), Hale Irwin (8,11,12), Johnny Miller (3), Jerry Pate (8,10,11)

### 3. The Open champions (last five years)

Tom Weiskopf (8,9,11)

### 4. PGA champions (last five years)

Dave Stockton (12), Lee Trevino (11), Lanny Wadkins (10,11,12)

### 5. 1977 U.S. Amateur semi-finalists

Doug Fischesser (a), Ralph Landrum (a), Jay Sigel (7,a)
* John Fought (6,7) forfeited his exemption by turning professional.

### 6. Previous two U.S. Amateur and Amateur champions

Dick Siderowf (7,a)
* Bill Sander (7) forfeited his exemption by turning professional.

### 7. Members of the 1977 U.S. Walker Cup team

Mike Brannan (a), Gary Hallberg (a), Vance Heafner (a), Lindy Miller (a), Fred Ridley (a)
* Scott Simpson forfeited his exemption by turning professional.

### 8. Top 24 players and ties from the 1977 Masters Tournament

Andy Bean, Jim Colbert, Ben Crenshaw (11), Danny Edwards, Lee Elder, Rod Funseth (9), Don January (10,12), Tom Kite, Billy Kratzert (11), Gene Littler (10,11), Rik Massengale, Andy North (11), John Schlee, Bob Wynn

### 9. Top 16 players and ties from the 1977 U.S. Open

Wally Armstrong, Terry Diehl, Al Geiberger (10,11), Jay Haas (11), Joe Inman, Gary Jacobson, Lyn Lott, Mike McCullough, Steve Melnyk, Tom Purtzer

### 10. Top eight players and ties from 1977 PGA Championship

Jerry McGee (11,12)

### 11. Winners of PGA Tour events since the previous Masters

Miller Barber, Dave Eichelberger, Mike Hill, Mac McLendon, Gil Morgan, Mike Morley, Bill Rogers, Jim Simons, Ed Sneed (12), Leonard Thompson

### 12. Members of the U.S. 1977 Ryder Cup team

Dave Hill

### 13. Foreign invitations

Isao Aoki, Seve Ballesteros (11), Bobby Cole (11), Antonio Garrido, David Graham (8), Peter McEvoy (6,a), Tsuneyuki Nakajima, Peter Oosterhuis (9), Masashi Ozaki, Manuel Piñero
* Numbers in brackets indicate categories that the player would have qualified under had they been American.

## Round summaries
### First round

Thursday, April 6, 1978
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | John Schlee | 68 | −4 |
| 2 | Joe Inman | 69 | −3 |
| T3 | Billy Kratzert | 70 | −2 |
| T3 | Lee Trevino | 70 | −2 |
| T5 | Tom Kite | 71 | −1 |
| T5 | Jerry McGee | 71 | −1 |
| T5 | Steve Melnyk | 71 | −1 |
| T8 | Wally Armstrong | 72 | E |
| T8 | Hubert Green | 72 | E |
| T8 | Dave Hill | 72 | E |
| T8 | Don January | 72 | E |
| T8 | Gene Littler | 72 | E |
| T8 | Lyn Lott | 72 | E |
| T8 | Mac McLendon | 72 | E |
| T8 | Jack Nicklaus | 72 | E |
| T8 | Jerry Pate | 72 | E |
| T8 | Gary Player | 72 | E |
| T8 | Leonard Thompson | 72 | E |
| T8 | Tom Weiskopf | 72 | E |
Source:

### Second round

Friday, April 7, 1978
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | Rod Funseth | 73-66=139 | −5 |
| T1 | Lee Trevino | 70-69=139 | −5 |
| T3 | Hale Irwin | 73-67=140 | −4 |
| T3 | Gene Littler | 72-68=140 | −4 |
| T5 | Hubert Green | 72-69=141 | −3 |
| T5 | Leonard Thompson | 72-69=141 | −3 |
| T5 | Tom Watson | 73-68=141 | −3 |
| T8 | Wally Armstrong | 72-70=142 | −2 |
| T8 | Miller Barber | 75-67=142 | −2 |
| T8 | Joe Inman | 69-73=142 | −2 |
| T8 | Don January | 72-70=142 | −2 |
| T8 | Arnold Palmer | 73-69=142 | −2 |
Source:

### Third round

Saturday, April 8, 1978
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Hubert Green | 72-69-65=206 | −10 |
| T2 | Rod Funseth | 73-66-70=209 | −7 |
| T2 | Tom Watson | 73-68-68=209 | −7 |
| 4 | Gene Littler | 72-68-70=210 | −6 |
| T5 | David Graham | 75-69-67=211 | −5 |
| T5 | Hale Irwin | 73-67-71=211 | −5 |
| T5 | Billy Kratzert | 70-74-67=211 | −5 |
| T5 | Lee Trevino | 70-69-72=211 | −5 |
| 9 | Wally Armstrong | 72-70-70=212 | −4 |
| T10 | Seve Ballesteros | 74-71-68=213 | −3 |
| T10 | Gay Brewer | 73-71-69=213 | −3 |
| T10 | Gary Player | 72-72-69=213 | −3 |
| T10 | Tom Weiskopf | 72-71-70=213 | −3 |
Source:

### Final round

Sunday, April 9, 1978

#### Final leaderboard

* Champion
* Silver Cup winner (low amateur)
* (a) = amateur
* (c) = past champion
Top 10 :
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money (US$) |
| 1 | Gary Player (c) | 72-72-69-64=277 | −11 | 45,000 |
| T2 | Rod Funseth | 73-66-70-69=278 | −10 | 21,667 |
| T2 | Hubert Green | 72-69-65-72=278 | −10 | 21,667 |
| T2 | Tom Watson (c) | 73-68-68-69=278 | −10 | 21,667 |
| T5 | Wally Armstrong | 72-70-70-68=280 | −8 | 11,750 |
| T5 | Billy Kratzert | 70-74-67-69=280 | −8 | 11,750 |
| 7 | Jack Nicklaus (c) | 72-73-69-67=281 | −7 | 10,000 |
| 8 | Hale Irwin | 73-67-71-71=282 | −6 | 8,500 |
| T9 | David Graham | 75-69-67-72=283 | −5 | 6,750 |
| T9 | Joe Inman | 69-73-72-69=283 | −5 | 6,750 |
Leaderboard below the top 10 :
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| T11 | Don January | 72-70-72-70=284 | −4 | 4,417 |
| T11 | Jerry McGee | 71-73-71-69=284 | −4 | 4,417 |
| T11 | Tom Weiskopf | 72-71-70-71=284 | −4 | 4,417 |
| T14 | Peter Oosterhuis | 74-70-70-71=285 | −3 | 3,300 |
| T14 | Lee Trevino | 70-69-72-74=285 | −3 | 3,300 |
| T16 | Raymond Floyd (c) | 76-71-71-68=286 | −2 | 2,950 |
| T16 | Lindy Miller (a) | 74-71-70-71=286 | −2 | 0 |
| T18 | Seve Ballesteros | 74-71-68-74=287 | −1 | 2,550 |
| T18 | Tom Kite | 71-74-71-71=287 | −1 | 2,550 |
| T18 | Gil Morgan | 73-73-70-71=287 | −1 | 2,550 |
| T18 | Jerry Pate | 72-71-72-72=287 | −1 | 2,550 |
| T18 | Ed Sneed | 74-70-70-73=287 | −1 | 2,550 |
| T18 | Lanny Wadkins | 74-70-73-70=287 | −1 | 2,550 |
| T24 | Miller Barber | 75-67-73-73=288 | E | 2,200 |
| T24 | Andy Bean | 76-68-73-71=288 | E | 2,200 |
| T24 | Gene Littler | 72-68-70-78=288 | E | 2,200 |
| T24 | Leonard Thompson | 72-69-75-72=288 | E | 2,200 |
| 28 | Bobby Cole | 77-70-70-72=289 | +1 | 2,000 |
| T29 | Gay Brewer (c) | 73-71-69-77=290 | +2 | 1,975 |
| T29 | Mac McLendon | 72-72-72-74=290 | +2 | 1,975 |
| T29 | Bill Rogers | 76-70-68-76=290 | +2 | 1,975 |
| T32 | Jim Colbert | 74-73-75-69=291 | +3 | 1,950 |
| T32 | Terry Diehl | 74-72-74-71=291 | +3 | 1,950 |
| T32 | Johnny Miller | 77-72-72-70=291 | +3 | 1,950 |
| T32 | Andy North | 73-76-72-70=291 | +3 | 1,950 |
| 36 | Tommy Aaron (c) | 73-74-71-74=292 | +4 | 1,925 |
| T37 | Ben Crenshaw | 75-70-74-74=293 | +5 | 1,900 |
| T37 | Mike Hill | 73-75-74-71=293 | +5 | 1,900 |
| T37 | Arnold Palmer (c) | 73-69-74-77=293 | +5 | 1,900 |
| T37 | Tom Purtzer | 78-69-74-72=293 | +5 | 1,900 |
| 41 | Lyn Lott | 72-76-71-75=294 | +6 | 1,875 |
| T42 | Lee Elder | 73-75-74-73=295 | +7 | 1,850 |
| T42 | Al Geiberger | 75-73-75-72=295 | +7 | 1,850 |
| T42 | John Schlee | 68-75-77-75=295 | +7 | 1,850 |
| T45 | Vance Heafner (a) | 73-74-74-75=296 | +8 | 0 |
| T45 | Dave Hill | 72-76-74-74=296 | +8 | 1,825 |
| T47 | Jay Haas | 74-73-74-76=297 | +9 | 1,800 |
| T47 | Gary Hallberg (a) | 73-73-78-73=297 | +9 | 0 |
| 49 | Dick Siderowf (a) | 77-72-78-71=298 | +10 | 0 |
| 50 | Bob Wynn | 74-70-78-77=299 | +11 | 1,750 |
| 51 | Steve Melnyk | 71-78-75-76=300 | +12 | 1,725 |
| 52 | Bob Goalby (c) | 73-75-78-75=301 | +13 | 1,700 |
| 53 | Peter McEvoy (a) | 73-75-77-77=302 | +14 | 0 |
| CUT | Charles Coody (c) | 75-75=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Dave Eichelberger | 79-71=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Lou Graham | 75-75=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Masashi Ozaki | 76-74=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Manuel Piñero | 78-72=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Billy Casper (c) | 76-75=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Mike Morley | 78-73=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Dave Stockton | 76-75=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Isao Aoki | 79-73=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Art Wall Jr. (c) | 74-78=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Gary Jacobson | 79-74=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Jay Sigel (a) | 76-77=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Doug Ford (c) | 78-76=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Sam Snead (c) | 79-75=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Antonio Garrido | 77-78=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Ralph Landrum (a) | 79-77=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Rik Massengale | 81-75=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Jim Simons | 79-77=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Danny Edwards | 79-79=158 | +14 | |
| CUT | Tsuneyuki Nakajima | 80-80=160 | +16 | |
| CUT | Mike Brannan (a) | 80-82=162 | +18 | |
| CUT | Doug Fischesser (a) | 81-84=165 | +21 | |
| CUT | Fred Ridley (a) | 84-81=165 | +21 | |
| WD | George Archer (c) | 81 | +9 | |
| WD | Mike McCullough | 82 | +10 | |
Sources:

#### 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 |
| Player | −3 | −4 | −4 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −4 | −4 | −5 | −6 | −6 | −7 | −8 | −8 | −9 | −10 | −10 | −11 |
| Funseth | −7 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −8 | −8 | −9 | −9 | −9 | −10 | −9 | −10 | −10 | −10 | −10 |
| Green | −9 | −10 | −10 | −10 | −9 | −9 | −9 | −10 | −10 | −10 | −9 | −9 | −10 | −10 | −11 | −10 | −10 | −10 |
| Watson | −7 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −10 | −9 | −10 | −11 | −11 | −10 |
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
    Eagle Birdie Bogey
Source: