# 1977 Masters Tournament

The 1977 Masters Tournament was the 41st Masters Tournament, held April 7–10 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
Tom Watson, age 27, won the first of his two green jackets, two strokes ahead of runner-up Jack Nicklaus. The two were tied after 68 holes, then Watson birdied the par-4 17th. Needing a birdie to tie, Nicklaus bogeyed the final hole, one of 19 times in his career that he was the runner-up in a major championship. It was the second of Watson's eight major championships, and he won a second Masters in 1981.
The pair again dueled for a major title in the final round in July in Scotland, at the Open Championship at Turnberry, also won by Watson.
Although he had won a major in 1975 and led the PGA Tour in season earnings entering this Masters, Watson had been labeled a "choker" early in his pro career, known for relinquishing leads in the final round of majors and regular events. Notable among these was the U.S. Open in 1974 at Winged Foot; his win here and in Scotland put that to rest.

## Field
### 1. Masters champions

Tommy Aaron, George Archer (11), Gay Brewer (8), Billy Casper (8,12), Charles Coody (8,10), Raymond Floyd (8,9,10,12), Doug Ford, Bob Goalby, Jack Nicklaus (2,4,8,9,10,11,12), Arnold Palmer, Gary Player (3,4), Sam Snead, Art Wall Jr.
* 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 (8,12), Hale Irwin (8,12), Johnny Miller (3,8,9,12), Jerry Pate (9,10,11)

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

Tom Watson (9,11), Tom Weiskopf (8,9,10,12)
* Lee Trevino (4,11,12) was recovering from back surgery and did not play

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

Dave Stockton (10)

### 5. 1976 U.S. Amateur semi-finalists

James T. Mason (a), Cary Parker Moore Jr. (a), Bill Sander (6,7,a), Stan Souza (a)

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

Vinny Giles (a), Fred Ridley (7,a), Dick Siderowf (7,a)

### 7. Members of the 1976 U.S. Eisenhower Trophy team

John Fought (a)

### 8. Top 24 players and ties from the 1976 Masters Tournament

Buddy Allin (11), Jim Colbert, Ben Crenshaw (9,10,11), Al Geiberger (9,11,12), Hubert Green (9), Dave Hill (11), Tom Kite (11), Gene Littler (12), Roger Maltbie (11), Rik Massengale (11), Jerry McGee (10), Curtis Strange, Larry Ziegler (11)

### 9. Top 16 players and ties from the 1976 U.S. Open

Butch Baird (11), Rod Funseth, Mark Hayes (11), Don January (10,11), Lyn Lott, Mike Morley, Andy North, J. C. Snead (11,12)
* John Mahaffey was injured and did not play

### 10. Top eight players and ties from 1976 PGA Championship

Gil Morgan, John Schlee

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

Andy Bean, Woody Blackburn, Danny Edwards, Lee Elder, Gibby Gilbert, Joe Inman, Gary Koch, Billy Kratzert, Bruce Lietzke, Mac McLendon, Tom Purtzer, Bob Wynn
* Blackburn and Kratzert were the winners of the Walt Disney World National Team Championship. Subsequent winners of this pairs event did not receive an invitation.

### 12. Members of the U.S. 1975 Ryder Cup team

Bob Murphy

### 13. Foreign invitations

Isao Aoki, Seve Ballesteros, Bruce Devlin (8), David Graham (10,11), Dale Hayes (8), Tommy Horton, John Lister (11), Graham Marsh (8,11), Takashi Murakami, Jack Newton, Christy O'Connor Jnr, Peter Oosterhuis (8), Bob Shearer
* Numbers in brackets indicate categories that the player would have qualified under had they been American.

## Round summaries
### First round

Thursday, April 7, 1977
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Hubert Green | 67 | −5 |
| T2 | Don January | 69 | −3 |
| T2 | Billy Kratzert | 69 | −3 |
| T4 | Hale Irwin | 70 | −2 |
| T4 | Tom Kite | 70 | −2 |
| T4 | Rik Massengale | 70 | −2 |
| T4 | Jerry Pate | 70 | −2 |
| T4 | Tom Watson | 70 | −2 |
| T9 | Buddy Allin | 71 | −1 |
| T9 | Ben Crenshaw | 71 | −1 |
| T9 | Raymond Floyd | 71 | −1 |
| T9 | Mark Hayes | 71 | −1 |
| T9 | Dave Hill | 71 | −1 |
| T9 | Gene Littler | 71 | −1 |
| T9 | Gary Player | 71 | −1 |
Source:

### Second round

Friday, April 8, 1977
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | Rod Funseth | 72-67=139 | −5 |
| T1 | Tom Watson | 70-69=139 | −5 |
| T3 | Ben Crenshaw | 71-69=140 | −4 |
| T3 | Billy Kratzert | 69-71=140 | −4 |
| T5 | Hubert Green | 67-74=141 | −3 |
| T5 | Gary Player | 71-70=141 | −3 |
| T5 | Bob Shearer | 74-67=141 | −3 |
| T8 | David Graham | 75-67=142 | −2 |
| T8 | Mac McLendon | 72-70=142 | −2 |
| T8 | Jack Nicklaus | 72-70=142 | −2 |
| T8 | Jerry Pate | 70-72=142 | −2 |
Source:

### Third round

Saturday, April 9, 1977
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | Ben Crenshaw | 71-69-69=209 | −7 |
| T1 | Tom Watson | 70-69-70=209 | −7 |
| 3 | Rik Massengale | 70-73-67=210 | −6 |
| T4 | Jim Colbert | 72-71-69=212 | −4 |
| T4 | Jack Nicklaus | 72-70-70=212 | −4 |
| T6 | Rod Funseth | 72-67-74=213 | −3 |
| T6 | Hubert Green | 67-74-72=213 | −3 |
| T6 | Tom Kite | 70-73-70=213 | −3 |
| T6 | Gary Player | 71-70-72=213 | −3 |
| T10 | Danny Edwards | 72-74-68=214 | −2 |
| T10 | Raymond Floyd | 71-72-71=214 | −2 |
| T10 | Hale Irwin | 70-74-70=214 | −2 |
| T10 | Don January | 69-76-69=214 | −2 |
Source:

### Final round

Sunday, April 10, 1977

#### Final leaderboard

* Champion
* Silver Cup winner (low amateur)
* (a) = amateur
* (c) = past champion
Top 10 :
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money (US$) |
| 1 | Tom Watson | 70-69-70-67=276 | −12 | 40,000 |
| 2 | Jack Nicklaus (c) | 72-70-70-66=278 | −10 | 30,000 |
| T3 | Tom Kite | 70-73-70-67=280 | −8 | 17,500 |
| T3 | Rik Massengale | 70-73-67-70=280 | −8 | 17,500 |
| 5 | Hale Irwin | 70-74-70-68=282 | −6 | 12,500 |
| T6 | David Graham | 75-67-73-69=284 | −4 | 10,500 |
| T6 | Lou Graham | 75-71-69-69=284 | −4 | 10,500 |
| T8 | Ben Crenshaw | 71-69-69-76=285 | −3 | 5,667 |
| T8 | Raymond Floyd (c) | 71-72-71-71=285 | −3 | 5,667 |
| T8 | Hubert Green | 67-74-72-72=285 | −3 | 5,667 |
| T8 | Don January | 69-76-69-71=285 | −3 | 5,667 |
| T8 | Gene Littler | 71-72-73-69=285 | −3 | 5,667 |
| T8 | John Schlee | 75-73-69-68=285 | −3 | 5,667 |
Leaderboard below the top 10 :
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| T14 | Billy Casper (c) | 72-72-73-69=286 | −2 | 3,000 |
| T14 | Jim Colbert | 72-71-69-74=286 | −2 | 3,000 |
| T14 | Rod Funseth | 72-67-74-73=286 | −2 | 3,000 |
| T14 | Jerry Pate | 70-72-74-70=286 | −2 | 3,000 |
| T14 | Tom Weiskopf | 73-71-71-71=286 | −2 | 3,000 |
| T19 | George Archer (c) | 74-74-69-70=287 | −1 | 2,500 |
| T19 | Andy Bean | 74-70-71-72=287 | −1 | 2,500 |
| T19 | Danny Edwards | 72-74-68-73=287 | −1 | 2,500 |
| T19 | Lee Elder | 76-68-72-71=287 | −1 | 2,500 |
| T19 | Gary Player (c) | 71-70-72-74=287 | −1 | 2,500 |
| T24 | Billy Kratzert | 69-71-78-70=288 | E | 2,200 |
| T24 | Andy North | 74-74-71-69=288 | E | 2,200 |
| T24 | Arnold Palmer (c) | 76-71-71-70=288 | E | 2,200 |
| T24 | Bob Wynn | 75-73-70-70=288 | E | 2,200 |
| T28 | Isao Aoki | 73-76-70-70=289 | +1 | 2,000 |
| T28 | Bruce Lietzke | 73-71-72-73=289 | +1 | 2,000 |
| T28 | Jerry McGee | 73-73-72-71=289 | +1 | 2,000 |
| T31 | Graham Marsh | 77-72-72-69=290 | +2 | 1,975 |
| T31 | Bob Murphy | 74-72-71-73=290 | +2 | 1,975 |
| T33 | Seve Ballesteros | 74-75-70-72=291 | +3 | 1,950 |
| T33 | Mark Hayes | 71-72-72-76=291 | +3 | 1,950 |
| T35 | Tommy Aaron (c) | 73-72-73-74=292 | +4 | 1,925 |
| T35 | Johnny Miller | 78-71-69-74=292 | +4 | 1,925 |
| T35 | Bob Shearer | 74-67-75-76=292 | +4 | 1,925 |
| T35 | Art Wall Jr. (c) | 75-74-71-72=292 | +4 | 1,925 |
| T39 | Dave Hill | 71-72-76-74=293 | +5 | 1,900 |
| T39 | J. C. Snead | 72-76-73-72=293 | +5 | 1,900 |
| T39 | Dave Stockton | 73-72-75-73=293 | +5 | 1,900 |
| T42 | Buddy Allin | 71-74-75-74=294 | +6 | 1,875 |
| T42 | Bruce Devlin | 75-69-77-73=294 | +6 | 1,875 |
| T42 | Gary Koch | 78-71-72-73=294 | +6 | 1,875 |
| 45 | Mac McLendon | 72-70-78-75=295 | +7 | 1,850 |
| T46 | Lyn Lott | 76-72-77-71=296 | +8 | 1,825 |
| T46 | Peter Oosterhuis | 73-75-76-72=296 | +8 | 1,825 |
| 48 | Mike Morley | 75-73-73-76=297 | +9 | 1,800 |
| 49 | Bill Sander (a) | 80-69-78-72=299 | +11 | 0 |
| 50 | John Fought (a) | 73-74-78-78=303 | +15 | 0 |
| CUT | Charles Coody (c) | 72-78=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Al Geiberger | 76-74=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Bob Goalby (c) | 76-74=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Dale Hayes | 75-75=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Joe Inman | 75-75=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Tom Purtzer | 75-75=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Butch Baird | 76-75=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | John Lister | 80-71=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | James T. Mason (a) | 76-75=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Takashi Murakami | 78-73=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Dick Siderowf (a) | 76-75=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Gay Brewer (c) | 78-74=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Gibby Gilbert | 76-76=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Tommy Horton | 77-75=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Cary Parker Moore Jr. (a) | 76-76=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Gil Morgan | 73-79=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Woody Blackburn | 74-79=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Roger Maltbie | 77-76=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Jack Newton | 76-77=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Curtis Strange | 79-74=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Doug Ford (c) | 77-77=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Fred Ridley (a) | 76-78=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Larry Ziegler | 83-71=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Christy O'Connor Jnr | 78-79=157 | +13 | |
| CUT | Stan Souza (a) | 75-83=158 | +14 | |
| CUT | Vinny Giles (a) | 82-79=161 | +17 | |
| WD | Sam Snead (c) | 83 | +11 | |
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 |
| Watson | −7 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −8 | −9 | −10 | −11 | −11 | −10 | −10 | −10 | −11 | −10 | −11 | −11 | −12 | −12 |
| Nicklaus | −5 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −7 | −7 | −8 | −8 | −9 | −10 | −10 | −11 | −11 | −11 | −10 |
| Massengale | −6 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −8 | −8 | −9 | −10 | −10 | −9 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 |
| Crenshaw | −7 | −6 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −4 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 |
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
| Eagle | Birdie | Bogey | Double bogey | Triple bogey+ |
Source: