# 1965 Masters Tournament

The 1965 Masters Tournament was the 29th Masters Tournament, held April 8–11 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
Jack Nicklaus, age 25, won the second of his six Masters titles with a score of 271 (−17), at the time a tournament record, three strokes better than Ben Hogan's 274 in 1953. It was equaled in 1976 by Raymond Floyd and surpassed in 1997 by Tiger Woods' 270 (−18). Nicklaus' winning margin of nine strokes also stood until 1997, when Woods was victorious by twelve strokes to win his first green jacket. It was the fourth of a record 18 major titles won by Nicklaus in his career.
The "Big Three" (Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Gary Player) were tied for the lead after 36 holes at 138 (−6), but Nicklaus shot a 64 (−8) on Saturday to post a 202 (−14), a gain of five shots on Player and eight on Palmer. Nicklaus' round tied the course record set by Lloyd Mangrum in the first round in 1940; it was lowered to 63 by Nick Price in the third round in 1986.
Nicklaus totally over-powered the Augusta National course, hitting short-irons into most of the par four holes and mid-irons into many of the par five holes, especially during his record-tying third round 64. After the tournament was over, when asked about Nicklaus' performance that week Bobby Jones said, "He plays a game with which I am not familiar."
Byron Nelson, age 53, tied for fifteenth place, the last cut made at Augusta by the two-time champion.
Art Wall Jr. won the sixth Par 3 contest with a score of 20.

## Field
### 1. Masters champions

Jack Burke Jr. (4), Jimmy Demaret, Doug Ford (4), Ralph Guldahl, Claude Harmon, Ben Hogan (8), Herman Keiser, Cary Middlecoff (2), Byron Nelson, Jack Nicklaus (2,4,8,10), Arnold Palmer (2,3,8,9,10,11), Henry Picard, Gary Player (3,4,8), Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, Art Wall Jr.
* Craig Wood did not play.

### 2. U.S. Open champions (last 10 years)

Tommy Bolt, Julius Boros (11), Billy Casper (8,9,11), Jack Fleck, Gene Littler (8,9,11), Dick Mayer, Ken Venturi (9,10)

### 3. The Open champions (last 10 years)

Tony Lema (8,11)

### 4. PGA champions (last 10 years)

Jerry Barber, Dow Finsterwald (8,9,11), Jay Hebert, Lionel Hebert, Bobby Nichols (9,10), Bob Rosburg (9)

### 5. U.S. Amateur and Amateur champions (last 10 years)

Deane Beman (6,a), William C. Campbell (7,a), Charles Coe (6,a), Richard Davies (6,a)
* Harvie Ward did not play. Other champions forfeited their exemptions by turning professional.

### 6. Members of the 1963 U.S. Walker Cup team

Robert W. Gardner (a), Downing Gray (a), Billy Joe Patton (a), Charlie Smith (7,a), Ed Updegraff (a)
* Labron Harris Jr. and R. H. Sikes forfeited their exemptions by turning professional.

### 7. 1964 U.S. Amateur quarter-finalists

Don Allen (a), Dave Eichelberger (a), Gene Ferrell (a), John Mark Hopkins (a), Dale Morey (a), Ed Tutwiler (a)

### 8. Top 24 players and ties from the 1964 Masters Tournament

Jim Ferrier, Al Geiberger (9), Paul Harney, Don January (9), Dave Marr, Billy Maxwell (11), Johnny Pott (9,11), Mason Rudolph (10), Dan Sikes, Mike Souchak, Bo Wininger (10)

### 9. Top 16 players and ties from the 1964 U.S. Open

George Bayer, Gay Brewer (10), Bill Collins, Terry Dill, Raymond Floyd, Ed Furgol, Tommy Jacobs

### 10. Top eight players and ties from 1964 PGA Championship

Tom Nieporte

### 11. Members of the U.S. 1963 Ryder Cup team

Bob Goalby, Dave Ragan

### 12. Two players selected for meritorious records on the fall part of the 1964 PGA Tour

Frank Beard, Jack McGowan

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

Wes Ellis

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

Tommy Aaron

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

Bill Hyndman (a)

### 16. Two players, not already qualified, from a points list based on finishes in the winter part of the 1965 PGA Tour

Doug Sanders, Bert Weaver

### 17. Foreign invitations

Peter Butler (8), Bob Charles (3,9), Chen Ching-Po, Gary Cowan (a), Bruce Crampton (8,9), Bruce Devlin (8), Harold Henning, Bernard Hunt, Geoffrey Hunt, Tomoo Ishii, George Knudson, Cobie Legrange, Stan Leonard, Kel Nagle (3,8), Chi-Chi Rodríguez (8), Leopoldo Ruiz, Ramón Sota, Nick Weslock (a)
* Numbers in brackets indicate categories that the player would have qualified under had they been American.

## Round summaries
### First round

Thursday, April 8, 1965
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Gary Player | 65 | −7 |
| T2 | Tommy Aaron | 67 | −5 |
| T2 | Tony Lema | 67 | −5 |
| T2 | Jack Nicklaus | 67 | −5 |
| T2 | Dan Sikes | 67 | −5 |
| 6 | Frank Beard | 68 | −4 |
| T7 | George Bayer | 69 | −3 |
| T7 | Tommy Bolt | 69 | −3 |
| T7 | Wes Ellis | 69 | −3 |
| T7 | Raymond Floyd | 69 | −3 |
| T7 | Doug Sanders | 69 | −3 |
Source:

### Second round

Friday, April 9, 1965
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | Jack Nicklaus | 67-71=138 | −6 |
| T1 | Arnold Palmer | 70-68=138 | −6 |
| T1 | Gary Player | 65-73=138 | −6 |
| 4 | Dan Sikes | 67-72=139 | −5 |
| 5 | Tony Lema | 67-73=140 | −4 |
| T6 | Tommy Aaron | 67-74=141 | −3 |
| T6 | Doug Sanders | 69-72=141 | −3 |
| 8 | Bo Wininger | 70-72=142 | −2 |
| 9 | George Bayer | 69-74=143 | −1 |
| T10 | Billy Casper | 72-72=144 | E |
| T10 | Bruce Crampton | 72-72=144 | E |
| T10 | Byron Nelson | 70-74=144 | E |
| T10 | Bobby Nichols | 73-71=144 | E |
| T10 | Tom Nieporte | 71-73=144 | E |
| T10 | Ramón Sota | 71-73=144 | E |
Source:

### Third round

Saturday, April 10, 1965
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus | 67-71-64=202 | −14 |
| 2 | Gary Player | 65-73-69=207 | −9 |
| T3 | Arnold Palmer | 70-68-72=210 | −6 |
| T3 | Dan Sikes | 67-72-71=210 | −6 |
| 5 | Mason Rudolph | 70-75-66=211 | −5 |
| T6 | Tommy Aaron | 67-74-71=212 | −4 |
| T6 | Gene Littler | 71-74-67=212 | −4 |
| T8 | George Knudson | 72-73-69=214 | −2 |
| T8 | Ramón Sota | 71-73-70=214 | −2 |
| T10 | Billy Casper | 72-72-71=215 | −1 |
| T10 | Doug Sanders | 69-72-74=215 | −1 |
Source:

#### Scorecard

Third round, ties course record 31-33=64 (−8)
| 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 |
| Nicklaus | E | −1 | −1 | −2 | −2 | −3 | −4 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −6 | −6 | −7 | −8 | −8 | −8 |

### Final round

Sunday, April 11, 1965

#### Final leaderboard

* Champion
* Silver Cup winner (low amateur)
* (a) = amateur
* (c) = past champion
Top 10 :
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money (US$) |
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus (c) | 67-71-64-69=271 | −17 | 20,000 |
| T2 | Arnold Palmer (c) | 70-68-72-70=280 | −8 | 10,200 |
| T2 | Gary Player (c) | 65-73-69-73=280 | −8 | 10,200 |
| 4 | Mason Rudolph | 70-75-66-72=283 | −5 | 6,200 |
| 5 | Dan Sikes | 67-72-71-75=285 | −3 | 5,000 |
| T6 | Gene Littler | 71-74-67-74=286 | −2 | 3,800 |
| T6 | Ramón Sota | 71-73-70-72=286 | −2 | 3,800 |
| T8 | Frank Beard | 68-77-72-70=287 | −1 | 2,400 |
| T8 | Tommy Bolt | 69-78-69-71=287 | −1 | 2,400 |
| 10 | George Knudson | 72-73-69-74=288 | E | 1,800 |
Leaderboard below the top 10 :
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| T11 | Tommy Aaron | 67-74-71-77=289 | +1 | 1,550 |
| T11 | Bruce Crampton | 72-72-74-71=289 | +1 | 1,550 |
| T11 | Paul Harney | 74-74-71-70=289 | +1 | 1,550 |
| T11 | Doug Sanders | 69-72-74-74=289 | +1 | 1,550 |
| T15 | George Bayer | 69-74-75-72=290 | +2 | 1,300 |
| T15 | Bruce Devlin | 71-76-73-70=290 | +2 | 1,300 |
| T15 | Wes Ellis | 69-76-72-73=290 | +2 | 1,300 |
| T15 | Tommy Jacobs | 71-74-72-73=290 | +2 | 1,300 |
| T15 | Kel Nagle | 75-70-74-71=290 | +2 | 1,300 |
| T15 | Byron Nelson (c) | 70-74-72-74=290 | +2 | 1,300 |
| T21 | Dow Finsterwald | 72-75-72-72=291 | +3 | 1,200 |
| T21 | Ben Hogan (c) | 71-75-71-74=291 | +3 | 1,200 |
| T21 | Tony Lema | 67-73-77-74=291 | +3 | 1,200 |
| T24 | Terry Dill | 72-73-75-72=292 | +4 | 1,200 |
| T24 | Al Geiberger | 75-72-74-71=292 | +4 | 1,200 |
| T26 | Bernard Hunt | 71-74-74-74=293 | +5 | 1,075 |
| T26 | Tomoo Ishii | 74-74-70-75=293 | +5 | 1,075 |
| T26 | Billy Maxwell | 74-72-76-71=293 | +5 | 1,075 |
| T26 | Tom Nieporte | 71-73-75-74=293 | +5 | 1,075 |
| T26 | Bo Wininger | 70-72-75-76=293 | +5 | 1,075 |
| T31 | Doug Ford (c) | 74-74-73-73=294 | +6 | 1,050 |
| T31 | Downing Gray (a) | 72-74-73-75=294 | +6 | 0 |
| T31 | Dave Ragan | 73-74-73-74=294 | +6 | 1,050 |
| T31 | Bert Weaver | 72-75-72-75=294 | +6 | 1,050 |
| T35 | Billy Casper | 72-72-71-80=295 | +7 | 1,050 |
| T35 | Jimmy Demaret (c) | 71-75-76-73=295 | +7 | 1,050 |
| T35 | Bobby Nichols | 73-71-75-76=295 | +7 | 1,050 |
| T35 | Mike Souchak | 74-74-72-75=295 | +7 | 1,050 |
| T39 | Don Allen (a) | 70-77-74-75=296 | +8 | 0 |
| T39 | Chen Ching-Po | 71-77-77-71=296 | +8 | 1,025 |
| T39 | Bob Goalby | 71-75-75-75=296 | +8 | 1,025 |
| T42 | Bill Hyndman (a) | 73-73-75-76=297 | +9 | 0 |
| T42 | Jack McGowan | 73-75-77-72=297 | +9 | 1,025 |
| T42 | Johnny Pott | 74-74-73-76=297 | +9 | 1,025 |
| T45 | Bob Charles | 72-74-76-77=299 | +11 | 1,025 |
| T45 | Art Wall Jr. (c) | 71-76-77-75=299 | +11 | 1,025 |
| 47 | Richard Davies (a) | 70-78-78-76=302 | +14 | 0 |
| 48 | John Mark Hopkins (a) | 70-78-78-77=303 | +15 | 0 |
| 49 | Deane Beman (a) | 74-72-79-79=304 | +16 | 0 |
| CUT | Charles Coe (a) | 73-76=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Leopoldo Ruiz | 76-73=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Sam Snead (c) | 75-74=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Ed Tutwiler (a) | 76-73=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Jerry Barber | 71-79=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Julius Boros | 73-77=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Lionel Hebert | 70-80=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Don January | 72-78=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Harold Henning | 72-79=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Cary Middlecoff (c) | 76-75=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Chi-Chi Rodríguez | 75-76=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Jack Burke Jr. (c) | 75-77=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Peter Butler | 76-76=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Bill Collins | 74-78=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Raymond Floyd | 69-83=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Ed Furgol | 72-80=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Jay Hebert | 75-77=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Cobie Legrange | 76-76=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Claude Harmon (c) | 74-79=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Dave Marr | 75-78=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Dick Mayer | 76-77=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Billy Joe Patton (a) | 70-83=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Charlie Smith (a) | 73-80=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Gary Cowan (a) | 75-79=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Jim Ferrier | 74-80=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Robert W. Gardner (a) | 76-78=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Gene Sarazen (c) | 78-76=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Gay Brewer | 77-78=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Stan Leonard | 71-84=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Henry Picard (c) | 76-79=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Dale Morey (a) | 74-82=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Bob Rosburg | 76-80=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Nick Weslock (a) | 80-76=156 | +12 | |
| CUT | Dave Eichelberger (a) | 74-83=157 | +13 | |
| CUT | Geoffrey Hunt | 80-77=157 | +13 | |
| CUT | Ken Venturi | 77-80=157 | +13 | |
| CUT | William C. Campbell (a) | 81-77=158 | +14 | |
| CUT | Ralph Guldahl (c) | 83-85=168 | +24 | |
| WD | Herman Keiser (c) | 80 | +8 | |
| WD | Ed Updegraff (a) | | | |
| DQ | Gene Ferrell (a) | 78 | +6 | |
| DQ | Jack Fleck | 79 | +7 | |
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 |
| Nicklaus | −15 | −15 | −15 | −16 | −15 | −15 | −15 | −15 | −15 | −15 | −15 | −16 | −16 | −16 | −16 | −16 | −17 | −17 |
| Palmer | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −6 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 |
| Player | −9 | −10 | −9 | −8 | −7 | −8 | −8 | −9 | −9 | −9 | −8 | −6 | −7 | −7 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 |
| Rudolph | −5 | −5 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −4 | −4 | −5 | −5 | −5 |
| Sikes | −6 | −6 | −6 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −6 | −6 | −5 | −5 | −4 | −2 | −2 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 |
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
| Birdie | Bogey | Double bogey |