2019 Masters Tournament

The 2019 Masters Tournament was the 83rd edition of the Masters Tournament and the first of golf's four major championships in 2019, held between April 11 and 14 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Tiger Woods won his fifth green jacket, and fifteenth major, by one stroke ahead of three runners-up. It left him one shy of Jack Nicklaus's record six Masters wins, and three short of his record eighteen major wins. At age 43, he became the eleventh oldest player to win a major, and the second oldest Masters winner, again only bettered by Nicklaus who won at age 46. It was 11 years after his last major win, the 2008 U.S. Open, and 14 years since his last Masters win beating the previous record of 13 years held by Gary Player. Due to the high profile of Woods, and his storied fall from the top of the game due to personal issues and injuries, the victory generated a large amount of publicity around the world, and is regarded as one of the great comebacks in the history of sports. Woods only emerged to lead the tournament in the final round, when Francesco Molinari, who had been leading the tournament, hit his ball into the water on the 12th hole and then again on the 15th after hitting a tree. It was the first time Woods won a major when not leading after the 54th hole. Most of the media, and the Las Vegas bookmakers, placed Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, and Dustin Johnson the pre-tournament favorites. McIlroy, the only player to finish in the top ten in the previous five Masters, came into the tournament as the Players champion and with seven consecutive top-10 PGA Tour finishes, but could only finish tied for 21st. Two-time runner-up Rose came in as world number one, but missed the cut. Johnson, who came in as world number two, and had a dominant win in the 2019 WGC-Mexico Championship, finished tied for second. A Masters record 65 players made the cut, including three amateurs. The leading amateur, and winner of the Silver Cup, was Norwegian Viktor Hovland who had qualified as the U.S. Amateur champion. He finished tied for 32nd at 3-under-par. It was also the first time three players had shot 64 or better in a single round at the Masters, as Patrick Cantlay, Tony Finau, and Webb Simpson all shot 64 in the third round. This was partly attributed by the media to the soft conditions, lack of wind and accessible pin positions.