Winning the Masters Tournament is the dream of every golfer in the world. It doesn’t matter if you have triumphed at Augusta National before. It doesn’t hurt to add another Green Jacket to your trophy cabinet. Just ask Jack Nicklaus, who still had the spirit to win the Masters at the age of 46, 23 years after he had won it for the first time. The GOAT’s feats may not be something everyone can overcome, but there are a few records that even Nicklaus might find overwhelming for a very different reason.
Here are 5 of the worst rounds recorded at Augusta National over the last 89 years.
Charles Kunkle Jr. created history 69 years ago
At a time when Ben Hogan ruled golf, there was one man who also achieved a lot of fame, albeit for all the wrong reasons. At one end of the table, Hogan and Co. were beaten by Jack Burke Jr. for one of his two major wins in 1956. However, at the other extreme end, Charles Kunkle Jr. bagged a record at Augusta National. Unfortunately, it’s not a record anyone can flaunt. Kunkle Jr. managed to record the worst official score in a round of the Masters Tournament. In the final round of the Green Jacket event, he ended up scoring a whopping 23-over par 95. This only added to the abysmal show he had throughout the tournament. But the record-setting score ensured that Charles Kunkle Jr. finished dead last on the leaderboard in 1956.
Tiger Woods’s first Green Jacket turns into Doug Ford’s worst nightmare
The 1997 Masters Tournament was the Tiger Woods show. A 21-year-old Woods managed to annihilate the field to bag a 12-stroke lead for his first win at Augusta National. However, what was the beginning of a legendary career for the GOAT ended up being a nightmare for Doug Ford. In the second round of the tournament, Ford managed a 22-over par 94 to crash out of the event. Overall, after 36 holes, he had managed 35-over par 179. Add 22 to that, and 201 is what the GOAT managed after completing his three rounds. Interestingly, Arnold Palmer had managed par 176 after two rounds in the same tournament.
Golf – The Masters – Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia, U.S. – April 11, 2024 Tiger Woods of the U.S. on the green on the 6th hole during the first round REUTERS/Mike Blake
Deja vu for Doug Ford in Y2K
At the turn of the millennium, Vijay Singh managed to overcome a strong field of Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, and Phil Mickelson to win his first and only Masters Tournament. However, after the end of the first-round action, it was Doug Ford who managed to grab the spotlight. The reason? He managed another score of 22-over par 94. Yes, Doug Ford has scored 94 twice in his career. While he didn’t have a say on what to do next in ’97, the late former Green Jacket winner decided to call it quits after the abysmal first-round show. Ford withdrew from the tournament after one round to avoid further embarrassment.
Denny Shute was lucky to avoid the spotlight in 1956
When Charles Kunkle Jr. was creating history, Denny Shute managed to stay under the radar. He would be extremely grateful to Kunkle Jr. for that. The latter’s 95 overshadowed Shute’s 89 over. But for a short while, the 3x major winner was in the news as his 89-over came in the third round, 24 hours prior to Kunkle Jr.’s record. If they had social media back then, then Shute would have caught a lot more attention than he did eventually. Interestingly, Doug Ford finished the tournament at T6 with 30 strokes fewer than Shute.
The GOAT’s shocking third-round performance in 2024
Tiger Woods‘s record-setting win by the biggest margin in 1997 may have been one of the highlights of his career. But in 2024, the GOAT had a moment he would rather forget. Years of injury and rehabilitation had taken a toll on Woods’s body. Fans witnessed the worst of it in the third round of 2024 when a wounded Tiger couldn’t keep up with the field after 36 holes. Having already made the cut with a 1-over par 145, Woods managed a 10-over par 82 in the penultimate round to drop to the bottom of the table, as reported by ESPN. He added 5 more strokes in the final round of the tournament to finish with a 16-over 304 and end the tournament in the 60th position.
All the rounds compiled in the list are prior to the events of the 2025 Masters Tournament. However, this year, Tiger Woods has been knocked off the top 5 by Nick Dunlap. In the first round at Augusta National in 2025, Dunlap managed an 18-over par 90 to jump up to the third spot on the list.
Do you think this list will change further after the 2025 Masters Tournament is completed? Let us know in the comments section.
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