Posted March 23, 2012, 7:23 pm |

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1974: Gary Player wins second of three Masters

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Player
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Player
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Front Page of The Augusta Chronicle after the 1974 Masters Tournament

Gary Player has long been considered golf's global ambassador.

It's fitting, then, that the South African was the first international winner of the Masters Tournament. Player won his first green coat in 1961 and added victories in 1974 and 1978.

All three of Player's Masters victories featured excitement over the closing holes.

By the time of Player's second triumph, in 1974, he was well established as one of the game's top players and one of only four men to have won all four of the game's major championships. He also was known as a physical fitness buff whose stamina and work ethic were legendary.

Starting with a pair of 71s, Player found himself five behind Dave Stockton at the midway point. A 66 in the third round, however, cut Player's deficit to just one stroke.

No less than half a dozen of the game's top players battled it out on Easter Sunday, but Player's closing 70 was good for the win. He punctuated his two-shot victory with a tap-in birdie at the 17th hole after hitting his 9-iron less than a foot from the hole.

1974 Masters

	Player	F	R1	R2	R3	R4	Earn.
1	Gary Player	-10	71	71	66	70	$35,000
2	Dave Stockton	-8	71	66	70	73	$21,250
2	Tom Weiskopf	-8	71	69	70	70	$21,250
4	Jim Colbert	-7	67	72	69	73	$10,833
4	Hale Irwin	-7	68	70	72	71	$10,833
4	Jack Nicklaus	-7	69	71	72	69	$10,833
7	Bobby Nichols	-6	73	68	68	73	$4,750
7	Phil Rodgers	-6	72	69	68	73	$4,750
9	M. Bembridge	-5	73	74	72	64	$3,900
9	Hubert Green	-5	68	70	74	71	$3,900

1974: Gary Player wins second of three Masters

1974 Masters

From AugustaChronicle.com »

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