Who's on Mount Rushmore for Augusta National and Masters?

Who do you leave out?

In choosing who would be on the Mount Rushmore of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, a dozen or more candidates come to mind.

Co-founders Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts. All-time greats Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. Perhaps course architect Alister MacKenzie, or former president, club member and avid golfer Dwight D. Eisenhower.

The Augusta Chronicle polled a small sample of golfers, writers and historians. The inspiration for this project came from Woods, who last year was asked who would be on his all-time Mount Rushmore of golf.

“Probably (Sam) Snead, Jones, Nicklaus, me,” was his response.

Woods was asked to name his Mount Rushmore for Augusta, and he again included himself along with Nicklaus, Palmer and Jones.

Jones was a unanimous pick in the Chronicle's survey, with most recognizing that Augusta National and the Masters simply wouldn’t exist without him.

“You would not have had the Masters without Bobby Jones and Cliff Roberts,” said Nicklaus, a six-time Masters winner. “Golfingwise, I suppose, if you’re going to include me, I guess you would probably put Arnold and me on there.”

Nicklaus also mentioned Woods and Gary Player, the tournament’s first international winner, as deserving candidates.

“If you’re only going to pick four, you’ve got more than four to pick from,” Nicklaus said. “They’re all deserving.”

Bob Jones IV, grandson of the amateur great, said that Jones’ influence can still be felt even though many changes have occurred since the club opened in the early 1930s.

“He is still far and above the driving force of the public image of the club and the tournament,” said Jones IV, who affectionately refers to his grandfather as Bub. “There’s no two ways around that. Even with all the work, you can still see strong evidence of Bub’s approach to the game reflected on the course.”

Palmer also was a popular choice. Perhaps the all-time fan favorite at the Masters, Palmer won four Masters in a seven-year stretch at a time when golf was exploding in popularity.

“His TV persona helped raise the Masters profile as TV was becoming a big part of the game’s reach in the 1950s and 1960s,” said Bob Gillespie, a retired golf writer for The State newspaper. “And he won four and should’ve won at least one-two others.”

Dan Jenkins, who covered the Masters more times (68) than any other writer, responded before his death last month.

"This is easy for an oldtimer," Jenkins said. "Bobby Jones, Clifford Roberts, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer."

Nicklaus and Woods, who each own several Masters records, were picked by most for their performances.

“Jack and Tiger won 10 Masters between them,” said Lorne Rubenstein, a veteran golf columnist and author. “Jack’s win in ‘86 at 46 and Tiger’s in ‘97 at 21 are deeply embedded in the minds of golfers the world over. Jack’s five green jackets before ‘86 and Tiger’s three since ‘97 have helped ensure they and the Masters have been and will always be associated with them.”

Others made convincing cases for those who made significant contributions to the Masters. Even though Gene Sarazen won the tournament only once, his double eagle at the 15th hole in 1935 gave the tournament an immediate shot of publicity.

“He hit the ‘Shot Heard Round The World,’ which forever catapulted the Masters onto the pinnacle of the world stage,” said Sid Matthew, the author of several golf books and an expert on Jones.

Some, like Loran Smith, were more sentimental in their choices. He included a vote for former chairman Billy Payne, who is credited with bringing in the club’s first female members, embracing technology and overseeing an expansive building program.

“What Billy did, without being an elite golfer with a blue-blood résumé, is remarkable,” said Smith, a writer and broadcaster who knows Payne from their days at the University of Georgia. “His exceptional leadership and extraordinary vision define him; his ability to make tough but equitable decisions sets him apart. Most of all, he doesn’t have an ego to cripple his ability to overachieve.”

Jones IV, like most of those polled, lamented that he could only pick four. He said he left out his “hero” Nicklaus because he didn’t move the needle like his other picks.

“I’d put a big statue of Jack somewhere near it,” he said. “I guess we could have five.”

Monument men

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BOBBY JONES: He is considered the greatest amateur golfer of all-time, and from 1923-30 Jones won at least one major championship each year. He retired from competitive golf following the Grand Slam season of 1930 so he could build his dream course (Augusta National) and create a tournament (Masters) for friends.

CLIFFORD ROBERTS: The investment banker joined forces with Bobby Jones to create Augusta National and the Masters. He is credited for much of what is standard in tournament golf today, innovations such as the over/under scoreboard method, mounds for spectator viewing, leaderboards throughout the course and roping off the fairways and greens.

DR. ALISTER MACKENZIE: The prolific course architect caught the eye of Bobby Jones during his trip to California in the late 1920s. MacKenzie designed two courses in California, Pasatiempo and Cypress Point, that impressed Jones. MacKenzie and Jones shared similar views on course architecture, and Jones invited him to co-design Augusta National with him.

GENE SARAZEN: He missed the first Augusta National Invitation Tournament in 1934, but he made his mark a year later when he holed his second shot on the par-5 15th in the final round for an albatross. Sarazen won the 36-hole playoff against Craig Wood the next day, and the feat became known as "the shot heard 'round the world." He thrilled later generations as an honorary starter.

SAM SNEAD: One of the most naturally gifted players of all-time, Snead won the Masters Tournament three times between 1949 and 1954. In the latter, he bested Ben Hogan in an epic 18-hole playoff. Snead also was the first winner to receive the green jacket, and in later years he served as an honorary starter.

BEN HOGAN: Hogan was a late bloomer who came back from a near-death automobile wreck to win the Masters twice. After his first win, in 1951, he proposed a dinner for past champions, and the Masters Club was born. In 1953, Hogan won the Masters with a record-setting total and went on to win three majors in the same year. The Hogan Bridge at the 12th hole was dedicated in 1958.

ARNOLD PALMER: Perhaps no player had more of an impact on popularizing golf and the Masters than the charismatic Palmer. He won at Augusta four times between 1958 and 1964, often in dramatic fashion. Those wins coincided with the rise of television, and Palmer became a fan favorite. In later years he served as an honorary starter and he was the first former winner to be invited to join Augusta National.

JACK NICKLAUS: Nicklaus ended Palmer's reign as the king of Augusta with a style that blended raw power and deft putting. Nicklaus became the tournament's youngest winner in 1963, then two years later obliterated the records for 72-hole scoring and margin of victory. He would go on to win four more times, including his 1986 triumph that made him the oldest Masters winner. He now serves as an honorary starter.

GARY PLAYER: The South African became the first international player to win the Masters. That was in 1961, and he added two more victories to join the small group of three-time winners at Augusta National. He set the mark for playing in the most Masters with 52, and he currently serves as an honorary starter.

TIGER WOODS: Woods burst onto the Masters scene in the mid-1990s and remains a force. His victory in 1997 set numerous records, including for youngest winner, 72-hole total and margin of victory. He completed a slam of his own at the 2001 Masters, winning his fourth consecutive major, and he successfully defended his title the following year. Woods joined Palmer as a four-time champion in 2005.