Who won the 1961 Masters, becoming its first international champion?
Answer
Gary Player
Gary Player won the 1961 Masters, becoming its first international champion.
Player captured the title at Augusta National from April 6–10, 1961, finishing at 280, eight under par. The South African defeated defending champion Arnold Palmer and amateur Charles Coe by one stroke. The final round was completed on Monday after heavy rain and flooding forced Sunday’s scores to be erased and the round replayed.
Player entered the final round with a chance to make history, but the finish was tense. He made an up-and-down from a bunker on the 18th hole and ultimately posted a 74. Palmer, playing in the final pairing, needed a par on the last hole to force a playoff, but trouble around the green led to a bogey.
The victory was the first of Player’s three Masters titles, with later wins in 1974 and 1978. It also helped establish him as a global star: he became only the second golfer from outside the United States to win a modern men’s major, after England’s Jim Barnes at the 1921 PGA Championship.