INTRODUCTION From The Sports Time Traveler™
The early 1960s was the era of the Big Three in golf - Gary Player, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.
Coming into the 1964 Masters, every Masters title of the decade so far had been won by one of the Big Three - Palmer (1960 and 1962), Player (1961) and Nicklaus (1963).
Of the first 17 majors in the 1960s, the Big Three won 12 of them.
But those major titles weren’t evenly distributed.
Gary Player won 3, Jack Nicklaus won 3 and Arnold Palmer, “The King,” won 6.
Arnold Palmer began the decade of the 1960s with a run that has never been duplicated, not by Jack in his prime, and not even by Tiger Woods.
Palmer finished in 1st or 2nd in 8 of the first 11 majors of the 1960s. In the 3 that he didn’t place in the top 2, he finished 5th, 7th and 14th.
In addition, Palmer won 29 PGA tournaments in the first 4 years of the 1960s. While Player and Nicklaus each won less than 10.
Palmer’s dominance in that 4 year stretch from 1960 - 1963 is even greater than Tiger Woods best 4 years in terms of PGA TOUR victories, as Woods never won more than 27 events in any 4 year span.
Palmer’s success spawned the formation of Arnie’s Army, his legion of fanatical followers on the golf course.
But in the beginning of 1964, Palmer was in a drought and there were many doubts about whether he was still on top of his game.
For the first time since early in his pro career in 1956, Palmer had not won a tournament prior to the Masters.
He also had not won a major in 1963, his first year in the 1960s without a major title.
Arnold Palmer had a lot to prove coming into the 1964 Masters, to himself and to his army of fans.
Naturally The Sports Time Traveler™ just had to go back precisely 60 years to see if Arnold Palmer, or one of the other members of the Big Three, could win another Masters.
AUGUSTA, GA - April 13, 1964
I’m here in Augusta, virtually, where yesterday the 1964 Masters concluded.
Arnold Palmer was so determined to end his drought on tour and in the majors that he was the first of the Big Three to fit in a practice round at Augusta back on March 15th.
While Jack Nicklaus has already won earlier this season in Phoenix, and Gary Player in Pensacola, Arnie has not won on tour since last October. And he hasn’t taken a major since the 1962 British Open.
With questions lingering around Palmer’s prowess, a UPI article, by Oscar Fraley, was bullish on Arnie, Fraley opened his pre-tournament article stating, “This week’s Masters golf tournament could be the one in which Arnold Palmer proves “The King” is not dead.”
Oddsmakers were also having none of the talk that Palmer is past his prime. They set the defending champ, Nicklaus, and Palmer as 3 - 1 co-favorites to win the Masters. While fellow Big Three member, Gary Player was next at 6 - 1.
You can experience the 1964 Masters via this 45 minute YouTube video:
The 1964 Masters Video on YouTube
Here’s my recap of the key highlights with the time stamps on the video:
4:45 - See Jack and Arnie in brief interviews just before the start of the tournament. Nicklaus notes that Palmer always plays well at The Masters and is eager for a win. Palmer said that he’s had trouble with his putting and he hopes it’s just temporary.
OPENING ROUND
7:15 - Watch the honorary starters tee off - Jock Hutchison, age 79, winner of the 1921 British Open and and Fred Mcleod, age 81, winner of the 1908 U.S. Open.
14:00 - The Masters scoreboard at the end of the 1st round appears in the unique style used at Augusta which shows the hole by hole over/under par totals for the tournament. The system is fantastic for seeing at a glance how the leaderboard changed throughout the round.
At the end of the round 1 here were the top scorers:
-3 Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Bob Goalby, Kel Nagle Dr. and Davis Love
-2 Don January, Gene Littler, Dave Marr and an amateur, Billy Joe Patton
-1 Jack Nicklaus, Bob Charles, Gary Cowan (amateur), Jim Ferrier, Dow Finsterwald and Chi-Chi Rodriguez
It is notable that Gary Player is playing the Masters with infected tonsils and will require a tonsillectomy immediately following the tournament. This makes it all the more remarkable that Players shares the lead.
SECOND ROUND
18:20 - Palmer sinks a 35 foot birdie putt on the 15th hole and moves into a commanding lead. Bobby Jones, seated by the 15th green gives Palmer a pat on the back. Then Palmer sinks another birdie at 16.
19:15 - The round 2 leaderboard shows Palmer birdied 3 of the final 4 holes to take a 4 shot lead.
At the end of the round 2 here were the top scorers:
-7 Arnold Palmer
-3 Gary Player
-2 Don January and Gene Littler
-1 Bob Charles, Dow Finsterwald, Tony Lema and Dave Marr
Jack Nicklaus is a shot further back at even par with a group of 11 golfers including 3-time winner 53 year old Jimmy Demaret.
THE THIRD ROUND
In the 3rd round, the Master’s pairings did not have the leader tee off in the last group as is customary for all PGA TOUR events back in 2024.
Palmer teed off in the 7th to last group on Saturday.
Palmer was spurred on by his loyal fans now famously referred to as “Arnie’s Army,” as their hero was clearly on a track that could take him to victory.
Jim Becker of the AP shared this quip about the army, “It was a little awesome to behold. Sherman who had some experience with marching in these parts, would have run for cover at the sight of this army.”
The army’s rank and file identify with Arnie’s everyday man approach to the game. Becker’s article continued with this:
“‘Go get ‘em, Arnie,’ they growled, as Palmer stalked to the first tee like an angry panther, tugged at his yellow shirt, tugged at his white visor cap and tugged at his low-slung trousers.”
Becker then provided this description of Arnie’s Army’s antics:
“Loyal to a fault, hardy as a pack of Death Valley mules, strong, agile, loud, kind, obedient, reverent and clean, Arnie’s Army charged, rolled, swept, cluttered and straggled around the Augusta National Golf Course behind their hero Saturday.”
Never before has the game of golf witnessed such a rabid fan base for one player.
27:30 - Watch 51 year old Ben Hogan birdie the 13th hole to go 3 under on his round (but still 1 over for the tournament). Then see the camera pan to capture the enormous crowd following the twosome of Hogan and Demaret, winners of 5 Masters between them.
28:15 - See the 3rd round leaderboard at the midway mark for the final groups of the day. Palmer teeing off earlier, and now thru 14 holes, has stretched his lead to 5 shots over Dave Marr. Player is 6 shots back and Nicklaus 7 shots behind.
At the end of the 3rd round the scores were as follows:
-10 Arnold Palmer
-5 Bruce Devlin
-4 Dave Marr
-3 Gary Player, Peter Butler and Jim Ferier
-2 Bo Wininger
-1 Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Deane Beman (amateur), Billy Maxwell, Dan Sikes and Johnny Pott
Palmer finished his round with a stretch of 3 straight birdies at 14, 15 and 16 to become the only player in the field to shoot 3 consecutive rounds in the 60s.
And even though he had a 4 stroke lead coming into the round he played as aggressively as ever. The Greenville News (in South Carolina) quoted Arnie about his lead, “I went out to make it bigger if I could.”
He explained his great scoring to the Atlanta Constitution after Saturday’s round, “I’ve never seen this course playing so easy.”
Australian Bruce Devlin, who won his 1st PGA tournament last month in St. Petersburg, Florida, vaulted into 2nd place by going 5 under par from the 12th thru 16th holes on his way to a 67.
Ben Hogan also shot 67 on Saturday, equaling the low round of the tournament so far. What is quite amazing is that Hogan is playing in his first competitive tournament of the year, and only plans to play in one more in 1964, The Colonial, in his home state of Texas.
Defending champion Jack Nicklaus, suffering from poor putting in the first 2 rounds, was mounting a small charge with birdies on 8 and 11 in the 3rd round when he suffered a ghastly tee shot on the par 3 12th that disrupted his play.
25:15 - Back up to the 25:15 mark on the tape to see Nicklaus’ errant shot on the 12th hole in round 3. Announcer Chris Schenkel said, “It must be years since he cold shanked a shot like that.”
The AP wrote, “Nicklaus shanked his 8 iron far to the right bringing an astonished gasp from the gallery.”
Nicklaus described the shot humorously after the round, “I nearly hit the boys coming up on the 13th tee.”
Although he finished with a 71 on the round, Nicklaus lost any momentum with the shank at 12, and was hopelessly behind Palmer at 9 shots back going into Sunday.
Gary Player, despite the raging soreness in his throat, birdied 13, 15 and 16 on Saturday to reach 5 under late in his round before carding bogeys at 17 and 18 to fall back to minus 3. At 7 shots back he had no realistic chance to catch the King.
With his 5 shot lead, newspapers were ready to hand the green jacket to Arnie a day early, especially since Devlin, his nearest pursuer, had only made the cut in the Masters for the first time this week.
Headlines in Sunday’s papers focused on the opportunity for Palmer to better Ben Hogan’s brilliant 14 under score in 1953. The Macon Telegraph ran a headline, “Palmer Nears New Record.” The Asheville Citizen had a headline that read, “Palmer Aware Record Possible.”
THE FINAL ROUND
32:35 - Watch the great swing of Ben Hogan as he tees off in the final round. Hogan will shoot a final round of 72 to finish the Masters at -1, good for 9th place. Not bad for a guy over 50 playing in just 2 tournaments all year.
35:00 - On the leaderboard you can see Bruce Devlin has birdied the opening two holes to pull within 3 strokes to go to minus 7, while Palmer making pars remains at minus 10. But Devlin then misses a par putt at 4 and on the video he misses a par putt at 5 and falls back to 5 shots behind Palmer. Devlin will not contend any further.
37:20 - We can see the leaderboard again at the turn. Palmer has gone out 1 under for the day to reach minus 11 for the tournament. Devlin is still minus 5, but now Dave Marr has reached minus 7. He’s within 4 strokes of Arnie.
Palmer then bogeys the 10th hole to fall back to minus 7 and suddenly Dave Marr is only 3 shots back.
37:45 - Palmer tees off at the par 3 12th and puts his ball 18 feet from the pin. Now Marr tees off. It’s possibly the biggest moment in Marr’s young golf career. At 30 years old, he has never contended for a major.
A birdie could bring Marr within 2 shots. But instead Marr hits the ball in the water and loses a shot. Palmer’s lead is now back to 4 shots with 6 to play.
38:55 - Now Jack Nicklaus is making a charge, as Jack frequently does in the final rounds of majors. His 2nd shot on the par 5 13th hole hits the pin and stops less than 3 feet from the hole. Nicklaus makes the short putt for an eagle 3 and is now 4 under on his round.
Nicklaus then birdies 15 to go to 5 under on the round and 6 under for the tournament.
Jack Nicklaus has vaulted into 2nd place and is just 4 shots behind Arnie.
39:33 - Nicklaus tees off at the par 3 16th. A birdie here could put real pressure on Palmer. Nicklaus fires right at the pin which is tucked on the left side of the green close to the water. It’s a gamble. And it works. Nicklaus’ shot lands 10 feet short of the hole. His birdie putt to pull within 3 strokes stops inches from the left side of the cup. Nicklaus sinks to his knees as the missed putt all but sinks the possibility of a miracle come from behind finish.
Nicklaus pars out to finish with a sensational 67, the low round of the day and tied with Ben Hogan and Bruce Devlin for the low 18 hole score of the 1964 Masters.
40:05 - Staying aggressive, Palmer is hole high on the par 5 13th hole in 2, and has an eagle putt from the fringe. Watch the antics of Palmer and his caddy as the eagle bid just misses.
40:20 - See the leaderboard with Palmer through 14 holes at 11 under. Palmer has just 4 holes to play and he leads Nicklaus by 5 shots.
40:30 - Palmer is still not playing it safe. On the par 5 15th hole he elects to go for the green in 2, risking the water hazards in front of and behind the green. He perfectly executes the shot that lands on the right side of the green and rolls towards the center. He has a makeable eagle putt. And he receives a standing ovation from his army as he walks up to the 15th green.
41:20 - Palmer two putts 15 for a birdie to move to 12 under, 2 shy of Hogan’s record of 14 under with 3 holes remaining. He’s now 6 shots in front of Nicklaus.
Palmer pars 16, but bogeys 17. The record is now out of reach.
Palmer has a 5 shot lead going into the final hole.
42:25 - Dave Marr sinks a long birdie putt to go to 6 under for the tournament to tie Jack Nicklaus for 2nd place.
42:45 - Arnold Palmer sinks his 20 foot birdie putt on 18 to get back to 12 under par and he wins the Masters by 6 strokes.
Arnold Palmer is now the first man to ever win 4 Masters titles. He’s also recorded a top 10 finish for the 8th straight year.
But Ben Hogan’s record of 14 under remains intact.
43:15 - See the final leaderboard. Chris Schenkel mentions that Palmer only had a single 3 putt green in the 72 holes.
43:40 - Watch a magical moment take place. One year earlier, Palmer had placed the Green jacket on Nicklaus in what seemed to be a formal changing of the guard at the top of golf world. Now on the video, Jack Nicklaus puts the Green Jacket on “The King”, Arnold Palmer.
For Arnie’s Army the golf world order is back to the way it should be.
Palmer has surged back to the top of professional golf with his convincing 6 stroke victory.
The New York Times quoted Palmer today saying his Masters victory was, “the most exciting single tournament of my life. I really won this one. This time there was no doubt in my mind or anyone else’s mind. Sure, I won the Masters 3 times before, but I never was certain before that I really had won it. It was always an assist from the weather, or from somebody else shooting a bad round to eliminate themselves.
This one I won. I won it all by myself.”
Jesse Lamar, the sports editor of the Atlanta Constitution wrote today, “Some skeptics had said, and others intimated, that Palmer was past his prime. In one pulsating four-day blitz at Augusta, the General had routed his critics and the field and reclaimed his Masters throne.”
POSTSCRIPT
The 1964 Masters was Arnold Palmer’s masterpiece.
It was also the only time that Jack Nicklaus ever put the Green Jacket on Arnold Palmer.
While Palmer looked invincible on that April, 1964 day in Augusta, he never won another major title, although he did have several crushing close calls in the years to come and he was one of the top money winners on the PGA TOUR through the early 1970s, winning at least one PGA tournament each year until 1973.
One more thing, please don’t comment on the winner of the 2024 Masters. The Sports Time Traveler™ is going to be watching the Masters on tape in a few days.
The 1964 Masters