Honestly, the green jacket is the weirdest prize in sports. It’s a boxy, somewhat-dated blazer that you aren’t even supposed to take home after your first year as a champion. Yet, every April, grown men cry over it. Looking at the masters tournament winners list, you see the same heavy hitters over and over, but the gaps between the legends are where the real stories hide.
Everyone knows Tiger. Everyone knows Jack. But do you remember Trevor Immelman? Or that time Zach Johnson won by basically refusing to go for any par-5s in two?
Golf is weird like that.
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The Mount Rushmore of Augusta
If you're looking for the guys who basically own the real estate at Augusta National, it's a short list. Jack Nicklaus still sits on the throne with six wins. His 1986 victory is the one people still whisper about. He was 46. People said he was washed. He went out and shot a 30 on the back nine on Sunday. Just pure, unadulterated "Golden Bear" magic.
Then you have Tiger Woods. Five jackets.
His 1997 win changed the sport forever—he won by 12 strokes. Twelve! That’s not a win; that’s a demolition. Then he waited 14 years between his fourth and fifth wins, coming back in 2019 after his back had basically been fused together. It's probably the greatest comeback in the history of the game.
Arnold Palmer rounds out the top tier with four wins. He was the one who actually made the Masters "cool" for TV. Before Arnie, golf was a country club secret. He brought the "Army" with him, and suddenly the masters tournament winners list became the most important roster in the world.
The Three-Win Club
- Jimmy Demaret (1940, 1947, 1950): The first to get to three.
- Sam Snead (1949, 1952, 1954): Known for that sweet swing and the straw hat.
- Gary Player (1961, 1974, 1978): The "Black Knight" was the first international winner.
- Nick Faldo (1989, 1990, 1996): He didn't just win; he waited for you to collapse.
- Phil Mickelson (2004, 2006, 2010): "Lefty" finally got the monkey off his back in '04.
Rory McIlroy and the Modern Era
It finally happened. For years, the biggest "what if" on the masters tournament winners list was Rory McIlroy. He had the U.S. Open, the Open Championship, and the PGA. He just needed the jacket.
In 2025, Rory finally exorcised his demons. He went into a playoff against Justin Rose—who, let's be honest, has had his heart broken at Augusta more than almost anyone—and Rory stuck it close on the first extra hole. Watching him drop to his knees in tears felt like the end of a movie. He became only the sixth player to complete the career Grand Slam, joining the likes of Hogan and Nicklaus.
Just a year before that, Scottie Scheffler was the story. In 2024, he won his second jacket in three years. The guy is a machine. He plays golf like he’s solving a math problem, and for most of the field, there just isn't an answer for him. He joined Tiger Woods (2001) and Rory (2025) as the only players to win the Masters and The Players in the same year.
Why the Masters Tournament Winners List is So Exclusive
Augusta isn't like other courses. You can't just bomb and gouge it. You have to know where not to miss.
Ben Hogan used to say that if you hit a shot two feet off your target, you could end up eighty feet away from the hole. That’s not an exaggeration. The greens are like putting on your kitchen floor if you covered it in wax.
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Think about the "one-hit wonders." No disrespect, but guys like Danny Willett (2016) or Charl Schwartzel (2011) aren't names that casual fans scream in the streets. But for one week, they solved the puzzle. Willett won because Jordan Spieth had a literal nightmare on the 12th hole, hitting two balls into Rae's Creek.
That's the cruelty of the list. You don't just win it; sometimes, the course decides it’s your turn to survive.
Every Winner Since the Turn of the Century
If you're trying to track the recent vibes, here is how the jackets have been handed out lately. It’s a mix of dominant runs and absolute shocks.
- 2025: Rory McIlroy (Finally!)
- 2024: Scottie Scheffler (Total dominance)
- 2023: Jon Rahm (The Spaniard's first)
- 2022: Scottie Scheffler (The arrival)
- 2021: Hideki Matsuyama (A win for Japan)
- 2020: Dustin Johnson (The November Masters)
- 2019: Tiger Woods (The miracle)
- 2018: Patrick Reed
- 2017: Sergio Garcia (The playoff win)
- 2016: Danny Willett
- 2015: Jordan Spieth (Wire-to-wire)
- 2014: Bubba Watson (His second)
- 2013: Adam Scott (The first Australian)
- 2012: Bubba Watson
- 2011: Charl Schwartzel
- 2010: Phil Mickelson
- 2009: Angel Cabrera
- 2008: Trevor Immelman
- 2007: Zach Johnson (+1 total score!)
- 2006: Phil Mickelson
- 2005: Tiger Woods
- 2004: Phil Mickelson
- 2003: Mike Weir (Lefty Canadian!)
- 2002: Tiger Woods
- 2001: Tiger Woods
- 2000: Vijay Singh
The "Almost" Club and Heartbreak
You can't talk about the winners without talking about the losers. Greg Norman. Poor Greg Norman. He should be on this list three times over. In 1987, Larry Mize (a local kid!) chipped in from out of nowhere to beat him. In 1996, Norman had a six-shot lead on Sunday and lost by five to Nickaldo.
Then there's the 2020 "Pandemic Masters." Dustin Johnson set the scoring record at 20-under par. People try to put an asterisk on it because it was played in November and the course was soft, but a win is a win. DJ’s name is on the trophy just as clearly as Bobby Jones’.
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Speaking of Bobby Jones, he’s the reason any of this exists. He co-founded the place. He actually played in the tournament 12 times but never won it. Kind of ironic that the guy who built the house never got to keep the keys, isn't it?
What to Watch for Next
If you’re looking at the masters tournament winners list and trying to predict the future, look at the "Repeat" column. It is incredibly hard to go back-to-back. Only Tiger, Nicklaus, and Nick Faldo have ever done it.
The next time you're watching the broadcast and they show that slow-motion montage of the azaleas, remember that the list is more than just stats. It’s a record of guys who didn't blink when the 12th hole tried to ruin their lives.
To really understand the legacy, start by looking into the specific Sunday back-nine charges of the 1980s. That’s where the tournament transitioned from a polite garden party into the "theatrical" event it is today. You'll find that the names on the list are often less interesting than the way they got there.
Check the current world rankings of the top 50 players. Usually, about 80% of the winners come from that pool, but keep an eye on the amateurs—every now and then, someone like Ken Venturi (who almost won in '56) comes along and nearly wrecks the whole script.