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History will be made Sunday at the Masters. We guarantee it.
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Today’s final round of the Masters promises to be a truly historic one.
No, seriously it does. We’re not just saying this to boost CBS’ TV ratings. It really is going to be a historic day, at least if anyone in the top five on the leader board entering the final 18 holes actually wins the coveted green jacket.
Don’t believe us? Consider the following:
If Jordan Spieth were to win …
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• He’ll be, at age 22, the youngest two-time winner at Augusta, breaking Jack Nicklaus’ record of being 25 when he won his second title in 1965.
• He’ll be the first golfer to win the Masters wire-to-wire more than once.
• He’ll be the first golfer to win any major championship in consecutive years wire-to-wire.
• He’ll extend his record for most consecutive rounds holding a Masters lead to eight (and also make it nine out of his last 10).
• He’ll be just the fourth repeat Masters winner, joining Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods.
• He’ll receive a ticker-tape parade in New York City later this summer (OK … we haven’t confirmed this at press time).
If Smylie Kaufman were to win …
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• He’ll be the first golfer in 37 years to win the Masters in his first start.
• He’ll be just the fourth golfer ever to win the Masters in his first start, joining Horton Smith in 1934 (which doesn’t really count since it was the tournament’s inaugural year), Gene Sarazen in 1935 (which also doesn’t really count because it was just the second year of the event) and Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 (which counts, even if Ed Sneed sort of handed him the tournament).
• He’ll be the first guy named after a facial expression to win a major championship.
If Bernhard Langer were to win …
• He’ll be, at age 58, the oldest Masters champion, breaking Jack Nicklaus’ record of 46. (For some reason the year that Nicklaus set that record is escaping us. Think it’s been mentioned in the papers lately. You might want to Google it.)
• He’ll be, at age 58, the oldest winner of any major, breaking Julius Boros’ record of 48 set at the 1968 PGA Championship.
• He’ll have the longest gap between Masters victories, having won his last in 1993. The previous record was 13 years from Gary Player (1961 to 1974).
• He’ll have the longest gap between overall Masters victories, having won his first in 1985. The previous record was 23 years (That guy Nicklaus had that mark too. What a record hog.)
• He’ll officially be asked to leave the senior tour under the “if you’re good enough to win the Masters, you can’t be playing out here” clause in the PGA Tour Champions bylaws.
If Hideki Matsuyama were to win …
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• He’ll be the first Japanese golfer to win a major championship.
• He’ll receive a ticker-tape parade in Tokyo later this summer (Not confirmed yet either, but you’ve got to think this can really happen, no?)
If Jason Day were to win …
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• He’ll be the first World No. 1 to win the Masters since Tiger Woods did it in 2005.
• He’ll be halfway to the Jason Day slam, having claimed the PGA Championship title last August.
• He’ll be the first Masters champion who will also be joined by his son, Dash, in the Butler Cabin to accept a green jacket.
If Dustin Johnson were to win …
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• He’ll be the first Masters winner to have come from outside the top four entering the final round since Nick Faldo won in 1989.
• He’ll have won a PGA Tour title every year for the last nine years, the longest active streak.
• He’ll be just the second Masters champ in 60 years not to break 70 in any round (provided he doesn’t break 70 on Sunday).
• He’ll no longer have to answer the media’s relentless questions about never having won a major.