1956 Masters Tournament

1956 Masters Tournament
Tournament information
Dates	April 5–8, 1956
Location	Augusta, Georgia
Course(s)	Augusta National Golf Club
Organized by	Augusta National Golf Club
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	72
Length	6,965 yards (6,369 m)
Field	84 players
Cut	None
Winner's share	$6,000
Champion
	Jack Burke, Jr.
	289 (+1)

Augusta

Location in the United States

The 1956 Masters Tournament was the 20th Masters Tournament, held April 5–8 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

Jack Burke, Jr. won his first major championship and only Masters, one stroke ahead of amateur Ken Venturi. It was the final Masters played without a 36-hole cut. CBS televised the third and fourth rounds of the tournament for the first time, and has done so every year since.

Burke shot a 71 (−1) on Sunday, one of only two players to break par in the final round; he rallied from a tournament record eight shots back to pass Venturi, who had led the entire tournament.^[2]^[3] Then a 24-year-old amateur, Venturi opened with a first round 66 (−6), the best round to date at the Masters by an amateur.^[4] But on Sunday, he shot a 42 (+6) on the final nine holes to card a disappointing 80 (+8).^[1]^[5] Burke's 289, along with Sam Snead in 1954 and Zach Johnson in 2007, remains the highest winning total in Masters history.

Burke was late arriving at the course for his final round on Sunday after going to church and had only fifteen minutes to warm up.^[6]

Field

1. Masters champions

Jimmy Demaret, Claude Harmon, Ben Hogan (2,3,4,8,9), Cary Middlecoff (2,8,9,10,11), Byron Nelson (2,4,8), Henry Picard (4), Gene Sarazen (2,3,4), Horton Smith, Sam Snead (3,4,8,9,11), Craig Wood

Ralph Guldahl (2) and Herman Keiser did not play.

2. U.S. Open champions

Julius Boros (8,9), Billy Burke, Johnny Farrell, Jack Fleck (9), Ed Furgol (8), Lawson Little (5), Tony Manero, Lloyd Mangrum (8), Fred McLeod, Sam Parks Jr., George Sargent, Lew Worsham (10)

3. The Open champions

Jock Hutchison (4), Denny Shute (4)

4. PGA champions

Walter Burkemo (8), Doug Ford (9,10,11), Vic Ghezzi, Chick Harbert (11), Johnny Revolta, Jim Turnesa

5. U.S. Amateur and Amateur champions

Dick Chapman (a), Joe Conrad (6,8,a), Gene Littler (8,9), Billy Maxwell (8), Arnold Palmer (8,9), Skee Riegel (8), Frank Stranahan (8,9), Sam Urzetta, Harvie Ward (6,7,8,9,a)

6. Members of the 1955 U.S. Walker Cup team

Rex Baxter (a), William C. Campbell (a), Don Cherry (a), Bruce Cudd (a), Jimmy Jackson (a), Ed Meister (a), Dale Morey (a), Billy Joe Patton (a)

Dick Yost (a) did not play. Baxter and Meister were reserves for the team.

7. 1955 U.S. Amateur quarter-finalists

Bill Booe (a), Joe Campbell (a), Ed Hopkins (a), Bill Hyndman (a), Charles Kunkle (a), Jim McCoy (a), Hillman Robbins (8,a)

8. Top 24 players and ties from the 1955 Masters Tournament

Tommy Bolt (9,10,11), Jack Burke Jr. (9,10,11), Pete Cooper, Jay Hebert, Dick Mayer, Johnny Palmer, Bob Rosburg (9), Mike Souchak (9)

9. Top 24 players and ties from the 1955 U.S. Open

Bob Harris, Fred Hawkins (10), Bud Holscher, Walker Inman, Shelley Mayfield (10), Al Mengert, George Schneiter, Ernie Vossler, Art Wall Jr.

Smiley Quick did not play.

10. 1955 PGA Championship quarter-finalists

Don Fairfield

11. Members of the U.S. 1955 Ryder Cup team

Jerry Barber, Ted Kroll

Marty Furgol and Chandler Harper (4) did not play.

12. One player, either amateur or professional, not already qualified, selected by a ballot of ex-Masters champions

Ken Venturi (a)

13. One professional, not already qualified, selected by a ballot of ex-U.S. Open champions

Fred Haas

14. One amateur, not already qualified, selected by a ballot of ex-U.S. Amateur champions

Don Bisplinghoff (a)

15. Two players, not already qualified, from a points list based on finishes in the winter part of the 1956 PGA Tour

Dow Finsterwald, Lionel Hebert

16. Foreign invitations

Al Balding, Henry Cotton (3), Roberto De Vicenzo, Stan Leonard (8), Moe Norman (a)

Numbers in brackets indicate categories that the player would have qualified under had they been American.

Nationalities in the field

North America (82)	South America (1)	Europe (1)	Oceania (0)	Asia (0)	Africa (0)
Canada (3)	Argentina (1)	England (1)
United States (79)

Past champions in the field

Player	Country	Year(s) won	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	To par	Finish
Cary Middlecoff	United States	1955	67	72	75	77	291	+3	3
Sam Snead	United States	1949, 1952, 1954	73	76	72	71	292	+4	T4
Ben Hogan	United States	1951, 1953	69	78	74	75	296	+8	T8
Jimmy Demaret	United States	1940, 1947, 1950	73	75	76	81	305	+17	T34
Byron Nelson	United States	1937, 1942	73	75	78	80	306	+18	39
Claude Harmon	United States	1948	77	79	76	77	309	+21	T46
Henry Picard	United States	1938	75	76	82	76	309	+21	T46
Gene Sarazen	United States	1935	77	75	78	80	310	+22	T49
Craig Wood	United States	1941	76	80	78	88	322	+34	70
Horton Smith	United States	1934, 1936	86	84	84	82	336	+48	76

The Masters did not have a 36-hole cut until 1957

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, April 5, 1956

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Ken Venturi (a)	United States	66	−6
2	Cary Middlecoff	United States	67	−5
T3	Tommy Bolt	United States	68	−4
T3	Shelley Mayfield	United States	68	−4
5	Ben Hogan	United States	69	−3
T6	Doug Ford	United States	70	−2
	Bob Rosburg	United States
	Billy Joe Patton (a)	United States
T9	Jerry Barber	United States	71	−1
T9	Fred Hawkins	United States	71	−1

Second round

Friday, April 6, 1956

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Ken Venturi (a)	United States	66-69=135	−9
2	Cary Middlecoff	United States	67-72=139	−5
T3	Tommy Bolt	United States	68-74=142	−2
	Pete Cooper	United States	72-70=142
	Doug Ford	United States	70-72=142
	Shelley Mayfield	United States	68-74=142
T7	Jack Burke, Jr.	United States	72-71=143	−1
T7	Jerry Barber	United States	71-72=143	−1
T9	Fred Hawkins	United States	71-73=144	E
T9	Bob Rosburg	United States	70-74=144	E

Third round

Saturday, April 7, 1956

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Ken Venturi (a)	United States	66-69-75=210	−6
2	Cary Middlecoff	United States	67-72-75=214	−2
3	Doug Ford	United States	70-72-75=217	+1
T4	Jack Burke, Jr.	United States	72-71-75=218	+2
T4	Lloyd Mangrum	United States	72-74-72=218	+2
T6	Jerry Barber	United States	71-72-76=219	+3
T6	Pete Cooper	United States	72-70-77=219	+3
T8	Tommy Bolt	United States	68-74-78=220	+4
	Fred Hawkins	United States	71-73-76=220
	Mike Souchak	United States	73-73-74=220

Final round

Sunday, April 8, 1956

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Jack Burke, Jr.	United States	72-71-75-71=289	+1	6,000
2	Ken Venturi (a)	United States	66-69-75-80=290	+2	0
3	Cary Middlecoff	United States	67-72-75-77=291	+3	3,750
T4	Lloyd Mangrum	United States	72-74-72-74=292	+4	2,397
T4	Sam Snead	United States	73-76-72-71=292	+4	2,397
T6	Jerry Barber	United States	71-72-76-75=294	+6	1,350
T6	Doug Ford	United States	70-72-75-77=294	+6	1,350
T8	Tommy Bolt	United States	68-74-78-76=296	+8	976
	Ben Hogan	United States	69-78-74-75=296
	Shelley Mayfield	United States	68-74-80-74=296

Scorecard

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	5	4	3	4	3	4	5	4	4	4	3	5	4	5	3	4	4
Burke	+2	+1	+1	+1	+1	+1	+1	+1	+1	+1	+2	+1	+1	+2	+2	+2	+1	+1
Venturi	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−4	−3	−2	−1	−1	E	+1	+1	+2	+2
Middlecoff	−3	−4	−4	−3	−1	−1	+1	+1	E	+1	+1	+1	+1	+1	+1	+1	+3	+3

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

	Eagle		Birdie		Bogey		Double bogey

Source:^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b "Jack Burke Surprise Winner of Masters Golf". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. April 9, 1956. p. 18. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
^ "Venturi folds, steady Burke wins Masters". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. April 9, 1956. p. 4, part 2.
^ Drum, Bob (April 9, 1956). "Burke Master as Venturi folds". Pittsburgh Press. p. 24.
^ "Ken Venturi leads Masters with amateur record of 66". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. April 6, 1956. p. 16.
^ Wind, Herbert Warren (April 16, 1956). "And Then—Jackie Burke Took Charge". Sports Illustrated. p. 28. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
^ "Pros Baffled By 'Lost' Par". Pittsburgh Press. April 9, 1956. p. 24.
^ "Cards of the leaders". St. Petersburg Times. Florida. Associated Press. April 9, 1956. p. 16.

External links

Masters.com – Past winners and results
About.com – 1956 Masters Tournament
Augusta.com – 1956 Masters leaderboard and scorecards

[jbswomg-1] "Jack Burke Surprise Winner of Masters Golf". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. April 9, 1956. p. 18. Retrieved January 2, 2013.

[milsent9-2] "Venturi folds, steady Burke wins Masters". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. April 9, 1956. p. 4, part 2.

[bmavf-3] Drum, Bob (April 9, 1956). "Burke Master as Venturi folds". Pittsburgh Press. p. 24.

[kvlmwamr-4] "Ken Venturi leads Masters with amateur record of 66". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. April 6, 1956. p. 16.

[atjbtc-5] Wind, Herbert Warren (April 16, 1956). "And Then—Jackie Burke Took Charge". Sports Illustrated. p. 28. Retrieved March 30, 2016.

[6] "Pros Baffled By 'Lost' Par". Pittsburgh Press. April 9, 1956. p. 24.

[cothldrs-7] "Cards of the leaders". St. Petersburg Times. Florida. Associated Press. April 9, 1956. p. 16.

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