| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 6–9, 1972 |
| Location | Augusta, Georgia 33°30′11″N 82°01′12″W / 33.503°N 82.020°W |
| Course(s) | Augusta National Golf Club |
| Organized by | Augusta National Golf Club |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 6,980 yards (6,383 m)[1] |
| Field | 84 players, 47 after cut |
| Cut | 151 (+7) |
| Winner's share | $25,000 |
| Champion | |
 Jack Nicklaus | |
| 286 (−2) | |
| Location map | |
  Augusta National Location in the United States  Augusta National Location in Georgia | |
The 1972 Masters Tournament was the 36th Masters Tournament, held April 6–9 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
Jack Nicklaus opened with a 68 and led wire-to-wire to win the fourth[2] of his six Masters titles, three strokes ahead of three runners-up.[3] It was the tenth of 18 major titles as a professional for Nicklaus, who also won the U.S. Open in 1972 and was the runner-up at the Open Championship in Scotland, one stroke behind Lee Trevino.
It was the first Masters played without founder Bobby Jones, who died in December 1971 at age 69. This Masters was also the debut of twenty-year-old Ben Crenshaw of the University of Texas, a future two-time champion who was low amateur at 295 (T19).
Banned from the last five Masters, commentator Jack Whitaker returned to the CBS telecast in 1972. At the end of the 18-hole Monday playoff in 1966, he had referred to the portion of the gallery trailing the players as a "mob."[4][5]
Nicklaus became the third wire-to-wire winner in Masters history, following Craig Wood in 1941 and Arnold Palmer in 1960. Through 2016, there have been five; the next were Raymond Floyd in 1976 and Jordan Spieth in 2015.
- ^ Gundelfinger, Phil (April 7, 1972). "Nicklaus leading Masters with 68". Pittsburgh-Post Gazette. p. 12.
- ^ Gundelfinger, Phil (April 10, 1972). "Nicklaus coasts to Masters". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 25.
- ^ Jenkins, Dan (April 17, 1972). "Poa Jack beats himself". Sports Illustrated. p. 22.
- ^ Rothenberg, Fred (April 12, 1979). "Jack Whitaker's welcome now". Boca Raton News. Florida. Associated Press. p. 2B.
- ^ Sandomir, Richard (May 5, 2012). "Jack Whitaker was always camera ready". New York Times. Retrieved April 8, 2016.