 Front cover of the 1980 Masters Guide | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 10–13, 1980 |
| 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 | 7,040 yards (6,437 m)[1] |
| Field | 91 players, 52 after cut |
| Cut | 146 (+2) |
| Prize fund | $359,949 |
| Winner's share | $55,000 |
| Champion | |
 Seve Ballesteros | |
| 275 (−13) | |
| Location map | |
  Augusta National Location in the United States  Augusta National Location in Georgia | |
The 1980 Masters Tournament was the 44th Masters Tournament, held April 10–13 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
Seve Ballesteros, age 23, won his first Masters and second major championship title, four strokes ahead of runners-up Jack Newton and Gibby Gilbert.[2] Ballesteros had a seven stroke lead after 54 holes[3] and extended it to ten strokes after the front nine of the final round at 16-under-par, eyeing the Masters record of 271 (−17) set by Jack Nicklaus in 1965 (and equaled by Raymond Floyd in 1976). A new record (of 270 or lower) was to be rewarded with a $50,000 bonus from Golf magazine.[4] An hour later, after he found the water at 12 and 13 at Amen Corner, the lead had been reduced to three. Ballesteros regrouped with a birdie at 15 and parred the rest to shoot even-par 72 for the round and held on for the victory.[5][6]
Well back in the field on Sunday, Nicklaus, age 40, was paired with Arnold Palmer, age 50, which drew large galleries. Palmer shot 69 to finish at even par and T24, Nicklaus had 73 to finish at 291 (+3) and T33.[4] It was their first pairing at Augusta in five years and the first time Palmer had finished higher than Nicklaus there since 1967.[7] Nicklaus regrouped and won two majors in 1980, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship and was the runner-up the following April.
Ballesteros, of Spain, was the first winner of the Masters from Europe, and won a second green jacket in 1983.
This was the final Masters with Bermuda and ryegrass greens, which were replaced with bentgrass following this tournament.[8]
- ^ "Trio with 66s lead Masters". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. April 11, 1980. p. 22.
- ^ Jenkins, Dan (April 21, 1980). "The Reign of Spain". Sports Illustrated. p. 26.
- ^ "Can anyone stop Ballesteros now?". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. April 13, 1980. p. 2E.
- ^ a b Glick, Shav (April 14, 1980). "Seve lets it get interesting". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (Los Angeles Times). p. 1C.
- ^ Parascenzo, Marino (April 14, 1980). "Seve cards 275, wins Masters". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 15.
- ^ Loomis, Tom (April 14, 1980). "Ballesteros listens well, holds on to win Masters". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). p. 17.
- ^ Loomis, Tom (April 14, 1980). "Jack, Arnie bring back memories". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). p. 17.
- ^ Boswell, Thomas (April 7, 1982). "Everything normal at Augusta National". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). (Washington Post). p. 21.