1972 Masters Tournament Winner and Scores
Jack Nicklaus won the 1972 Masters, which was the 36th time the tournament was played. And it was Nicklaus' fourth career win in The Masters, which tied the tournament record previously held alone by Arnold Palmer. In tough scoring conditions, Nicklaus the only golfer to finish below par.
Winner: Jack Nicklaus, 286
Where it was played: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia
Tournament dates: April 6-9, 1972
Leader after first round: Jack Nicklaus, 68
Leader after second round: Jack Nicklaus, 139
Leader after third round: Jack Nicklaus, 212
What Happened at the 1972 Masters Tournament
Jack Nicklaus took the lead on Day 1 with a 68 and never gave it up for a wire-to-wire win at the 1972 Masters. With the win, Nicklaus became the second golfer to collect four victories in The Masters. Arnold Palmer was the first to get to four Masters wins, his last coming in 1964.Nicklaus had previously won the 1963, 1965 and 1966 Masters. (He went on to win another two, the 1975 Masters and 1986 Masters, setting the record of six wins.) His victory here, in the 1972 Masters, was Nicklaus' 10th win as a professional in major championships.
Nicklaus won the 1972 U.S. Open a couple months later, then finished in second by one stroke at the 1972 Open Championship. It was the closest Nicklaus came to winning three majors in one calendar year.
The runners-up at Augusta National were Bruce Crampton, Bobby Mitchell and Tom Weiskopf. Weiskopf had four career seconds in The Masters, tied for the tournament record. And Crampton was runner-up to Nicklaus in four different majors.
Five amateurs made the cut at the 1972 Masters. Among them were future 2-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw, and future U.S. Open winner Tom Kite. Crenshaw and Kite were teammates on the University of Texas golf team at the time. Also making the cut as an amateur was Jim McLean, who later became one of the most famous golf instructors in the game.
The 1972 Masters was the first one played without tournament founder Bobby Jones, who died in December of 1971.
Nicklaus held the outright lead after each round. He was just the third winner in Masters history to win wire-to-wire holding the outright lead (no ties) after each round. The first was Craig Wood in the 1941 Masters, and Arnold Palmer did it in the 1960 Masters.
1972 Masters Final Scores
| Jack Nicklaus | 68-71-73-74—286 |
| Bruce Crampton | 72-75-69-73—289 |
| Bobby Mitchell | 73-72-71-73—289 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 74-71-70-74—289 |
| Homero Blancas | 76-71-69-74—290 |
| Bruce Devlin | 74-75-70-71—290 |
| Jerry Heard | 73-71-72-74—290 |
| Jim Jamieson | 72-70-71-77—290 |
| Jerry McGee | 73-74-71-72—290 |
| Gary Player | 73-75-72-71—291 |
| Dave Stockton | 76-70-74-71—291 |
| George Archer | 73-75-72-72—292 |
| Charles Coody | 73-70-74-75—292 |
| Al Geiberger | 76-70-74-72—292 |
| Steve Melnyk | 72-72-74-74—292 |
| Bert Yancey | 72-69-76-75—292 |
| Billy Casper | 75-71-74-74—294 |
| Bob Goalby | 73-76-72-73—294 |
| a-Ben Crenshaw | 73-74-74-74—295 |
| Takaaki Kono | 76-72-73-74—295 |
| Lanny Wadkins | 72-72-77-74—295 |
| Bob Charles | 72-76-74-74—296 |
| Roberto De Vicenzo | 75-69-76-76—296 |
| Gardner Dickinson | 77-72-73-74—296 |
| Hubert Green | 75-74-74-73—296 |
| Paul Harney | 71-69-75-81—296 |
| Tony Jacklin | 72-76-75-74—297 |
| a-Tom Kite | 74-74-76-73—297 |
| Sam Snead | 69-75-76-77—297 |
| J.C. Snead | 74-77-72-75—298 |
| Bert Greene | 75-75-77-72—299 |
| Bobby Nichols | 72-71-80-76—299 |
| Harry Bannerman | 78-72-72-78—300 |
| Grier Jones | 73-75-76-76—300 |
| Arnold Palmer | 70-75-74-81—300 |
| Lee Trevino | 75-76-77-72—300 |
| Lu Liang-Huan | 75-72-80-74—301 |
| Gibby Gilbert | 72-76-74-81—303 |
| Peter Oosterhuis | 74-76-80-73—303 |
| Ken Still | 74-77-77-76—304 |
| Frank Beard | 72-79-79-76—306 |
| a-Jim Simons | 71-79-76-80—306 |
| a-Jim McLean | 75-75-78-79—307 |
| Bob Murphy | 75-76-77-79—307 |
| Larry Hinson | 77-74-79-78—308 |
| Bob Rosburg | 74-73-83-78—308 |
| a-Dewitt Weaver | 74-76-81-79—310 |
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