1986 Masters Tournament: Nicklaus' Final Charge
One of the most-famous tournaments in golf history, the 50th Masters was the site of Jack Nicklaus' final Masters victory, his final major championship win and last PGA Tour win.
Winner: Jack Nicklaus, 279
Where it was played: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia
Tournament dates: April 10-13, 1986
Leader after first round: Ken Green and Billy Kratzert, 68
Leader after second round: Seve Ballesteros, 139
Leader after third round: Greg Norman, 210
What Happened in the 1986 Masters Tournament
It had been six years since the 46-year-old Jack Nicklaus had won a major, two years since his last win of any kind, when he arrived at Augusta National for the 1986 Masters Tournament. And when he arrived, he saw a newspaper article by a sportswriter who described him as finished. He posted that article on a wall in the rental house where he stayed during the week, then went out to prove that sportswriter wrong.But a 74 in the first round got him off to a lackluster start. Nicklaus added a 71 in the second round and at the midway point was six strokes off Seve Ballesteros' lead. In the third round, Nicklaus carded a 69. That got him into the Top 10 (tied for ninth) and moved him to four strokes off Greg Norman's 54-hole lead.
In the final round, Nicklaus wasn't making up ground through eight holes. But then the old Nicklaus magic returned: He birdied holes 9, 10 and 11. A bogey at 12 dropped him to three behind the leaders. But what came next was an old-style "Nicklaus charge": a birdie at 13, eagle at 15, birdie at 16, birdie at 17. Suddenly, Nicklaus was in the lead, and Augusta National was ringing with the loudest cheers golf has ever heard.
Ballesteros, Tom Kite and Norman were all in position to catch or pass Nicklaus, each finishing after he did, but couldn't do it. Norman was tied for the lead as he reached the final hole, but made bogey. That left Nicklaus standing alone in the lead, the winner, for the sixth and final time, of The Masters Tournament.
He had finished with a 65 in the final round, the lowest score of the day. His winning total was 9-under-par 279, one better than runners-up Kite and Norman. Ballesteros, after hitting into water on the 15th hole, finished two strokes behind Nicklaus. At age 46, Nicklaus became the oldest winner of The Masters and the third-oldest winner of any major championship. It was Nicklaus' 18th and final win in a major championship, his 73rd and final win on the PGA Tour.
In the third round, Nick Price set a new 18-hole Masters scoring record with a 63. Bob Goalby, winner of the 1968 Masters, missed the cut in his final appearance in The Masters or any other major.
1986 Masters Final Scores
| Jack Nicklaus | 74-71-69-65—279 |
| Tom Kite | 70-74-68-68—280 |
| Greg Norman | 70-72-68-70—280 |
| Seve Ballesteros | 71-68-72-70—281 |
| Nick Price | 79-69-63-71—282 |
| Jay Haas | 76-69-71-67—283 |
| Tom Watson | 70-74-68-71—283 |
| Tommy Nakajima | 70-71-71-72—284 |
| Payne Stewart | 75-71-69-69—284 |
| Bob Tway | 70-73-71-70—284 |
| Donnie Hammond | 73-71-67-74—285 |
| Sandy Lyle | 76-70-68-71—285 |
| Mark McCumber | 76-67-71-71—285 |
| Corey Pavin | 71-72-71-71—285 |
| Calvin Peete | 75-71-69-70—285 |
| Dave Barr | 70-77-71-68—286 |
| Ben Crenshaw | 71-71-74-70—286 |
| Gary Koch | 69-74-71-72—286 |
| Bernhard Langer | 74-68-69-75—286 |
| Larry Mize | 75-74-72-65—286 |
| Curtis Strange | 73-74-68-72—287 |
| Fuzzy Zoeller | 73-73-69-72—287 |
| T.C. Chen | 69-73-75-71—288 |
| Roger Maltbie | 71-75-69-73—288 |
| Bill Glasson | 72-74-72-71—289 |
| Peter Jacobsen | 75-73-68-73—289 |
| Scott Simpson | 76-72-67-74—289 |
| Dave Edwards | 71-71-72-76—290 |
| David Graham | 76-72-74-68—290 |
| Johnny Miller | 74-70-77-69—290 |
| Fred Couples | 72-77-70-72—291 |
| Bruce Lietzke | 78-70-68-75—291 |
| Dan Pohl | 76-70-72-73—291 |
| Lanny Wadkins | 78-71-73-69—291 |
| Wayne Levi | 73-76-67-76—292 |
| Rick Fehr | 75-74-69-75—293 |
| Hubert Green | 71-75-73-74—293 |
| Larry Nelson | 73-73-71-76—293 |
| a-Sam Randolph | 75-73-72-73—293 |
| Tony Sills | 76-73-73-71—293 |
| Don Pooley | 77-72-73-72—294 |
| Bill Kratzert | 68-72-76-79—295 |
| John Mahaffey | 79-69-72-75—295 |
| Ken Green | 68-78-74-76—296 |
| Phil Blackmar | 76-73-73-76—298 |
| Jim Thorpe | 74-74-73-77—298 |
| Lee Trevino | 76-73-73-77—299 |
| Mark O'Meara | 74-73-81-73—301 |
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