Record for Most Times Playing the Masters Tournament

Which golfer holds the record for playing in the most Masters tournaments? How many golfers have played this major championship 40 or more times? Gary Player is the answer to the first question, and all the golfers with 40 or more Masters appearances are listed below.

Player started a total of 52 Masters Tournaments, making him one of two golfers to reach the 50 appearances threshold at Augusta National. Player first played the event at the 1957 Masters, when he was 21 years old. He last played in 2009, at the age of 73. Along the way, Player won the 1961 Masters (becoming the tournament's first international champion), the 1974 Masters and 1978 Masters. (See Gary Player's year-by-year finishes in The Masters.)

Masters Tournament Record: Total Appearances

Following is every golfer who played The Masters at least 40 times. They are all winners of the tournament, which explains how they kept receiving invitations to play well beyond (for most of them) the end of their competitive years.

• 52 Masters played — Gary Player, 1957-2009. Won three times, made the cut 30 times, missed the cut 22 times.
• 50 — Arnold Palmer, 1955-2004. Won four times, made the cut 25 times, missed the cut 25 times.
• 49 — Doug Ford, 1952-2001. Won once, made the cut 17 times, missed the cut 32 times.
• 45 — Billy Casper, 1957-2005. Won once, made the cut 23 times, missed the cut 22 times.
• 45 — Raymond Floyd, 1965-2009. Won once, made the cut 27 times, missed the cut 18 times.
• 45 — Jack Nicklaus, 1959-2005. Won six times, made the cut 37 times, missed the cut eight times.
• 44 — Ben Crenshaw, 1972-2015. Won twice, made the cut 25 times, missed the cut 19 times.
• 44 — Sam Snead, 1937-1983. Won three times, made the cut 31 times, missed the cut 13 times.
• 43 — Tom Watson, 1970-2016. Won twice, made the cut 24 times, missed the cut 19 times.
• 42 — Tommy Aaron, 1959-2005. Won once, made the cut 21 times, missed the cut 21 times.
• 42 — Sandy Lyle, 1980-2023. Won once, made the cut 17 times, missed the cut 25 times.
• 40 — Charles Coody, 1963-2006. Won once, made the cut 16 times, missed the cut 24 times.
• 40 — Bernhard Langer, 1982-2023. Won twice, made the cut 27 times, missed the cut 13 times.
• 40 — Larry Mize, 1984-2023. Won once, made the cut 20 times, missed the cut 20 times.

(What are the most starts by a golfer who never won The Masters? Gene Littler and Tom Kite share that record with 26 Masters appearances each.)

Arnold Palmer was the first golfer to play The Masters at least 50 times. Remarkably, Palmer didn't just play The Masters 50 years total, but also 50 years consecutively. From his first year playing through his last, Palmer was at Augusta National every single year. (See Arnold Palmer's year-by-year Masters results.)

Of course, Jack Nicklaus, who holds the tournament record with six victories, makes the list. Nicklaus leads the list with 37 cuts made and also is the only golfer on the list above with single-digit missed cuts. Most of these champs missed lots of cuts the older they got and the older they played. Nicklaus missed only eight Masters cuts total. (See Jack Nicklaus' year-by-year Masters scores.)

Related articles:

• Most career cuts made in The Masters
• Youngest winners of The Masters
• Oldest winners of The Masters