Highest 18-Hole Scores in Masters Tournament History

What are the highest scores for one round of golf yet recorded in The Masters Tournament? The all-time worst 18-hole score in The Masters is 95.

Below are the all-time highest scores for a Masters round for each of the first, second, third and final rounds. And below that are a few more records such as highest round by a winner and highest score after making the cut.

All-Time Highest 18-Hole Score in The Masters: 95

The worst 18-hole score ever officially recorded in The Masters Tournament is 95 by Charles Kunkle, in the final round of the 1956 Masters. That 95 included a front nine score of 49, which is the tournament's 9-hole record for high score. (Kunkle shares that record with Jess Sweetser, Dick Chapman, Tony Manero and Frank Conner.)

And Kunkle finished that Masters with a 340 total (78-82-85-95), the worst 72-hole score in Masters history.

Who is this Kunkle guy and what was he doing in The Masters field? In 1956, The Masters was still giving invitations to all the golfers who reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur. Kunkle was a quarterfinalist in the 1955 U.S. Amateur, so he got an invitation.

He was 42 years old at the time of the 1956 Masters and, although he never won any of the very biggest national amateur tournaments, he had long been one of the top amateur golfers in western Pennsylvania. He was something of a mentor to a young Arnold Palmer, and he also helped found one of today's biggest annual amateur tournaments, the Sunnehanna Amateur.

The 1956 Masters, played in terrible weather, was the only professional major Kunkle got into. Nobody else scored in the 90s that year, but Kunkle's 340 total was only four strokes worse than 2-time champ Horton Smith's 336 (there was no cut at that time).

These are the highest, 18-hole Masters scores by round:

  • Highest first-round score: 94 by Doug Ford in 2000
  • Highest second-round score: 94 by Doug Ford in 1997
  • Highest third-round score: 89 by Denny Shute in 1956
  • Highest fourth-round score: Kunkle's 95
It should be noted that there is at least one score worse than Kunkle's shot at Augusta National during The Masters: In 2005, Billy Casper, out of practice and out of shape at age 73, years past his last tournament play, scored 106 in the first round. But Casper did not return his scorecard, which means that score was not an official round in The Masters. It happened, but since it's "unofficial" it doesn't count in the record book.

Other High-Score Records for Masters Rounds

Highest score, any round, by the eventual winner: 77, Sam Snead in 1952, third round; and Nick Faldo in 1989, third round.

Highest first-round score by the eventual winner: 75, Craig Stadler, 1982

Highest fourth-round score by the eventual winner: 75, Arnold Palmer in 1962 and Trevor Immelman in 2008

The Masters instituted a cut after two rounds beginning in 1957 (just one year after Kunkle's record-setting scores of 95 and 340).

Worst first-round score by golfer who still made the cut: 81, Bob Goalby, 1982

Worst 18-hole score by a golfer after making the cut: 87, Calvin Peete, third round, 1983

Related articles:

Sources:
Augusta National Golf Club. Masters 2024 Media Guide, Records and Statistics.
Brenner, Morgan. The Majors of Golf (affiliate link) , Volume 2, 2009, McFarland and Company.
Kaduk, Kevin. "The great Charlie Kunkle is the answer to two not-so-great Masters trivia questions," Yahoo! Sports, April 10, 2019, https://sports.yahoo.com/charlie-kunkle-is-the-answer-to-two-notsogreat-masters-trivia-questions-133429368.html.
TheMasters.com. Tournament Info, Historical Records & Stats, https://www.masters.com/en_US/scores/stats/historical/index.html.

Popular posts from this blog