Most Masters Tournament Starts: The All-Time Record

The Masters Tournament is one of the four major championships of men's professional golf and has been around since 1934. Many, many golfers have participated in the tournament in those years, but only one holds the record for most times playing in The Masters. That golfer played the tournament 52 times.

The Record-Holder: Gary Player

Gary Player first played in The Masters in 1957, when, at age 21, he finished tied for 24th place. He last played the tournament in 2009, when, at age 73, he missed the cut. In the years between, he missed The Masters only once, in 1973 due to injury. Which means that Player holds the all-time record for most times playing The Masters with 52 starts in the tournament.

Of those 52 starts, Player completed all four rounds 30 times. He missed the cut 22 times.

Player won The Masters three times, in 1961, 1974 and 1978. Two of those wins were particularly special. In 1961, Player hit into a bunker on the final hole, but got up-and-down for par to post 8-under 280. Arnold Palmer, following, hit into the same bunker, blasted out over the green, left the next putt from off the green short, then missed the bogey putt that would have tied Player. Therefore, Player became the first-ever international golfer to win The Masters.

In 1978, Player shot 64 in the final round, including a 15-foot birdie on the final green, to win. At age 42, he was the oldest Masters champion to that point in tournament history.

Player also had two runner-up finishes in The Masters, nine Top 5 finishes, 15 Top 10 finishes and 22 Top 25 finishes.

The List: Most Masters Played

• 52 — Gary Player, first played in 1957, last in 2009
• 50 — Arnold Palmer, first played in 1955, last in 2004
• 49 — Doug Ford, first played in 1952, last in 2001
• 46 — Raymond Floyd, first played in 1965, last in 2009
• 45 — Billy Casper, first played in 1957, last in 2005
• 45 — Jack Nicklaus, first played in 1959, last in 2005
• 44 — Ben Crenshaw, first played in 1972, last in 2015
• 44 — Sam Snead, first played in 1937, last in 1983
• 43 — Tom Watson, first played in 1970, last in 2016
• 42 — Tommy Aaron, first played in 1959, last in 2005
• 40 — Charles Coody, first played in 1963, last in 2006

Consecutive Masters Played

While Player holds the overall record for most appearances in The Masters, Palmer holds the record for most consecutive starts in the tournament. Palmer first played in 1955 and last played in 2004, and played in every single Masters Tournament in-between. That's 50 consecutive years without missing a tournament.

Player's longest streak was 36 years in a row. After missing the 1973 tournament, Player played every Masters from 1974 until his last in 2009.

Here is the list of golfers with the longest consecutive-Masters streaks:

• 50 — Arnold Palmer, 1955-2004
• 46 — Doug Ford, 1956-2001
• 45 — Raymond Floyd, 1965-2008
• 44 — Ben Crenshaw, 1972-2015
• 40 — Jack Nicklaus, 1959-1998
• 43 — Tom Watson, 1975-2016
• 36 — Gary Player, 1974-2009
• 35 — Billy Casper, 1957-1991