| 1961 Masters | |
Gary Player survived a trip to the greenside bunker on No. 18 on the tournament's final hole. Arnold Palmer didn't.
Player and Palmer both hit into the greenside bunker on the 18th hole of the final round. Palmer was going for his third win at The Masters, and Player for his first. Player got up-and-down for a par, but Palmer double-bogied for a six and fell one stroke behind.
That exchange gave Player the win at the 1961 Masters, and made the South African the first international golfer to win The Masters.
Tied for second with Palmer was amateur Charlie Coe. Amateurs have finished second or tied for second three times in Masters history, and Coe's runner-up at the 1961 Masters is the most recent time it's happened. Coe was a lifelong amateur, winning the U.S. Amateur twice and playing in The Masters 19 times.
In his final Masters appearance as an amateur, Jack Nicklaus finished tied for seventh.
Results from the 1961 Masters golf tournament played at the par-72 Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. (a-amateur):
| Gary Player | 69-68-69-74--280 | $20,000 |
| a-Charlie Coe | 72-71-69-69--281 | |
| Arnold Palmer | 68-69-73-71--281 | $12,000 |
| Tommy Bolt | 72-71-74-68--285 | $7,000 |
| Don January | 74-68-72-71--285 | $7,000 |
| Paul Harney | 71-73-68-74--286 | $4,800 |
| Jack Burke Jr. | 76-70-68-73--287 | $3,200 |
| Billy Casper | 72-77-69-69--287 | $3,200 |
| Bill Collins | 74-72-67-74--287 | $3,200 |
| a-Jack Nicklaus | 70-75-70-72--287 | |
| Walt Burkemo | 74-69-73-72--288 | $1,666 |
| a-Robert Gardner | 74-71-72-71--288 | |
| Doug Sanders | 76-71-68-73--288 | $1,666 |
| Ken Venturi | 72-71-72-73--288 | $1,666 |
| Stan Leonard | 72-74-71-72--289 | $1,300 |
| Gene Littler | 72-73-72-72--289 | $1,300 |
| Bob Rosburg | 68-73-73-75--289 | $1,300 |
| Sam Snead | 74-73-69-73--289 | $1,300 |
| Dick Mayer | 76-72-70-73--291 | $1,133 |
| Johnny Pott | 71-75-72-73--291 | $1,133 |
| Peter Thomson | 73-76-68-74--291 | $1,133 |
| Robert De Vicenzo | 73-74-71-74--292 | $1,000 |
| Lew Worsham | 74-71-73-74--292 | $1,000 |
| Antonio Cerda | 73-73-72-75--293 | $1,000 |
| Fred Hawkins | 74-75-72-72--293 | $1,000 |
| Ted Kroll | 73-70-72-78--293 | $1,000 |
| Al Balding | 74-74-70-76--294 | $1,000 |
| Mason Rudolph | 77-69-72-77--295 | $500 |
| Mike Souchak | 75-72-75-73--295 | $500 |
| Jay Hebert | 72-75-69-80--296 | $500 |
| Lionel Hebert | 74-69-74-79--296 | $500 |
| Doug Ford | 71-76-78-73--298 | $500 |
| Ben Hogan | 74-73-72-79--298 | $500 |
| Byron Nelson | 71-72-78-77--298 | $500 |
| Chick Harbert | 74-73-76-76--299 | $500 |
| Bob Goalby | 74-73-76-77--300 | $500 |
| Jerry Barber | 74-72-78-77--301 | $500 |
| Miguel Sala | 74-75-78-81--308 | $500 |
1960 Masters | 1962 Masters
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