The 10 Biggest Final Round Chokes In The History Of The Masters 326q1g

The Masters officially gets underway on Thursday and ahead of the first golf major of the year, SportsCasting has taken a look at the 10 biggest chokes in the tournament’s history.

It is one of the most exciting sporting events of the year, with the majority of golf’s finest players taking to Augusta National hoping to win the green jacket.

The Masters has delivered up some of the biggest moments in the sport’s history. The likes of Scottie Scheffler, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer have all shown their brilliance to win the tournament.

However, the history of Masters winners could look very different if it wasn’t for many famous collapses which have taken place on golf’s grandest stage.

So often, the golfer who enters the final round with the lead doesn’t walk away with the victory on the final day.

Here, SportsCasting ranks the 10 biggest chokes in Masters history.

The 10 Biggest Masters Chokes In History 61f3i

10. Roberto De Vincenzo – 1968 3em1j

Choke might not be the right word for the first entrant on the list but it was definitely the biggest act of self-sabotage in Masters history which is enough to qualify for this list.

The Argentinian should have taken part in a playoff with British golfer Bob Goalby to determine the 1968 champion.

Except that he signed an incorrect scorecard after playing partner Tommy Armor marked him for a ‘4’ on the 17th hole when it should have been a ‘3’.

“What a stupid I am to be wrong here,” Roberto De Vincenzo told the press after the error.

Sucks to lose Jordan to the most antiquated rule in professional golf.

But, whenever this happens I’m reminded of the most absurd incorrect scorecard story.

In the final round of the 1968 Masters, Argentinian Roberto De Vincenzo made birdie on 17 to gain a one shot lead over… pic.twitter.com/uXIBpGjdRP

— Tee Times (@TeeTimesPub) February 17, 2024

9. Greg Norman – 1986 402i19

In 1986, Greg Norman led all four majors going into the final day, but only took victory at the British Open.

At the Masters, he was one of five golfers to hold the lead at varying stages in the final round.

Norman tied for the lead after an incredible shot on the 17th, before hitting a perfect drive on the 18th setting him up for a birdie.

However, the Australian cracked the pressure. He pushed his approach shot into the gallery and subsequently missed his 15-foot par putt which would have sent him into a playoff with Jack Nicklaus.

This isn’t the only time that Norman makes the list for the biggest chokes in the history of the Masters.

8. Raymond Floyd – 1990 2a6w9

Raymond Floyd looked on course to win his second Masters title in 1990 as he took a four-shot lead 12 holes into the final round.

Nick Faldo kept the pressure on with birdies on holes 13, 15 and 16. Floyd’s good work meanwhile came undone on the 17th.

A three-putt bogey on 17 dropped him into a tie with Faldo which led to them going to a playoff.

On the second playoff hole, Floyd found the water, while Faldo went on to take the victory. It foiled Floyd’s attempt to win a major in four successive decades.

Afterward, he said: “This is the most devastating thing that’s ever happened to me in my career. I’ve had a lot of losses, but nothing like this.”

7. Curtis Strange – 1985 5n612q

Strange was the right word to describe the 1985 Masters for two-time U.S. Open champion Curtis.

He found himself 12 shots off the lead on Thursday after hitting an 80. However, by Sunday, he found himself leading by two shots.

His charge continued on the Sunday and at one point held a four-shot lead and was on his way to one of the greatest comebacks in Masters history.

However, it all fell apart as he bogeyed holes 13 and 15 when attempting to go for the green in two on both of the par-5 holes.

Bernhard Langer capitalised with four birdies in his last seven holes to take the green jacket by two strokes to Strange, Seve Ballesteros and Raymond Floyd.

6. Ed Sneed – 1979 5k4lw

Ed Sneed appeared to be cruising on his way to what would have been the only golf major of his career at the 1979 Masters.

He began Sunday with a five-stroke lead, which narrowed slightly to three with as many holes to play.

Sneed bogeyed all three of his final holes though taking him into the first-ever playoff at the Masters with Tom Watson and Fuzzy Zoeller.

The American was beaten by Zoeller who hit a birdie on his second playoff hole.

5. Rory McIlroy – 2011 55383r

The Masters is the one tournament that has eluded Rory McIlroy and his choke at the 2011 tournament will haunt him to this day.

He held a four-shot lead going into the final round and shot a 37 on the front-nine to hold onto the lead.

From the 10th hole, it all fell apart for the Northern Irishman. McIlroy found himself in a deeply wooded area near the rarely seen guest cabins and finished the hole with a triple bogey.

He followed that off with a bogey in the 11th and a four-putt double on the par-three 12th hole.

McIlroy then found Rae’s Creek with his drive on Hole 13 but by that point, his chances of the green jacket had already evaporated.

He scored an 80 in the final round, finishing 10 shots off eventual winner Charl Schwartzel.

4. Kenny Perry – 2009 x3o6v

Kenny Perry entered the final round 0f the 2009 Masters level at the top with Argentinian Angel Cabrera.

Sunday went smoothly for Perry who found himself with a two-shot lead and was just two holes away from what would have been his only major championship.

Perry recorded two straight bogeys though at the 17th and 18th – taking him into a three-way playoff with Cabrera and Chad Campbell.

Campbell was eliminated after bogeying the first playoff hole with Perry matched Cabrera by making par.

At the second playoff hole, Perry missed the green and ran his pitch well past the hole resulting in a bogey, with Cabrera taking the green jacket.

Perry itted after his defeat: “It just seems like when I get down to those deals, I can’t seem to execute. Great players make it happen, and your average players don’t.”

3. Jordan Spieth – 2016 653a2s

Jordan Spieth enjoyed the highs that Augusta can deliver when he won the Masters in 2015.

His return to the same venue one year later was a horror show that he will like to forget all about.

The American after leading by five strokes going into the back-nine, suffered one of the biggest chokes in Masters history.

After bogeys at the 10th and 11th holes, he made a quadruple-bogey on the three-par 12th after hitting two balls into the water.

He also bogeyed the 13th and 17th holes and finished the 2016 Masters three shots off eventual shock winner Danny Willett.

Spieth though denied that it was a choke, as he later recalled: “For me it wasn’t that at all. I the way I felt.

“I just simply ran into a few holes where you can’t miss it right in a row. After nine holes in a row where you can, and it just got the best of me.”

2. Scott Hoch – 1989 5c5k1t

The worst missed putt in Masters history has to belong to Scott Hoch.

He missed a 24 inch putt that would have won him the Masters in 1989 against Nick Faldo on the 1st playoff hole. Faldo would go onto win on the 2nd. pic.twitter.com/wUM2CHKDMg

— Tour Pro 🏌️‍♂️ (@OfficialTourPro) April 5, 2025

Scott Hoch stood over a two-foot putt which he needed to sink to win the 1989 Masters in a sudden-death playoff.

He missed the opportunity to win the tournament in regulation with a birdie putt on the 18th, one hole after he bogeyed the 17th to fall into a tie with Nick Faldo.

Not only did Hoch fail to sink his putt but he also didn’t even hit the hole.

‘Hoch as in choke’ was often used to describe the American after the painful defeat.

Recalling his miss, Hoch said as per ESPN: “I don’t think about it anymore, except when someone brings it up. But for a while there, you can’t help it. You strive to win major tournaments. I certainly would have loved to win that, but I didn’t.”

1. Greg Norman – 1996 2q6h3k

The worst Masters collapse of all time is widely considered to be Greg Norman’s meltdown in 1996.

Norman entered the final day with a six-shot lead over Nick Faldo. This was largely down to hitting a course-record 63  in the opening round.

In the final round, Faldo had been chipping away at Norman’s lead over the opening 9 holes. The score was then tied after Norman bogeyed holes nine through to 11.

It would get worse for Norman who found the water on Hole 12 and was now two shots down on Faldo.

Norman’s hopes came to a crushing end on the three-par Hole 16. He hooked his shot into the water and walked away with a double bogey.

A six-shot lead going into the day ended in a five-shot defeat, making this the worst Masters collapse of all time.