Will the sixth all-time record be set? The first major tournament of the men's golf season, the Masters Tournament, known as the 'Legends of Masters,' kicked off on the 10th (local time) at Augusta National Golf Club (par 72) in Augusta, Georgia, USA. This year, attention is focused on whether world No. 2 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) will achieve a career Grand Slam. If he wins this tournament, he will set a great record by winning four different major tournaments. This record has only been conquered by Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan (both USA), Gary Player (South Africa), Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods (both USA). Here is the Masters summarized in numbers.
If Rory McIlroy wins the Masters, he will become the sixth player in history to achieve a career Grand Slam.
◆1 (year) = The green jacket awarded to the winner must be returned to the clubhouse after one year.
◆2 (place) = Im Sung-jae's best result. He finished as runner-up in 2020 behind Dustin Johnson (USA).
◆3 (players) = Korea was represented this year by Im Sung-jae, Kim Joo-hyung, and An Byeong-hun.
◆6 (wins) = Nicklaus's record for most wins at the tournament. He collected six trophies from 1963 to 1986. At his 1986 victory, he was 46 years and 82 days old, the oldest champion in the tournament's history. Woods has 5 wins, and Arnold Palmer (USA) has 4 wins.
◆12 (strokes) = Largest margin of victory. Woods became the youngest champion at 21 years and 104 days old in 1997.
◆52 (appearances) = Player's record for most appearances. Woods made 24 consecutive appearances from 1997 to 2024. He did not participate this year due to an Achilles tendon injury.
◆63 (years) = Fred Couples' (USA) record as the oldest player to qualify for the main field in 2023.
◆89 (times) = The number of times the tournament has been held this year. It is the earliest among the four major tournaments.
◆158 (cm) = Height of Higa Kazuki (Japan), who played in the 2023 tournament. He is the shortest player in Masters history. The tallest was George Archer (USA), who played in 1969 at 197 cm.
◆268 (strokes) = Tournament course record set by Johnson in 2020. The best round score is 63, recorded by Nick Price (South Africa) in 1986 and Greg Norman (Australia) in 1996.
◆1934 (year) = The year the Masters was first held. The tournament was called the Augusta National Invitation Tournament. Horton Smith (USA) won and received a prize of $1,500. The current name was adopted in 1939.
◆1952 (year) = The first Champions Dinner hosted by Hogan. It is only open to past champions and some board members of Augusta National Golf Club.
◆7555 (yards) = The total length of this year's Masters course. It was newly renovated after hurricane damage last year.
◆3600000 (dollars) = The prize money won by Scottie Scheffler (USA) last year.
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