Ask Athlon Sports: The Masters

Q: What do you consider to be the greatest Masters Tournament in history?

— Jerry Barnes, Dallas, Texas

A: It’s hard to overlook Tiger Woods’ historic win in 1997, Phil Mickelson’s major breakthrough in 2004 and Greg Norman’s epic collapse in 1996, among countless others. But I have to stick with 1986 as the greatest. That year, 46-year-old Jack Nicklaus was seemingly little more than a footnote to the proceedings at Augusta. Heading into the final round, Jack was four shots back and still below everyone’s radar. Jack birdied 9, 10 and 11 to creep up the leaderboard and unleash echoes throughout Amen Corner. A bogey at 12 calmed the frenzy, but he promptly got it back with a birdie at 13. Then came an epic stretch of golf — an eagle at 15, a near hole-in-one at 16, a birdie at 17 and a tough par at 18 that capped off a final-round 65, good enough for a one-shot win and his sixth Green Jacket. Jack needed only 33 strokes to complete the final 10 holes of the greatest Masters of them all.

— Rob Doster, Senior Editor

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