Has anyone ever won two Masters in a row? Past record explored

The Masters Tournament is the main event in world golf and, as such, generates the most attention. Although there is debate as to whether or not it has historically brought together the strongest fields, the truth is that there is no other title more coveted in the sport.

A total of 56 players have won the Masters Tournament at least once and 17 of them have managed to do so on more than one occasion. But only three players have achieved the difficult feat of successfully defending the title.

It is no coincidence that they are three of the greatest players in history. The first to do so was Jack Nicklaus. The Golden Bear won his second green jacket in 1965, and a year later repeated his victory at Augusta National Golf Club.

More than 20 years later, Sir Nick Faldo matched Nicklaus' feat. Faldo won the Masters in 1989 (his first title at Augusta National) and in 1990 he won again. Interestingly, both of Faldo's consecutive victories came in the playoffs, defeating Scott Hotch in 1989 and Raymond Floyd in 1990.

The third player (and last so far) to win the Masters twice in a row was none other than Tiger Woods. Woods repeated the feat of Nicklaus and Faldo in 2001 and 2002, when he won his second and third green jackets.

For the 2024 edition, the defending champion is Jon Rahm. Most specialists have the Spaniard as one of the main favorites to repeat his Masters title.

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Players who came close to successfully defending their Masters title

Other great players came close to matching the feat of Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods, although in the end they were unable to achieve it. They are several of the greatest names in the history of world golf in that case.

Byron Nelson was the first to come close. Nelson won for the first time at Augusta National in 1942, but a year earlier he had finished second, three strokes behind Craig Wood.

Ben Hogan also came close. Hogan won his second green jacket in 1953, and in 1954 he went on to challenge for the title in a playoff. In the end, Sam Snead defeated him.

Something similar happened to Arnold Palmer, who won his second title in 1960 and a year later, was only one stroke behind champion Gary Player. However, Palmer got one back at Player in 1962, defeating him in a playoff and winning his third green jacket.

Even Nicklaus was in a position to successfully defend before he managed to do so. Nicklaus won in 1963 and finished second a year later. In other words, if Nicklaus had beaten Palmer in 1964, he would have strung together an incredible 4 consecutive titles.

If that wasn't enough, the Golden Bear could have done it one more time. Nicklaus finished second in 1971 and won his fourth green jacket a year later. The same thing happened to Jordan Spieth (second in 2014 and champion in 2015) and Dustin Johnson (second in 2019 and champion in 2020).