The Masters always has its own kind of story, but the 1979 tournament delivered something very unusual, something Augusta National had never seen before and hasn’t really seen again.

A three-way tie, a flagstick brought in to settle a call, and chances wasted on the same green. In the end, a debutant came out on top and celebrated like a seasoned winner, and the tournament’s first playoff delivered something unusual.

Tom Watson, Ed Sneed, and Fuzzy Zoeller were tied at the end of regular play. Sneed had been leading near the end and only needed one par in the last three holes to win, but he bogeyed all three.

Watson, who was already a major champion, couldn’t take advantage either. So all three players went to the 10th hole for a playoff, something Augusta had never done before.

What happened next was tense and a bit unplanned. Since there were no clear rules for the playoff, officials used a flagstick and even an envelope to decide who would play first.

All three players had good chances to win, but they missed their putts. No one could finish it on that hole.

So they moved to the 11th hole, and Zoeller, playing in his first Masters, made a short putt and threw his putter in the air in celebration.

A first-time player had just won the green jacket, while two experienced champions couldn’t finish it.

Sneed’s Collapse Made Zoeller’s Moment Possible

Ed Sneed isn’t talked about much when people bring up 1979, which is strange because his finish shaped that year. He had a three-shot lead on the 16th tee, and it looked over.

Then it slipped away. He dropped a shot on 16, another on 17, and one more on 18. After losing the lead, he tried to hang on, but that was the closest he ever came to winning a major.

For Zoeller, it was different. First time playing the Masters, and he wins it. That doesn’t happen often. Before him, it had only been Horton Smith, and that was a long time ago.

Even the playoff felt a bit all over the place. Officials were figuring it out as they went, using whatever they had to decide the order. It’s hard to picture that now.

But maybe that’s why people still talk about it. It wasn’t perfect, and it even felt unsure right until the end.

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Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav