Jack Burke Jr. almost missed his tee time for one of the greatest comebacks at the Master's because he was still at church.

At the 1956 Masters, the two-time Major winner was eight shots behind Ken Venturi going into Sunday. The church service he attended that morning ran longer than expected. He rushed to the course and just made it in time. He shot 71, while Venturi shot 80, and Burke won the green jacket in a surprise result.

Golf historian and Normal Sport founder Kyle Porter shared this story with an X update on Thursday and explained it in a simple way that today’s Masters fans could easily understand.

"Can you imagine Scottie speeding down Magnolia Lane at 2:20 on Sunday, hitting 20 balls and running to the first tee?!" Porter wrote.

This comparison is easy to understand. Scottie Scheffler is world No. 1, a two-time Masters winner, and the top favorite for Augusta next week. It is hard to imagine him coming from a Sunday church service, just reaching his tee time, and still winning. It feels unreal. But Burke really did it.

What makes this story even more interesting is what Burke did the night before. He was not confident with his short putts, so he changed how he held the club. He used his fingertips more and did not keep his palms on the shaft. It worked. On Sunday, he had seven one-putt greens and no three-putts.

"He was always magic on the greens. But especially [on] that Sunday." Arnold Palmer said while speaking about Burke's 1956 Masters victory.

Venturi had a bad day, as he hit 15 greens and still scored 80. But he missed four easy putts in a row from about six feet on holes 8 to 11. His putter had a wooden shaft, and did not work well on Augusta’s fast, dry greens.

The big moment came on the 17th hole, and Burke hit the green, and he was the only player to do that all day. He then had a long birdie putt from about 30 feet on a very fast green.

Jack Burke Jr.'s 1956 Sunday Is the Kind of Master's Story Scheffler's Era Keeps Forgetting

While speaking about the 1956 Masters, Bobby Jones said it was the toughest Masters ever, and the numbers show that. The average score over four rounds was 77.2. On Sunday alone, 29 players scored 80 or more. Only Burke and Sam Snead finished under par that day.

No one had ever come back from eight shots behind to win at Augusta, and no one has done it since.

Scheffler comes into next week as the player everyone expects to win. He is the defending champion, one of the best players in the game, and the clear favorite. But Burke’s win in 1956 reminds us that anything can happen.

Any Sunday at Augusta can go wrong, even for the player everyone expects to win, as long as he makes his tee time.

Do you think Scottie Scheffler can win his third Masters this year, or will there be another surprise like in 1956? Let us know in the comments!

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Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Souvik Roy