The 7 Highest Scores Ever Recorded On A Single Hole At The Masters

The vast majority of golfers will never get the chance to play at Augusta National, and the average hack probably wouldn’t have much to write home about after a round at a course that has managed to humble some of the best players on the planet during The Masters. Many pros who’ve seen things fall apart in spectacular fashion, including the ones responsible for the highest scores on a single hole.

No golfers have recorded more strokes on one hole at The Masters than these guys

Augusta National is an incredibly imposing golf course where golfers have plenty of opportunities to see their round derailed in the blink of an eye.

We’re reminded of that reality when The Masters descends upon its hallowed grounds each year, as there will inevitably be at least a few players who are unable to withstand the pressure that comes with competing in the major. That includes the ones who are responsible for an incredibly rare and equally unenviable feat: recording a double-digit score on a hole during the tournament.

Before we dive in, I should note I’m only dedicating a single entry to the holes that were responsible for these scores. There is one that claimed multiple victims who were outdone by the man who holds the record, and I’ll make note of that when we get there.

Finally, 1970 champion Billy Casper unofficially recorded a 14 on the 16th hole in 2005, which would have contributed to a round of 106. However, he declined to hand in his scorecard and was subsequently disqualified before it could enter the annals.

Sam Byrd: 10 Strokes On The 2nd Hole (1948)

Ernie Els holds the record for the highest score on the first hole with the nine strokes that immediately put him at +5 following his very first hole in 2016 (he finished at +8 on the day and missed the cut). However, there are also a couple of guys who were lulled into a false sense of security before getting walloped on the second.

That includes Sam Byrd, who ended up with a 10 on the par-5 2nd during his first round in 1948. He ended up with an 84 on the day (the highest of any competitor, including amateurs), but he was able to settle down a bit from there.

Byrd bounced back with back-to-back 75s and capped things off with a 76. There was no cut at the time (it was introduced in 1957), and he ended up finishing in 47th place out of 54 competitors.

David Duval: 10 Strokes On The 2nd Hole (2006)

It took close to 60 years for someone to match Byrd’s feat, but David Duval joined the club during what ended up being his second-to-last appearance at The Masters in 2006.

This one also transpired during the first round, which he kicked off with a double bogey on the first. Things got even worse on the second, as his drive ended up in the penalty area to the left and he needed two strokes to escape.

Duval ended up heading to the clubhouse with an 84, although he could take the smallest bit of solace in knowing Charles Coody was responsible for the worst score of the day with an 89. He also ended up with a 75 during his second round, but he missed the cut and finished in a tie for 159th out of 164.

Herman Barron: 11 Strokes On The 16th Hole (1950)

Herman Barron has a place in PGA Tour history as the first Jewish golfer to win a tournament on the circuit, and when you consider Augusta National didn’t welcome any as members until the 1980s, he was also probably one of the first to step foot on its grounds when he competed in the inaugural Masters in 1934.

1950 marked the ninth and final time he played in the major. His best finish was a tie for 13th the previous year, but he didn’t come close to matching that due to the third-round collapse he suffered.

Barron wasn’t in the running on Saturday when you consider he was coming off a 75 and a 77. I couldn’t track down any contemporary accounts of how he carded an 11th, but it seems safe to assume he found the water on the par-3 16th a couple of times.

He finished the day with an 82, closed out Sunday with a 74, and finished in a tie for 46th.

Frank Walsh: 12 Strokes on The 8th Hole (1935)

1935 marked the second time The Masters was played at Augusta National, and Frank Walsh managed to set a dubious record that wouldn’t be broken for more than 40 years on the par-5 8th.

A recap of that fateful adventure is a comedy of errors that includes a shot into the woods, another that went into the water, a duff that traveled 10 yards, and shots that landed on the wrong fairway and on a tee box. It contributed to the 82 he recorded in the second round after a 75 in his first, but Walsh closed things out with consecutive 73s to end up in a tie for 43rd out of 64 golfers.

Tsuneyuki “Tommy” Nakajima: 13 Strokes on The 13th Hole (1978)

There are three men who are tied for the highest total number of strokes on a single hole at The Masters, and Tsuneyuki Nakajima set the mark to beat when he surpassed Walsh in 1978.

This also stemmed from a fairly hilarious sequence of events on the par-5, which kicked off when Nakajima’s fourth shot landed in an offshoot of Raes Creek. It was still playable, but his ensuing shot popped up and landed on his shoe, which meant he had to take a two-stroke penalty.

He got another two when he dropped his club in said hazard during a botched handoff with his caddie (which counted as “grounding”), and he deposited his next shot over the green. He was finally able to chip onto it for a two-putt and a 13.

He’d shot an 80 the previous day and matched the number with the help of that snafu, which led to him missing the cut and finishing dead last in 160th.

Sergio Garcia: 13 Strokes on The 15th Hole (2018)

This is the hole that was responsible for the disclaimer I mentioned at the top, as there are three people who’ve managed to card an 11:

• Masashi “Jumbo” Ozaki in 1987
• Ben Crenshaw in 1997
• Ignacio Garrido in 1998

If you’re curious, Crenshaw was the only one who made the cut, but he finished in 45th after he fell apart toward the end of his final round.

Anyway…

Sergio Garcia is the only person on this list who managed to win The Masters, and he was hoping to defend his title when he headed to Augusta National in 2018. However, that did not end up being the case.

The Spaniard was sitting at +2 when he arrived on the par-5 16th on Thursday, but that number had risen to +10 by the time the turbulent saga came to a merciful end. We were treated to a real-life Tin Cup situation as he managed to put five balls into the water before finally getting one to stick on the green, and he had to sink a fairly lengthy putt to avoid setting what would have been a record at The Masters

Garcia finished the day at +9 and missed the cut after “improving” to +6 on Friday, but he had to stick around to present Patrick Reed with the green jacket.

Tom Weiskopf: 13 Strokes On The 12th Hole (1980)

There are technically three men tied at the top of this list. However, I think Tom Weiskopf truly deserves the last spot when you consider his achievement came on a par-3 as opposed to a par-5, which makes this the highest scoring hole in the history of The Masters.

Weiskopf had 16 wins on the PGA Tour and finished in a tie for second at The Masters four of the 16 times he competed in the tournament. However, as you can probably guess, 1980 was not one of those years.

You can probably also guess that the water on the 12th played a significant role, as Weiskopf landed in the drink five straight times before finally finding dry land. His 10-over on a single hole is a mark no one has managed to top at The Masters, and the opening day  85 led to him missing the cut (he posted the worst score of any pro, but did finish 10 strokes ahead of the amateur who spared him a last-place finish).