With a four shot lead over Cary Middlecoff heading into the final round at Augusta National, Ken Venturi had reason to be fairly confident that he was about to become the first – and, to this day, only – amateur to win The Masters back in 1956.
Ken Venturi had finished tied for 16th on his Masters debut two years earlier. And it seemed that he was going to mark his second appearance among the Georgia pines by clinching the green jacket.
The youngster had taken a commanding lead into the weekend after rounds of 66 and 69. And despite a 75 on Saturday, he remained four shots clear of his closest challenger.
Venturi and Middlecoff were the only players who were under par heading into the final round. Doug Ford was seven shots back on one over par, while Jack Burke Jr. and Lloyd Mangrum were two over par.
How Jack Burke Jr. overturned the largest deficit in Masters history to win his one green jacket
Unfortunately, Sunday proved to be a day to forget for Venturi.
Burke Jr. closed the gap by two shots after eight holes of the leader’s final round. But the rest of the day proved to be something of a nightmare for Venturi – who would go on to finish second again in 1960.
Venturi made seven bogeys from the ninth hole to finish up on two over par for the week. Middlecoff’s challenge meanwhile came to an end with a bogey on the penultimate hole.
Burke Jr. and Sam Snead were the only players to break par on Sunday, with both men posting rounds of 71. Snead – a three time champion by this stage – finished tied for fourth with Mangrum.
Funnily enough, it would be Middlecoff who presented Burke Jr. with his green jacket having beaten Ben Hogan by seven shots the previous year.
The 1956 season was definitely the high point of Burke Jr.’s career, as he also managed to win the PGA Championship later that year at Blue Hill.
He would never finish higher than tied for seventh at Augusta National after his triumph.
The records Jack Burke Jr. broke with his triumph at Augusta National
Burke Jr. broke two Masters records that week which stand to this day.
No other player has ever come back from eight shots behind with one round to go to win The Masters. Gary Player would manage to overturn a seven shot deficit just over two decades later.
| Year | Leader before the final round | Masters champion | Deficit before the final round |
| 1956 | Ken Venturi | Jack Burke Jr. | 8 shots |
| 1978 | Hubert Green | Gary Player | 7 shots |
| 1959 | Stan Leonard and Arnold Palmer | Art Wall Jr. | 6 shots |
| 1979 | Ed Sneed | Fuzzy Zoeller | 6 shots |
| 1996 | Greg Norman | Sir Nick Faldo | 6 shots |
Meanwhile, his winning score of 289 remains the joint highest in the event’s history. Snead’s victory in 1954 had seen the great man finish on the same score. And Zach Johnson would become the third player to get across the line on one over par in 2007.
Venturi would have to wait another eight years for his first and only major, which came at the 1964 US Open. A 66 in the third round proved to be pivotal as he went on to win by four shots at Congressional.