What’s the best ever finish for an amateur at the Masters Tournament?

The story of this young man from Texas last year was impressive on so many levels. Not only was he in second place at one point at one of golf’s most important major championships, he was also the reigning US Amateur champion who had to overcome the death of his father. Just to compete with golf’s greatest is impressive, but to do it as an amateur is really incredible. The question that comes to mind is has an amateur ever won the Masters? What’s the highest that an amateur has finished at this grueling test of golf?

What is the highest position an amateur has finished at the Masters Tournament?

In 1956 Ken Venturi, at the age of 24, finished in second place at the Masters. He lost to Jack Burke Jr. after leading the tournament for the first three rounds. Young Venturi had a rough fourth round shooting 80 and ended up losing by one stroke.

Two other amateur golfers have finished in second place at the Masters: Charlie Coe was runner-up in 1961 and Frank Stranahan ended up tied with Byron Nelson in second position behind the winner, Jimmy Demaret, the 1940 champion. In the 1950s two amateurs finished in the top-5. In 1954 Billy Joe Patton finished third behind two of golf’s legends who went to a playoff to decide the winner. In the end Ben Hogan beat Sam Snead to take the trophy that year. Three years later in 1957 Harvie Ward finished fourth behind Doug Ford, Sam Snead and Jimmy Demaret. Ford took home $8,750 for his effort. This year’s winner will take home $2.7 million, but like his predecessors, Sam Bennett will not get paid because he’s not a professional golfer.

If Sam Bennett won, he still wouldn’t have been the youngest player at 23 years old. A golfer named Tiger Woods won in 1997 at the age of 21, a record that will be hard to break. This year a tall golfer from South Africa is on everyone’s radar: