1962 Masters Tournament
The 1962 Masters Tournament was the 26th Masters Tournament, held April 5–9 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Arnold Palmer won the third of his four Masters titles in the tournament's first three-way playoff. It was the fifth of his seven major titles.
The other two in the 18-hole Monday playoff were also major championship winners: defending champion Gary Player and Dow Finsterwald, winner of the PGA Championship in 1958. Out in 37 and down three strokes to Player at the turn, Palmer shot a 31 on the back nine for 68, while Player shot a 71 and Finsterwald a 77. In the lead after three rounds, Palmer was five-over for his final round after a double bogey at the 10th hole. After five pars, he birdied 16 and 17 to get into the Monday playoff with a 75. The gallery for the playoff was estimated at 16,000 spectators.
Henry Picard, the 1938 champion, made his final cut at Augusta at age 55. Jack Nicklaus, 22, tied for 15th in his fourth appearance, the first as a professional. He won the next major, the U.S. Open, in a playoff over Palmer at Oakmont near Pittsburgh.
With near misses in 1959 and 1961, Palmer said that it could have been his fifth consecutive title at Augusta.
The 36-hole cut was increased this year to include the low 44 plus ties and anyone within 10 shots of the lead. 110 players entered the tournament and 52 made the cut at 149.
Bruce Crampton won the third Par 3 contest with a score of 22.
Field
;1. Masters championsJack Burke Jr., Jimmy Demaret, Doug Ford, Claude Harmon, Ben Hogan, Herman Keiser, Cary Middlecoff, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Henry Picard, Gary Player, Gene Sarazen, Horton Smith, Sam Snead, Art Wall Jr.
- Ralph Guldahl and Craig Wood did not play.
;2. U.S. Open champions
Tommy Bolt, Julius Boros, Billy Burke, Billy Casper, Jack Fleck, Ed Furgol, Gene Littler, Tony Manero, Lloyd Mangrum, Dick Mayer, Fred McLeod, Sam Parks Jr., Lew Worsham
;3. The Open champions
Jock Hutchison, Denny Shute
;4. PGA champions
Jerry Barber, Walter Burkemo, Jim Ferrier, Dow Finsterwald, Vic Ghezzi, Chick Harbert, Chandler Harper, Jay Hebert, Lionel Hebert, Johnny Revolta, Bob Rosburg, Jim Turnesa
;5. U.S. Amateur and Amateur champions
Deane Beman, Dick Chapman, Charles Coe, Ed Updegraff
;6. Members of the 1961 U.S. Walker Cup team
Gene Andrews, Don Cherry, Bob Cochran, Robert W. Gardner, Bill Hyndman, Billy Joe Patton, Charlie Smith
- Bud Taylor did not play. Patton was first reserve for the team. Nicklaus had turned professional but qualified under other categories.
Sam Carmichael, Gene Francis, Marion Methvin, Richard Norville, Dudley Wysong
;8. Top 24 players and ties from the 1961 Masters Tournament
Bill Collins, Paul Harney, Fred Hawkins, Don January, Ted Kroll, Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Pott, Doug Sanders, Ken Venturi
;9. Top 16 players and ties from the 1961 U.S. Open
Jacky Cupit, Gardner Dickinson, Dave Douglas, Al Geiberger, Bob Goalby, Eric Monti, Mike Souchak
;10. Top eight players and ties from 1961 PGA Championship
Wes Ellis
;11. Members of the U.S. 1961 Ryder Cup team
;12. Two players selected for meritorious records on the fall part of the 1961 PGA Tour
George Bayer, Gay Brewer
;13. One player, either amateur or professional, not already qualified, selected by a ballot of ex-Masters champions
Dave Marr
;14. One professional, not already qualified, selected by a ballot of ex-U.S. Open champions
Billy Maxwell
;15. One amateur, not already qualified, selected by a ballot of ex-U.S. Amateur champions
R. H. Sikes
;16. Two players, not already qualified, from a points list based on finishes in the winter part of the 1962 PGA Tour
Dave Ragan, Phil Rodgers
;17. Foreign invitations
Ben Arda, Al Balding, David Blair, Antonio Cerdá, Bob Charles, Gary Cowan, Bruce Crampton, Fidel de Luca, Roberto De Vicenzo, Gerard de Wit, Bruce Devlin, Juan Antonio Estrada, José Maria Gonzalez, Mário Gonzalez, Tom Haliburton, Harold Henning, Denis Hutchinson, Stan Leonard, Sebastián Miguel, Ángel Miguel, Kel Nagle, Frank Phillips, Chi-Chi Rodríguez, Leopoldo Ruiz, Miguel Sala, Syd Scott, Norman Von Nida, Brian Wilkes
- Numbers in brackets indicate categories that the player would have qualified under had they been American.
Nationalities in the field
Past champions in the field
Made the cut
Missed the cut
SourceRound summaries
First round
Thursday, April 5, 1962| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
| 1 | Gary Player | 67 | −5 | |
| 2 | Julius Boros | 69 | −3 | |
| T3 | Arnold Palmer | 70 | −2 | |
| T3 | Mike Souchak | 70 | −2 | |
| T3 | Dave Ragan | 70 | −2 | |
| T3 | Gardner Dickinson | 70 | −2 | |
| T7 | George Bayer | 71 | −1 | |
| T7 | Billy Maxwell | 71 | −1 | |
| T7 | Bob Rosburg | 71 | −1 | |
| T7 | Don January | 71 | −1 | |
| T7 | Gene Littler | 71 | −1 |
Second round
Friday, April 6, 1962| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
| 1 | Arnold Palmer | 70-66=136 | −8 | |
| 2 | Gary Player | 67-71=138 | −6 | |
| 3 | Gene Littler | 71-68=139 | −5 | |
| 4 | Gardner Dickinson | 70-71=141 | −3 | |
| T5 | Julius Boros | 69-73=142 | −2 | |
| T5 | Dow Finsterwald | 74-68=142 | −2 | |
| T5 | Mike Souchak | 70-72=142 | −2 | |
| T8 | Al Balding | 75-68=143 | −1 | |
| T8 | Dave Ragan | 70-73=143 | −1 | |
| T10 | Jerry Barber | 72-72=144 | E | |
| T10 | Chi-Chi Rodríguez | 72-72=144 | E | |
| T10 | Billy Maxwell | 71-73=144 | E | |
| T10 | Bob Rosburg | 71-73=144 | E | |
| T10 | Don January | 71-73=144 | E |
Third round
Saturday, April 7, 1962| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
| 1 | Arnold Palmer | 70-66-69=205 | −11 | |
| 2 | Dow Finsterwald | 74-68-65=207 | −9 | |
| 3 | Gary Player | 67-71-71=209 | −7 | |
| 4 | Gene Littler | 71-68-71=210 | −6 | |
| T5 | Jerry Barber | 72-72-69=213 | −3 | |
| T5 | Gardner Dickinson | 70-71-72=213 | −3 | |
| 7 | Julius Boros | 69-73-72=214 | −2 | |
| 8 | Gay Brewer | 74-71-70=215 | −1 | |
| T9 | Lionel Hebert | 72-73-71=216 | E | |
| T9 | Ken Venturi | 75-70-71=216 | E | |
| T9 | Billy Maxwell | 71-73-72=216 | E | |
| T9 | Mike Souchak | 70-72-74=216 | E |
Final round
Sunday, April 8, 1962| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money |
| T1 | Arnold Palmer | 70-66-69-75=280 | −8 | Playoff | |
| T1 | Gary Player | 67-71-71-71=280 | −8 | Playoff | |
| T1 | Dow Finsterwald | 74-68-65-73=280 | −8 | Playoff | |
| 4 | Gene Littler | 71-68-71-72=282 | −6 | 6,000 | |
| T5 | Jerry Barber | 72-72-69-74=287 | −1 | 3,600 | |
| T5 | Jimmy Demaret | 73-73-71-70=287 | −1 | 3,600 | |
| T5 | Billy Maxwell | 71-73-72-71=287 | −1 | 3,600 | |
| T5 | Mike Souchak | 70-72-74-71=287 | −1 | 3,600 | |
| T9 | Charles Coe | 72-74-71-71=288 | E | 0 | |
| T9 | Ken Venturi | 75-70-71-72=288 | E | 2,000 |
Scorecard
Final round| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
 Palmer | −11 | −11 | −11 | −10 | −9 | −9 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −7 | −8 | −8 |
 Player | −6 | −6 | −5 | −5 | −6 | −7 | −6 | −7 | −8 | −8 | −9 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 |
| Finsterwald | −9 | −10 | −10 | −9 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −9 | −9 | −9 | −9 | −8 | −8 |
| Littler | −6 | −6 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −7 | −6 |
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
Playoff
Monday, April 9, 1962| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money |
| 1 | Arnold Palmer | 68 | −4 | 20,000 | |
| 2 | Gary Player | 71 | −1 | 12,000 | |
| 3 | Dow Finsterwald | 77 | +5 | 8,000 |
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