Who are the biggest long shots to have won the Masters?
There’s a scene in the classic sports comedy “Caddyshack” in which actor Bill Murray, portraying greenskeeper Carl Spackler, does some imaginary commentary as he lops the heads off of flowers while practicing his golf swing with a grass whip.
“This crowd has gone deadly silent. Cinderella story, out of nowhere, a former greenskeeper, now about to become the Masters champion,” he says. “It looks like a mirac … it’s in the hole! It’s in the hole!”
When it comes to real-life Cinderella stories at Augusta National Golf Club, four long shots of 100-1 or higher won the Masters in a five-year span between 2007 and 2011.
Here are the five longest shots since 1985 to win the Masters (odds courtesy of SportsOddsHistory.com):
Hideki Matsuyama, 2021, 60-1
Matsuyama became the first Asian winner of the Masters after the Japanese player shot a 30 on the back nine in the third round to take a four-stroke lead. His previous best finish at a major championship was runner-up at the 2017 U.S. Open.
Matsuyama shot a 1-over-par 73 in the final round and finished the tournament at 10-under 278 to beat Will Zalatoris by one stroke.
Charl Schwartzel, 2011, 100-1
The South African birdied the final four holes to win his only major championship, two strokes ahead of runners-up Jason Day and Adam Scott, a former UNLV player.
Eight players held a share of the lead in the final round, including Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. McIlroy had at least a share of the lead for the first three rounds and had a four-stroke edge entering the final round, but he shot an 80 to finish 10 strokes back.
Schwartzel overcame a four-stroke deficit in the final round by firing a round of 66. He chipped in for a birdie on the first hole and holed his second shot from the fairway for an eagle on the third.
Angel Cabrera, 2009, 125-1
Cabrera won his second major title in a playoff over former UNLV player Chad Campbell and Kenny Perry. The Argentine became the first Masters champion from South America.
Perry was leading heading into the 18th hole, but bogeyed to drop into a tie with Campbell and Cabrera, who salvaged par on the first playoff hole after pushing his tee shot into the woods before winning on the second extra hole.
Cabrera won his first major in the 2007 U.S. Open by one shot over Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk. He also lost in a playoff at the Masters to Scott in 2013.
Zach Johnson, 2007, 125-1
The Iowa native weathered cold and windy conditions at the 2007 Masters, where no player finished under par for the first time in 51 years and for only the third time in tournament history.
Johnson shot a final-round 69 that matched the low round of the day to win by two strokes over Woods, Retief Goosen and Rory Sabbatini.
Johnson tied Sam Snead and Jack Burke for the highest winning score (1-over-par 289) in the tournament’s storied history.
Trevor Immelman, 2008, 150-1
The South African claimed his second PGA Tour victory and his only major championship at the 2008 Masters.
Immelman, who missed the cut at the Houston Open the week before, beat Woods, the favorite, by three strokes despite taking a double bogey on the par-3 16th hole in the final round. He finished with a 75 in the windswept final round, when only four of 46 golfers broke par at Augusta National.
Immelman tied the record for the highest final-round score by a Masters champion.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.