1955 Masters Tournament
The 1955 Masters Tournament was the 19th Masters Tournament, held April 7–10 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. It was the last one before CBS began televising the tournament the following year.
Cary Middlecoff shot a 65 in the second round, including a then-record 31 on the first nine, to win his only Masters, seven strokes ahead of runner-up Ben Hogan, and the second of his three major championships.
After a third round at even-par 72, Middlecoff entered the final round with a four shot lead over Hogan, the champion in 1951 and 1953. The victory margin of seven strokes was a tournament record for ten years, until Jack Nicklaus won by nine strokes over Arnold Palmer and Gary Player in 1965, later increased to twelve in 1997 by Tiger Woods. The previous record was five strokes, set in 1948 by Claude Harmon and tied by Hogan in 1953. The runner-up finish was Hogan's fourth at the Masters.
Arnold Palmer, a professional for less than a year, finished tied for tenth in his first Masters.
The Sarazen Bridge, approaching the left side of the 15th green, was dedicated on Wednesday to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Gene Sarazen's double eagle in 1935. Included was a contest to duplicate the shot, with the closest by Fred Haas at just over away.Course
^ Holes 1, 2, 4, 11, and 14 were later renamed.- The Masters did not have a 36-hole cut until 1957
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, April 7, 1955
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
| 1 | Jack Burke, Jr. | | 67 | −5 |
| T2 | Julius Boros | | 71 | −1 |
| T2 | Mike Souchak | | 71 | −1 |
| T4 | Cary Middlecoff | | 72 | E |
| T4 | Byron Nelson | | 72 | E |
| T4 | Bob Rosburg | | 72 | E |
| T4 | Sam Snead | | 72 | E |
| T8 | Walter Burkemo | | 73 | +1 |
| T8 | Pete Cooper | | 73 | +1 |
| T8 | Ben Hogan | | 73 | +1 |
| T8 | Skee Riegel | | 73 | +1 |
Source:Second round
Friday, April 8, 1955
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
| 1 | Cary Middlecoff | | 72-65=137 | −7 |
| 2 | Ben Hogan | | 73-68=141 | −3 |
| T3 | Jack Burke, Jr. | | 67-76=143 | −1 |
| T3 | Sam Snead | | 72-71=143 | −1 |
| 5 | Bob Rosburg | | 72-72=144 | E |
| 6 | Mike Souchak | | 71-74=145 | +1 |
| T7 | Tommy Bolt | | 76-70=146 | +2 |
| T7 | Julius Boros | | 71-75=146 | +2 |
| T7 | Walter Burkemo | | 73-73=146 | +2 |
| T7 | Pete Cooper | | 73-73=146 | +2 |
| T7 | Ed Furgol | | 74-72=146 | +2 |
| T7 | Skee Riegel | | 73-73=146 | +2 |
| T7 | Harvie Ward | | 77-69=146 | +2 |
Source:Third round
Saturday, April 9, 1955
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
| 1 | Cary Middlecoff | | 72-65-72=209 | −7 |
| 2 | Ben Hogan | | 73-68-72=213 | −3 |
| 3 | Jack Burke, Jr. | | 67-76-71=214 | −2 |
| 4 | Bob Rosburg | | 72-72-72=216 | E |
| T5 | Sam Snead | | 72-71-74=217 | +1 |
| T5 | Mike Souchak | | 71-74-72=217 | +1 |
| T7 | Julius Boros | | 71-75-72=218 | +2 |
| T7 | Walter Burkemo | | 73-73-72=218 | +2 |
| T7 | Stan Leonard | | 77-73-68=218 | +2 |
| T10 | Lloyd Mangrum | | 74-73-72=219 | +3 |
| T10 | Skee Riegel | | 73-73-73=219 | +3 |
Source:Final round
Sunday, April 10, 1955
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money |
| 1 | Cary Middlecoff | | 72-65-72-70=279 | −9 | 5,000 |
| 2 | Ben Hogan | | 73-68-72-73=286 | −2 | 3,125 |
| 3 | Sam Snead | | 72-71-74-70=287 | −1 | 2,125 |
| T4 | Julius Boros | | 71-75-72-71=289 | +1 | 1,333 |
| T4 | Bob Rosburg | | 72-72-72-73=289 | +1 | 1,333 |
| T4 | Mike Souchak | | 71-74-72-72=289 | +1 | 1,333 |
| 7 | Lloyd Mangrum | | 74-73-72-72=291 | +3 | 875 |
| T8 | Stan Leonard | | 77-73-68-74=292 | +4 | 812 |
| T8 | Harvie Ward | | 77-69-75-71=292 | +4 | 0 |
| T10 | Dick Mayer | | 78-72-72-71=293 | +5 | 696 |
| T10 | Byron Nelson | | 72-75-74-72=293 | +5 | 696 |
| T10 | Arnold Palmer | | 76-76-72-69=293 | +5 | 696 |
Source: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 |
 Middlecoff | −7 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −7 | −8 | −9 | −9 | −9 | −7 | −7 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −9 | −9 | −8 | −9 |
| Hogan | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −3 | −3 | −2 | −1 | −1 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −2 |
| Snead | E | E | E | E | E | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | E | E | −1 | −1 | −1 | −1 |
| Boros | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +3 | +3 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +1 |
| Rosburg | +1 | +1 | +1 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +2 | +3 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 |
| Souchak | +1 | E | E | E | E | E | E | −1 | E | E | E | E | +1 | +1 | E | +1 | +1 | +1 |
| Burke | −1 | −1 | −1 | −1 | −1 | −1 | −1 | −1 | −1 | E | E | +1 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +6 | +6 |
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
