1976 Masters Tournament

DatesApril 8–11, 1976

LocationAugusta, Georgia
33°30′11″N 82°01′12″W / 33.503°N 82.020°W / 33.503; -82.020

CourseAugusta National Golf Club

Organized byAugusta National Golf Club

1976 Masters Tournament

Front cover of the 1976 Masters Guide
Tournament information
Dates	April 8–11, 1976
Location	Augusta, Georgia 33°30′11″N 82°01′12″W / 33.503°N 82.020°W / 33.503; -82.020
Course	Augusta National Golf Club
Organized by	Augusta National Golf Club
Tour	PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	72
Length	7,030 yards (6,428 m)[1]
Field	72 players, 47 after cut
Cut	150 (+6)
Winner's share	$40,000
Champion
Raymond Floyd
271 (−17)
Location map
Augusta National Location in the United States Show map of the United States Augusta National Location in Georgia Show map of Georgia
← 1975 1977 →

The 1976 Masters Tournament was the 40th Masters Tournament, held April 8–11 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

Raymond Floyd won his only Masters title, eight strokes ahead of runner-up Ben Crenshaw.^[2] He shot a 131 (−13) over the first two rounds,^[3] then posted two rounds of 70 on the weekend to tie Jack Nicklaus' record of 271 (−17), set in 1965.^[1] In the first three rounds, Floyd was under-par on every par-5, with eleven birdies and an eagle, and his 54-hole total of 201 (−15) was the lowest ever. Defending champion Nicklaus was the nearest pursuer, eight shots back at 209.^[4] It was the second of Floyd's four major titles. Tiger Woods broke the 72-hole record by a stroke 21 years later in 1997 with 270 (−18), which was tied by Jordan Spieth in 2015.

Beginning with this Masters, a sudden-death playoff format was introduced, and originally planned to start at the first hole.^[5] After three years without use, it was changed to begin on the 10th hole in 1979;^[6] used for the first time that year, it ended on the eleventh green. In 2004, the playoff was changed to start on the 18th hole and then alternate with the adjacent 10th hole.^[7] Prior to 1976, playoffs were full 18-hole rounds on Monday, and the last was won by Billy Casper in 1970. The first playoff in 1935 was the exception at 36 holes.

Floyd was the fourth wire-to-wire winner in Masters history, following Craig Wood in 1941, Arnold Palmer in 1960, and Nicklaus in 1972. The next was Jordan Spieth, 39 years later, in 2015.