Floyd easily wins Masters

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34127, 13 April 1976, Page 38

Floyd easily wins Masters

(N.Z. Press Assn —Copyright) AUGUSTA (Georgia).

Ray Floyd won the fortieth Masters golf tournament in one of the biggest runaways in its history. He had led from start to finish, and from Friday on, there was never any doubt he would win.

While the rest of the field was having trouble fighting a stiff breeze that often changed direction, the unflappable Miami professional drilled his shots with aplomb and finished on Sunday with a 70, two under par for the Augusta National Golf Club, and a 72-hole total of 271. Floyd’s score tied the record 17-under-par that Jack Nicklaus set in 1965. Floyd’s eight-shot ipargin over Ben Crenshaw was only one stroke shy of Nicklaus's record nine-stroke win over Arnold Palmer in 1965. One record that Floyd set

in the tournament gave him the victory — he shot the four par-5 holes in 14 under par, breaking the record of 13 that Jimmy Demaret set in 1950.

Crenshaw, who won two tournaments in a row earlier in the season, came out of the field to shoot the lowest round of the day, a five-under-par 67 that was remarkable in the wind conditions. His 72-hole aggregate was 279, nine under par. An eagle 3 on the 485yard 13th hole was part of the fun. He also carded four birdies and only one bogey. Jack Nicklaus, the defending champion and the only man to win the Masters five times, shot 73 for a 72-hole score of 282. There he tied for third with Larry Ziegler, the hockey buff who is one of the big hitters of the tour.

The victory was Floyd’s seventh since he joined the professional tour in 1963. Until this one, his only major victory had been the Professional Golfers’ Association championship in 1969 at Dayton. The $32,000 purse raised his winnings for the season to $43,920 and his career total to $582,000. For a final-round at the Masters, Floyd’s round was uneventful — three birdies, one bogey and a couple of saved pars. But the main thing was that no-one but Crenshaw made a run at him, and Crenshaw at four under, was too far behind to catch up. Floyd took off at 15 under, and improved that to 17.