Golf’s most famous tournament has hosted some shocking and change-making moments

What would the biggest tournament in golf history be without some of the biggest controversies to accompany it?

Whether it's the Super Bowl, the World Series or the Masters, sports’ biggest stages draw the most attention, most celebrated moments and also the most controversy. While the Masters is one of four major men's golf tournaments, it’s considered the most prestigious, taking place in the same location at the Augusta National Golf Club every year with the winner being awarded a green jacket.

It's where golfers become legends from Arnold Palmer becoming the first person to win four Masters tournaments to Tiger Woods breaking the record at five. Since its inception in 1934, the Masters have also played host to plenty of golf's most controversial moments.

From Martha Burk advocating for women's rights to Woods’ ball drop heard around the world and rules being changed to curb his dominance, plenty of Masters’ controversies live in infamy.

Here’s everything to know about the 11 biggest Masters controversies of all time.

01 of 11

Embedded balls and controversial calls en route to Arnold Palmer’s 1958 victory

Not only is Palmer one of the greatest golfers of all time, he became the first player to win four green jackets. However, his first win in 1958 came with some controversy when he believed his ball was embedded behind the green on the 12th hole in the final round.

Despite protest, Palmer wasn’t allowed to move the ball and played a bad hole with a double bogey. To prove his point, Palmer replayed the hole from where he thought the ball should have been and got a three.

A few holes later, officials reversed their decision and decided that Palmer's second attempt would stand. Palmer won the tournament by one shot, and said years later he feels his method of proving his point was fair, despite cries of cheating from other competitors and fans.

“I felt then and I feel now that I did what any other player could and should do,” Palmer wrote in his 2002 book Playing By the Rules, via The New York Times. “I followed the rules in both letter and spirit.”

02 of 11

A fan lends a hand to Gary Player in 1961

Great distances are kept between fans and golfers at the Masters today, but in 1961 this wasn’t the case. The tournament was down to Palmer and Player, and when the latter looked like he hit a bad shot, he got some surprise guidance.

“Suddenly, a hand appeared out of the gallery and battered the ball back into play,” Palmer wrote in his book, per National Club Golfer.

The fan told officials that he was merely protecting himself from getting hit with the ball by using his hand. Player got a birdie on the hole and went on to defeat Palmer by one stroke.

03 of 11

Bob Goalby wins first Masters after Robert De Vincenzo's scorecard signing gaffe

In one of the biggest sporting disasters of all time, the Masters were won on a shocking mistake. After Robert De Vincenzo and Bob Goalby went head-to-head for the 1968 Masters championship, it appeared the two had tied.

De Vicenzo's marker, Tommy Aaron, mistakenly wrote a four instead of a birdie three for De Vincenzo on the 17th hole. Unfortunately, De Vincenzo didn’t notice the error and signed the card anyway with the Masters’ rule stating that the higher score must stand if signed by the competitor.

Because of this rule, Goalby won his first and only major title by one point, donning the 1968 green jacket by default. “What a stupid I am,” De Vincenzo famously said at the time.

04 of 11

Gary McCord is banned from commentating the Masters after crude on-air remarks

Gary McCord was known for making edgy comments, but in 1994 he took it a bit too far. In fact, he took it so far that he would never be allowed to call the Masters again.

When referencing how fast the ball was moving on the 17th hole, he referred to the green as being so smooth it seemed “bikini-waxed.” McCord didn't stop there, going on to say that some of the mounds on the course looked like “body bags" which could be used for athletes who played poorly.

In 2024, on his show Kostis & McCord, he shared the letter CBS Sport’s golf producer Frank Chirkinian showed him from Augusta, which read in part, “We need to eradicate this lesion on golf. He is the Howard Stern of golf and we need to pay attention to this and what he said.”

05 of 11

Fuzzy Zoeller makes racist comments as Tiger Woods wins his first Masters

In 1997, 21-year-old Woods shocked the golf world by dominating the Masters as the youngest victor ever, beating Tom Kite by 12 strokes — the largest margin of victory in the tournament’s history. Considering Black golfers weren’t allowed on the PGA Tour until 1961 and no Black golfer played in the Masters until 1975, Woods’ win paved the way for greater diversity in golf.

Many speculated Woods wouldn’t win, though, and some of those doubters spewed racist comments. 1979 Masters champion Fuzzy Zoeller made racist remarks regarding Woods’ potential victor’s dinner menu choices that stuck with Zoeller the rest of his career and shocked the golf world.

"That little boy is driving well and he's putting well. He's doing everything it takes to win. So, you know what you guys do when he gets in here? You pat him on the back and say congratulations and enjoy it and tell him [to] not serve fried chicken next year. Got it?" Zoeller said on CNN, according to CBS and ESPN. "Or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve."

He later apologized, per CBS.

06 of 11

The Masters attempt to “Tiger-proof” their course

The 1997 masters served as Woods’ coming-out party as he began dominating golf. In 2002, Augusta started making significant changes seemingly to hinder his dominance in a strategy that became colloquially known as “Tiger-proofing.”

Prior to the 2002 masters, Augusta lengthened over half the holes and narrowed fairways. Regardless, Woods went on to win the 2002 Masters and wore the green jacket again in 2005 and 2019.

"There have been changes since the start,” architecture editor Ran Morrissett told Golf Magazine in 2024. “But after Tiger’s explosive win in 1997, the frequency of those changes increased.”

07 of 11

Martha Burk fights for women's rights at the Masters

In 2003, the Masters faced arguably their biggest controversy ever as their history of sexism saw its greatest, most public scrutiny yet. National Council of Women’s Organizations Chairperson Martha Burk wrote to Augusta Chairperson Hootie Johnson saying that women should be allowed to be members of the club, but Johnson said he wouldn't be pressured.

Burk began a public protest that brought out about 40 people, but gained steam in the media and began a conversation that didn't go away. In 2012, Augusta invited two women to become members of the club after two gender discrimination lawsuits against companies linked to Augusta resulted in $79 million in settlements, per Reuters.

Burk reflected on her role in the change 20 years after her protest.

“I guess they felt like they had to wait a long enough time where they thought we wouldn’t get any credit,” Burk told The Orlando Sentinel in 2023. “But people aren’t idiots. They know the back story. Had we not started it, I dare say there wouldn’t be a woman in that club today.”

To this day, only seven women are members of the club, amongst around 300 men.

08 of 11

Jeff Maggert hits himself out of the 2003 Masters as Mike Weir wins

In 2003, Mike Weir made history by becoming the only Canadian to win the masters, but Jeff Maggert was right on his tail before literally hitting himself out of the tournament.

Entering the final round, Weir was behind Maggert by two shots, when Maggert hit his ball into the fairway bunker. When trying to get it out, he hit the lip of the bunker, and the ball bounced back, hitting him. According to tournament rules, if a ball hits any player including yourself, that results in a two-stroke penalty, which became a triple bogey for Maggert.

He never recovered and missed the playoffs with Weir and Len Mattiace which ended with Weir donning the green jacket.

09 of 11

Tiger Woods and “The Drop”

One of the most controversial Masters calls came in 2013 when Woods dropped a ball on the par-5 15th hole. Woods hit his ball into the water and had to pick a drop point to continue playing, which could be in a drop zone or as close to the original spot as possible.

Initially, it wasn't a significant moment, but upon further review it was noticed that Woods dropped the ball 2 yards further back, which benefited him with a more desirable shot. In a surprising move, the club took accountability for not informing Woods earlier and gave him a two-stroke penalty while many felt he should have been disqualified entirely.

“At hole #15, I took a drop that I thought was correct and in accordance with the rules. I was unaware at that time I had violated any rules,” Woods wrote on X, per USA Today.

10 of 11

Teenage phenom Guan Tianling receives only slow play penalty in Masters history

Woods’ drop wasn’t the only controversy at the 2013 Masters as the tournament doled out it's only slow play punishment ever to 14-year-old Guan Tianling.

Many fans felt as though he had been targeted unfairly and the move has been widely debated for years.

11 of 11

LIV Golf upends the Masters

Saudi-backed LIV Golf shook up the sport in 2022 as the group shelled out astronomical contracts for famous players to compete in a shorter, team-based tour. This created a direct clash with golf purists — as parodied in Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore 2 — resulting in the PGA suspending golfers participating in LIV.

Considering some of these golfers were former Masters winners —  which usually means they have a lifetime invitation to participate — this raised questions on how the Augusta-based tournament would handle the ban.

Ultimately, the Masters decided to invite the LIV golfers to participate.

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