Uploaded April 2016 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
A six-time PGA TOUR winner, Raymond Floyd had not tasted victory on the PGA TOUR since the previous summer when he won the Kemper Open in his home state of North Carolina. To his own admission, he was striking the ball well, but not putting well enough to stay atop leader boards early that season. Like all players, Floyd knew if he was going to compete at the Masters, putts would need to start falling.
Floyd’s confidence translated into an opening round 65, two shots better than Nicklaus. That lead over Nicklaus and the rest of the field grew to five after a solid 66 the following day.
In the first three rounds, Floyd had 11 birdies and an eagle on the par 5s. Remarkably, Floyd had hit more par 5 greens in two, than number of bogeys on his card.
As a result, Floyd’s 54-hole total of 201 (-15) was a new Masters record.
Aside from a 67 in round three by Hale Irwin, Floyd flourished again firing a two-under-par 70, extending his lead to eight over Nicklaus.
Like most wire-to-wire winners, Floyd sucked all the drama out of Sunday when he posted a final round 70 for a 271 tournament total – eight strokes clear of Crenshaw, the runner-up finisher.
After donning his first Green Jacket, Floyd went back to work and turned in a solid 1976 season. He finished 13th at the U.S. Open and placed inside the Top-5 at both the Open Championship and PGA Championship. He also won for the eighth time at the World Open Golf Championship.
A six-time PGA TOUR winner, Raymond Floyd had not tasted victory on the PGA TOUR since the previous summer when he won the Kemper Open in his home state of North Carolina. To his own admission, he was striking the ball well, but not putting well enough to stay atop leader boards early that season. Like all players, Floyd knew if he was going to compete at the Masters, putts would need to start falling.
Floyd’s confidence translated into an opening round 65, two shots better than Nicklaus. That lead over Nicklaus and the rest of the field grew to five after a solid 66 the following day.
In the first three rounds, Floyd had 11 birdies and an eagle on the par 5s. Remarkably, Floyd had hit more par 5 greens in two, than number of bogeys on his card.
As a result, Floyd’s 54-hole total of 201 (-15) was a new Masters record.
Aside from a 67 in round three by Hale Irwin, Floyd flourished again firing a two-under-par 70, extending his lead to eight over Nicklaus.
Like most wire-to-wire winners, Floyd sucked all the drama out of Sunday when he posted a final round 70 for a 271 tournament total – eight strokes clear of Crenshaw, the runner-up finisher.
After donning his first Green Jacket, Floyd went back to work and turned in a solid 1976 season. He finished 13th at the U.S. Open and placed inside the Top-5 at both the Open Championship and PGA Championship. He also won for the eighth time at the World Open Golf Championship.
