Description

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 The Story of the Masters is the first comprehensive year-by-year history of the world’s most famous golf tournament. Veteran golf journalist David Barrett draws upon contemporaneous reporting and other source material to offer dramatic accounts of each year the tournament has been played, starting in 1934. The story of the tournament progresses from the early years when it was founded by golf great Bobby Jones and quickly established itself as an elite event, to the post-World War II era when Sam Snead and Ben Hogan dominated. The thrilling exploits of dashing hero Arnold Palmer brought the tournament into the television age and the sustained excellence of Jack Nicklaus helped to further the prestige of the tournament. Nearly two full decades of European dominance of the Masters heralded the international age of golf. Then Tiger Woods came along and used the Augusta stage for his coming-out party in 1997 and then for his epic comeback in 2019. In Barrett's telling, each year has its own story to tell as the Augusta National course provides the perfect setting for tournament excitement, noted for suspenseful back-and-forth action between multiple contenders -— the norm at the Masters. The nature of the course's layout creates opportunities for stirring charges and heroic shots to determine the champion, while filled with enough danger to provoke monumental collapses that also become part of Masters lore. Through the decades, the game’s greatest players have shined their brightest at the Masters. Many golfing careers have been shaped and defined by this tournament, and Barrett shares unknown and forgotten stories of not only the sport's stars, but also the many others who challenged them over the years at Augusta.

About the Author

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David Barrett has been a professional golf writer for over three decades, including serving as senior editor of Golf Magazine. He was graduated from Haverford College, and has covered the Major golf championships, including The Masters. He is the author of six previous books, including Miracle at Merion, winner of the USGA's 2010 Herbert Warren Wind Award for the best golf book of the year.

Praise For…

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"David Barrett is an able and thorough writer, and he has clinically and thoughtfully broken down the Masters in tournament form. This is a distinctively different look at the history of the tournament." —Ben Crenshaw, Professional golfer, golf historian, two-time winner of the Masters tournament

"David Barrett’s work is always backed by thorough research, sharp intelligence, and a keen perspective. All of that comes to bear in this engaging treasure of a book." —George Peper, Editor, Links Magazine

"God is in the details, and so is great golf writing. David Barrett’s astute choices gives us the most comprehensive and satisfying retrospective ever written about the Masters." —Jamie Diaz, Anchor, Golf Channel

"We've never seen a telling of the Masters tournament remotely like this one--comprehensive and colorful." —Guy Yocom, Writer, Golf Digest

"David Barrett has given sports history buffs and fans of golf’s most celebrated invitational a wonderful gift, smoothly conveyed by a master storyteller. An invaluable addition to your golf library." —James Dodson, Author of Ben Hogan: An American Life

"David Barrett writes authoritatively about one of America's intriguing and enduring sporting events, detailing the pivotal shots and the golfers who hit them." —Bill Fields, 2020 recipient of the PGA Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism

"In The Story of the Masters, David Barrett has done what the tournament itself does so well--created something special. More than tell the story of each Masters played, Barrett brings the people and the moments alive." —Ron Green, Global Golf Post 

"David Barrett brings Masters history to life through compelling storytelling and meticulous research. This belongs on every golfer's bookshelf." —Jim Nantz, CBS Broadcaster

"Everything a golf history should be: passionate about its subject, exciting in its descriptions, astute in its analysis, and hard to put down....even those casually interested will find it an exciting coverage." —Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review

"The Story of the Masters...balances serving as a worthwhile omnibus for die-hard golf fans with a great narrative introduction to the tournament for the uninitiated." —Jeff Fleischer, Foreword Reviews

"The real pleasure in Barrett’s account comes from the way he shows the narrative flow of the tournament over the years…. An ideal warm-up for another golf season." —Bill Ott,  Booklist

"Barrett's prose is descriptive, colorful, and picturesque...this book deserves to be in every golfer's library and is required reading every first week in April." —Leslie Shupak, MGA Golf

"No one has attempted what Barrett has with his seventh book: a year-by-year history of The Masters highlighting many forgotten details and anecdotes. The Masters annually gives us plenty of intrigue, so [Barrett], the 2010 USGA Book Award winner delivered a thorough-but-never-boring recounting of the annual springtime tradition…a valuable addition to a golfer’s library." —Geoff Shackelford, Author and golf journalist

"David Barrett is a talented, experienced, and passionate golf writer ... [who] adds some spice and drama ... by including little known, perhaps forgotten, mishaps, weather issues, one-of-a-kind shots and other human interest sidebars." —Greg Miles, Chicago Golf Report

"David Barrett's chronology of the Masters' rich history and drama is a must read for your golf library." —Tom Watson, two-time Masters winner