Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts decided to hold a golf tournament in 1934. The tournament was originally called the Augusta National Invitation Tournament, but the name changed in 1939 when Clifford Roberts, one of the owners of the Augusta National Course, was able to change the name to "The Masters".

Since the beginning Roberts suggested calling it the Masters, but Jones thought that was overreaching a bit so they settled on the name Augusta National Invitation Tournament.

After drawing a field of what was indeed the masters of the game of golf for five years in a row, they switched back to the original name and in 1939 the Masters Pro Golf Tournament was played at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, GA.

The Masters was first televised in 1956, but only for the last three holes of the course. In 1967, the Masters was televised for the first time overseas, when the BBC used satellite to transmit it to millions of viewers around the world.

The Masters has been played every year since then except for 1943, 1944 and 1945 when cattle were allowed to graze on the greens to help the war effort. The winner of the Masters is awarded the Green Jacket.

The Masters Golf Green jacket

In addition to a cash award, the winner of the tournament is presented with a distinctive green jacket, awarded since 1949, and highly coveted among professional golfers. The green coat is actually the official coat worn by members of Augusta National while on the club grounds; each Masters winner becomes an honorary member of the club. Winners keep their jacket for the first year after their first victory, then return it to the club to wear during tournament week each following year. The tradition that began in 1949, when Sam Snead was the winner. The Green Jacket is only allowed to be removed from Augusta National by the reigning champion, after which it must remain at the club. The only exception to this rule is Gary Player, who failed to return his jacket after his 1961 victory, despite the club's insistence that he do so.

2010 US Masters Winner: Phil Mickelson delights Augusta by overshadowing Tiger Woods
Phil Mickelson soaked up a scene he knows all too well as he climbed the steep hill toward the 18th green at Augusta National to claim another green jacket. Only when he rapped in one last birdie for a 3-stroke victory did this Masters get even better. The signature moment came on the 13th, a hole Mickelson has dominated like no other at Augusta. With a 2-shot lead, he was stuck between two Georgia pines and had just over 200 yards to the hole. He never considered anything but a shot at the green.
2009 US Master Winner: In continuing with the trend of surprise winners at the US Masters golf tournament, Angel Cabrera became the latest US Masters winner in 2009.
Kenny Perry seemed to have it in his grasp but he contrived to bogie both 17 and 18 under intense pressure to fall back into the play-off. The Play-Off was a tense affair that first saw Campbell get eliminated and then Perry to give Angel Cabrera the famous Green Jacket in a thrilling finish. Cabrera was solid all week and he became the first Argentine ever to win the US Masters in what is likely to be the highlight of his career.
2008 US Master Winner: For the second year in a row, we have a Masters champion who didn't seem to have the credentials to win such a prestigious tournament. Last year, it was Zach Johnson, who had won only a single PGA Tour event before his victory at Augusta National. Now, it is Immelman, also a winner of just one title before Sunday, looking as though he was made to wear a green jacket.

Immelman slept on the lead for three nights, something not accomplished by a champion here since Seve Ballesteros in 1980. Immelman, a 28-year-old with a polished swing, who finally realized his potential in the wicked wind of Augusta and a final round that yielded only four rounds under par.

Immelman certainly had a fine résumé. After last year's Wachovia Championship on the PGA Tour, he had risen to No. 12 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He was coming off a 2006 rookie of the year season, when he won the Western Open. And he had won three European Tour titles.

Immelman is the sixth player since 1997 to win his first major at The Masters, but that list includes Woods, Mark O'Meara, Mike Weir and Phil Mickelson, all of whom built a reputation before winning at Augusta National.

And he joins a long list of surprise major championship winners, especially in recent years.

Zach Johnson 2007 Masters Winner

Zach Johnson proved that when he plays his own game, he's capable of winning at golf's highest levels. Johnson, a 31-year-old Iowan, played the round of his life at Augusta National Golf Club. Challenged by some of the game's greatest champions, among them four-time winner Tiger Woods and two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, Johnson relied on his skill, guile and heart to shoot a final round three-under-par 69 for a 289 total, and a two-shot victory in the Masters.

Phil Mickelson winner 2006

At the 2006 Masters golf tournament, Phil Mickelson was avoiding mistakes and taking advantage of the occasional birdie opportunity, Phil Mickelson broke free of a pack full of most of the greatest players of the modern era on the back nine at Augusta National to win the 70th Masters. Mickelson earned his second Masters title in three years, and his third overall major out of the last nine.

Past US Masters Winners:

Year - US Masters Winner - Scores

2005 Tiger Woods
2004 Phil Mickelson 72 69 69 69 (279)
2003 Mike Weir 70 68 75 68 (281)
2002 Tiger Woods 70 69 66 71 (276)
2001 Tiger Woods 70 66 68 68 (272)
2000 Vijay Singh 72 67 70 69 (278)
1999 Jose Maria Olazabal 70 66 73 71 (280)
1998 Mark O'Meara 74 70 68 67 (279)
1997 Tiger Woods 70 66 65 69 (270)
1996 Nick Faldo 69 67 73 67 (276)
1995 Ben Crenshaw 70 67 69 68 (274)

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