With both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson hailing from California, one might think that the Golden State would have produced the most Masters victories of any state.
But has it?
To find out, BetCalifornia.com, as part of our coverage of topics that intrigue people awaiting legal California sports betting options, put together this list of top 10 states for producing winners of the famed green jacket at Augusta National. The tiebreaker was the average under par for winners. Here are the results:
Most Masters Victories By State
We thought California was in good shape to take the crown, but the Golden State was edged out by Texas, 14 Masters victories to 11.
In third place is Ohio, largely due to some guy named Jack (Nicklaus). Arnold Palmer helped put Pennsylvania in fourth place; Tom Watson and Horton Smith won twice each at Augusta National to help Missouri finish fifth with five wins.
Tiger Woods Masters Victories
Tiger Woods now lives in Florida, or anywhere else on the planet he wants to live, but he’s a native Californian and has often excelled on Cali courses such as Pebble Beach and Torrey Pines, as he has everywhere else. The Cypress-born legend won his first green jacket in 1997 at 21, with insane domination in which his record-setting 18-under was 12 shots better than runner-up Tom Kite. Woods won the Masters again in 2001 to complete the Tiger Slam (four successive majors, over two calendar years). Then in 2002, he went back-to-back at Augusta, beating Retief Goosen.
Woods was back on top in 2005, beating Chris DiMarco in a playoff – a rare time Tiger gave back a three-shot 54-hole lead. His last win at Augusta was the 2019 post-surgery stunner, when Woods came back from two down on the final day to topple Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele by one shot. It was Tiger’s first major win in 11 years. In his Masters appearances, Tiger has also twice finished second, once third and three times fourth.
Phil Mickelson Masters Victories
When Tiger wasn’t winning the Masters in the first decade of the 2000s, Phil Mickelson was. Mickelson, from San Diego, won green jackets in 2004, 2006 and 2010. Remember when Mickelson was the best golfer on the planet to never win a major? That talk ended in 2004 at Augusta, when he triumphed by one shot over Ernie Els.
After adding the 2005 PGA to his majors list, Mickelson won again at the Masters in 2006, beating Tim Clark by two strokes. His best Masters performance came in 2010, when his 16-under par bested Lee Westwood by three shots. He almost shocked the Masters crowd in 2023, coming off the LIV golf tour, where he’d been playing poorly, to tie for second at the age of 52. It was his second second-place finish at Augusta, to go with five third-place finishes.
Rounding out our list of California natives to win the Masters are San Diego’s Craig Stadler (“The Walrus”), who won in 1982, San Diego’s Billy Casper (1970) and San Francisco’s George Archer (1969).
As residents of America’s most populous state wait for California sportsbook apps to become legal, BetMGM Sportsbook in Arizona lists Scottie Scheffler as the favorite for the 2024 Masters with +650 odds. Rory McIlroy and defending champion Jon Rahm are next at +1000. At their age (Woods is 48, Mickelson 53) it’s no surprise that two of the most successful golfers ever are longshots this year. BetMGM has both Woods and Lefty at +10000 odds to win another green jacket.
