The Masters: The rise of left-handed winners at Augusta

Saturday 4 April 2015 15:20, UK

Until just over a decade ago, a major win from a left-hander was something of a novelty. New Zealand’s Bob Charles held six PGA Tour titles during an impressive career, but his eight-shot win at the 1963 Open had been an anomaly in otherwise right-handed successes.

While Charles’ victory saw him heralded as one of golf’s greats, the sport waited another four decades to witness another left-handed triumph, with just a handful of golfers on either the PGA Tour or European Tour playing from their left side.

As time passed, natural left-handers including Curtis Strange and two-time Open champion Greg Norman came close to Augusta glory having made careers playing with their right, with Norman a three-time runner-up and Strange finishing tied-second in 1985.

The pendulum has since swung at Augusta, with half of the past 12 holders of the coveted Green Jacket playing the ‘unorthodox’ way.

Mike Weir

The Canadian became the first Augusta champion playing left-handed after a narrow play-off victory in 2003 over America’s Len Mattiace, but may not have become an eight-time PGA Tour winner had he not sought advice from one of golf’s all-time greats.

As a teenager, Weir wrote to six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus asking for guidance on whether he should switch from his preferred left to the more commonly-used right. Nicklaus replied and recommended that he should keep his natural swing and not to change anything, with Weir following that guidance.

Weir had been two strokes back heading in to his final round at a weather-affected Augusta National, but shot a four-under final round 68 – including back-to-back pressure par putts to finish - to force a play-off. A bogey on the 10th was enough to give the 32-year-old victory and begin the left-handed success.

Phil Mickelson

The former world No 2 is the undisputed most successful left-handed player of all-time with five major titles, despite using his right for everything else he does!

Already a 22-time winner on the PGA Tour heading into the 2004 Masters, Mickelson sank a 15-foot birdie on the 18th to snatch a one stroke win from Ernie Els and become the second left-hander in a row to win.

While a fourth Tiger Woods Augusta crown ended the left-handed run a year later as Mickelson finished tenth , ‘Lefty’ reclaimed the Green Jacket in 2006 with a two-stroke win over South Africa’s Tim Clark.

Mickelson went on to complete a hat-trick of Augusta victories four years later, to add to the one-shot victory at the 2005 PGA Championship over Thomas Bjorn and the Open Championship crown he would later win in 2013 by overturning a five-stroke final round deficit.

Bubba Watson

"Amazing" was how Watson described his 2012 Masters win, after the big-hitting American saw off South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen at a dramatic second extra play-off hole to secure his maiden major title.

The 33-year-old left-hander parachuted himself into the world's top ten as a result, although only managed to add one further PGA Tour title before winning a second Masters title last April. With the tension not close to that witnessed two years earlier, Bubba produced a solid final round 69 to ease to a three stroke win.

With his past Augusta record and an impressive start to 2015 seeing him rise to a career-best world No 2, who would bet against the defending champion adding a third Masters title next month?

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