The Story of the Masters: Drama, Joy and Heartbreak at Golf’s Most Iconic Tournament

Golf writer Barrett (Miracle at Merion) draws on his decades of experience covering the Masters in this intelligent yet perfunctory account. He begins in 1934, when the only attendees were cofounder Bobby Jones’s closest friends, and continues through the rise of star golfers Arnold Palmer in the late 1950s, Jack Nicklaus in the 1970s, and contemporary up-and-comers Bubba Watson and Jordan Spieth. Barrett also notes the emergence of international golfers in the 1980s, including Spaniard Seve Ballesteros, who took the title in 1980 and 1983. In recounting Tiger Woods’s legendary 1997 win, Barrett quotes Woods’s competitor, Nicklaus: “This kid is absolutely the most fundamentally sound golfer that I have seen.” Readers hoping for an examination of the tournament’s troubled history with race will be disappointed; while Barrett notes the significance of Lee Elder, who in 1975 became the first Black man to play in the Masters, he overlooks an infamous statement attributed to Clifford Roberts, cofounder and longtime chairman of the Masters, that “as long as I’m alive, all golfers will be white and all caddies will be Black.” Similarly, Barrett skims over the fact that female players weren’t allowed to compete until 2012. This is a decent enough survey of the tournament, but it doesn’t break new ground. [em](Mar.) [/em]