The Masters holds a special place among golf aficionados. This major is held in extraordinary esteem among fans, media and players alike. With Augusta National hosting the first major each season we have become intimately attached to the former Fruitlands nursery and know the twists and turns, ups and downs, creeks and hazards on Augusta as well as we do our home courses.
Our Masters Champions are held is high esteem also and maybe way the Augusta National members treat their champions has something to do with it. The Green Jacket is the most recognized piece of clothing in the world, champions are welcomed back each year treated like royalty and even have their own special “champions dinner.”
Therefore we have come to expect a bit more form our Masters winners. Each year I hope for a great tournament with a great winner that has at least the potential to go on to further greatness. A major champion who adds a Masters win is on his way to the Hall of Fame indeed.
So when our beloved Masters is won by a first timer the questions abound. Will he be a one hit wonder? Did he win this or did another player lose it? Can this winner compete in other majors and maybe capture another major title?
Since 2000 we have had a mix of Fall of Famers, multiple major winners, surprising winners and a few one hit wonders.
2000 winner Vijay Singh has two PGA Championships along with his Masters title and is in the Hall of Fame, far from a one hit wonder.
Tiger Woods won his second Masters in 2001 (and won again in ’02,’05) and well, fourteen majors if he never does win another so I guess his record speaks for itself.
Lefty Mike Weir claimed Canada’s first major championship with his 2003 Masters win but for a number of reasons he became a one hit wonder. He did manage to win eight PGA Tour events but only two of those came after the Masters. His banner year was ’03 when he had three wins including The Masters but he could only manage some top tens finishes in the majors in the following years. Swing changes and a troublesome elbow kept Weir from regaining his championship form.
2004 saw Phil Mickelson win his first Masters and he added two more in ’06 and ’10 and now he’s in the Hall of Fame.
Zach Johnson played an unlikely game to claim his green jacket in 2007. He laid up on each and every par five and won by two shots. A short hitter in the time of long bombers, Johnson showed there is more than one way to make a birdie. A short hitter but a wizard with his wedge he used his wizardry again in 2015 to claim the Open Championship and probably punch his ticket to the Hall of Fame. He had nine PGA wins between his majors, not bad for a short hitter.
In 2008 we saw South African Trevor Immelman revive Gary Players hopes of another South African at the Champions Dinner. Immelman had the lead or a share of it for every round during his Masters win. In spite of a stumble down the stretch no one could catch him including Woods who finished second. He hasn’t won on a major tour since and has zero top twenty finishes in majors since ’08 but did manage a win on the Web.com Tour in 2013. Wrist and severe elbow injuries have made him a one hit wonder and relegated him to The Golf Channel. 
Angel Cabrera won his second major at the ’09 Masters as he already had a U.S. Open title so that rid him of the one hit wonder title. He also lost to Adam Scott in the memorable ’13 Masters playoff.
Charl Schwartzel claimed another spot at the Champions Dinner for South Africa when he birdied the last four holes to pull away for his 2011 Masters title. While Schwartzel doesn’t play the PGA Tour full time he still managed to win the ’13 Valspar Championship and has won multiple times on the European Tour. But another major appears too elusive of late. As of now he’s a one hit wonder.
Bubba Watson won the first of his two Masters titles in 2012 with the shot of the century as he curved a wedge from the pine straw to close out Louis Oosthuizen on the second playoff hole. No one hit wonder here.
Adam Scott was a popular champion in 2013 as he claimed his first, and so far only major championship. Scott was a sentimental favorite as he had given away the Open Championship the previous year. A popular, friendly well liked player the hope was that Scoot would now fulfill the huge potential that oozed from the prettiest swing on the PGA Tour. Scott earned and held the number one spot in the World Golf Rankings the following spring and has four PGA wins since then along with five top tens in majors but another major…not quite yet. A change to a standard length putter, a marriage and two children may have effected Scott’s play. As far as majors champs go…a one hit wonder.
Jordan Spieth won his first major at the 2015 Masters and went on to have one of the best seasons in the history of golf. He went on to win the U.S. Open, finished tied for fourth at the Open Championship (barely missing the playoff) and second at The PGA Championship. Most golfers would trade that season for their entire career. Hardly a one hit wonder.
But Danny Willett looks to have claimed that one hit wonder title since his 2016 Masters win. It’s been said that Willett didn’t win that Masters but rather Spieth lost it. Still, the green jacket went to Willett for his first major and he has done little since. He has no wins on either the European or PGA Tours as injuries have taken their toll on him. A one hit wonder so far.
Sergio Garcia, long labeled the best player to never win a major broke through last year for his first major here at Augusta. He’s now married with a newborn who he named Azalea as a tribute to his Masters win. It’s too soon to call him a one hit wonder so we’ll have to wait and see if he honors his major with another.
Whether this year’s champion has Hall of Fame credentials or is just starting his march towards it I hope it’s a winner with guts and talent and another major in his future. I like my Masters winners with a real resume.
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