A WWII vet, Keiser’s final-round 74 held off a charging Ben Hogan to win by one.
Compelling narrative:
Keiser was an outsider, and by his account, members of Augusta National tried to keep him from winning. Grantland Rice tried to assess Keiser with a slow-play penalty, which he had no authority to do. The club gave him the wrong tee time . . . and a 13-year-old caddie. Some of this could be apocryphal, but others throughout the years have validated some of Keiser’s claims.
How obscure was he:
Only one other major top-10 finish in his career.
Despite shooting final-round 75, cruised to three-shot victory as entire field struggled in tough conditions.
Compelling narrative:
Underwent surgery to remove a noncancerous tumor on his diaphragm four months before win.
How obscure was he:
Not a household name, but won 2006 Rookie of the Year and was 29th in world rankings before capturing green jacket.
Tied with Jack Nicklaus entering Sunday, Coody beat the Golden Bear to win the green jacket by two.
Compelling narrative:
Redemption, as Coody lost the ‘69 Masters thanks to bogeys on the final three holes.
How obscure was he:
Two previous wins, the Masters would be his final victory on tour.
Shot Sunday 67, aided by a certain someone’s quadruple bogey at the 12th hole.
Compelling narrative:
The guy not named Jordan Spieth who won the Masters.
How obscure was he:
Top 15 player in the world, but relatively unknown outside of England.
Shot a final-round 69 in windy conditions, winning with the highest score (289) in tournament history.
Compelling narrative:
Dispelled notion a player has to be a bomber to win at Augusta: Johnson failed to reach a par 5 in two during the week.
How obscure was he:
This has aged well, as Johnson added the claret jug to his resume. However, his only pre-Masters win was the 2004 BellSouth Classic, a lower-tier tour event. Entered week outside the top 50 in the world.
