US Masters / Dan Fitch / 06 April 2011 /

On the eve of this year's tournament, Dan Fitch takes a look at the greatest ever Masters moments.

The Masters tees off on Thursday and golf lovers everywhere will be looking forward to four days of action from the world's best players.

If the tournament is half as entertaining as the the following Masters, then we'll be in for a treat. Here are the six greatest ever Masters moments.

6. Lyle's birdie makes him the first British champion

Sandy Lyle was level with Mark Calcavecchia as they began to pay the last hole and it looked like he was destined to finish in second place when his tee shot found the fairway bunker. Lyle's bunker shot was perfect though, spinning back to give the Scot a chance of a birdie. He calmly sunk the putt to become the first British winner of the Masters.

5. Olazabal's doctor helps him to second Masters

There have been few more emotional winners in gold than Jose Maria Olazabal when he picked up his second Mastres title in 1999. Two years earlier he had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, which left the Spaniard practically bedridden. It was only with the help of the renowned sports injury expert Dr Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt that Olazabal was able to get back playing golf and Jose would pay tribute to his saviour in his winning speech.

4. Local boy Larry makes good

When the Augusta local Larry Mize made a three-man play-off in 1987, it was thought that he was there to make up the numbers while the heavyweight talents of Seve Ballesteros and Greg Norman fought it out. Instead Seve was eliminated at the first extra hole to leave Mize in contention with Norman. It looked like The Great White Shark would win when Mize missed the green on the second hole, only for the outsider to shock everyone by holing from around 140 feet with his sand wedge.

3. Young Tiger shows his teeth

Tiger Woods Masters victory in 1997 was not just his first Major title, but a statement of intent. Not only did he become the Masters' youngest ever champion at 21 years and 104 days, but he also broke the records for the lowest ever aggregate score with 270 and the biggest margin of victory, beating the second-placed Tom Kite by 12 strokes.

2. Faldo wins as Norman collapses

The 1996 Masters is not likely to be remembered as a tournament that Nick Faldo won, but rather the Masters which Greg Norman lost. The Australian had a six shot lead going into the last day, only to lose his nerve and allow his partner Faldo to snatch victory. This was a final day that you couldn't take your eyes off, even if it was somewhat painful to watch.

1. Nicklaus rolls back the years

Despite having won five Masters titles, Jack Nicklaus was not given a prayer in 1986, which is no surprise considering that he had failed to finish higher than 39th in his previous seven tournaments and hadn't won at Augusta since 1980. On the final day Nicklaus was trailing Greg Norman, but rolled back the years with a brilliant final nine to become to oldest Masters champion, aged 46.

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