Wanting to hold an annual tournament to pay tribute to the sport of golf, Clifford Roberts and Bobby Jones started the Master’s Tournament in 1934. Hosted at the Augusta National Golf Club, the tournament was initially called the Augusta National Invitational. The name was changed to the Master’s Golf Tournament in 1939 by unanimous decision.  Bobby Jones even competed in a few of the tournaments, his best finish being 13th.

The first winner of the March 1934 Master’s was Horton Smith, and since that epic day, the grounds of the former Augusta plantation have seen some amazing play. What a lot of people aren’t aware of is that the club even assisted the war effort during WWII, with the raising of livestock on the grounds.

During the 50′s and 60′s, the legendary careers of Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus were born, with Palmer garnering four victories and Nicklaus with six.  Spurred by the popularity of the Master’s Tournament, endorsement opportunities for champion golfers began to open up and entire industries were built around golf vacation packages for the lucky ones who could actually visit Augusta and multi-million dollar broadcast deals to reach the fans who couldn’t.

The founders of the Master’s tournament passed away in the 1970′s, leaving behind an event that is synonymous with the greatest golfers and American golf history in general. Jones was a Championship golfer at home and abroad and retired from professional golfing at the age of 28.

Many rumors surround the tradition of the green jacket, including the one that it came from the fact that Bobby Jones was born on St. Patrick’s Day, but it really started in 1937 when members donned the jacket to become more visible to fans.  It soon became an honored tradition, and the first green jacket was given to Sam Snead for claiming the 1949 championship title.

Today, the Master’s Tournament is big business, with companies like AT&T and Nike giving away personalized golf tees and sponsoring big names like Angel Cabrera and this year’s winner, Phil Mickelson. What began as the simple desire to have an annual tribute to the sport of golf has grown to be one of the richest and most coveted victories in golf.