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We all know that golf is played between the extremes, but it’s always fun to look at the best and worst scores from our favorite golfers at the Masters. There are some outrageous numbers in here (both good and bad) that I did not remember existed. 

Let’s start with one of this year’s favorites in Rory McIlroy, who posted an egregious 80 down the stretch in 2011. That round followed his best ever of 65 in Round 1 that year.

Rory McIlroy

Best: 65 (2011 first round)
Worst: 80 (2011 fourth round)

Phil Mickelson

Best: 65 (1996 first round)
Worst: 79 (2016 second round)

The 79 wasn’t as bad as the gear he wore to shoot it.

Tiger Woods

Best: 65 (2005 third round, 1997 third round)
Worst: 77 (1995 third round)

Bubba Watson

Best: 67 (2011 third round)
Worst: 78 (2011 fourth round)

Adam Scott

Best: 66 (2012 fourth round)
Worst: 80 (2004 first round)

Henrik Stenson

Best: 68 (2015 fourth round)
Worst: 83 (2011 first round)

Jason Day

Best: 64 (2011 second round)
Worst: 76 (2012 first round)

Rickie Fowler

Best: 67 (2014 third round and 2015 fourth round)
Worst: 80 (2016 first round)

Jordan Spieth

Best: 64 (2015 first round)
Worst: 74 (2016 second round)

Sergio Garcia

Best: 66 (2013 first round, 2004 fourth round)
Worst: 81 (2016 third round)

Dustin Johnson

Best: 67 (2015 second round and 2013 first round)
Worst: 77 (2014 first round)

There are some really interesting scores in here. Augusta is a difficult course, but it’s not the most difficult. And yet Fowler, Garcia, Stenson, Scot and McIlroy all have rounds in the 80s there. On the flip side, only Spieth and Day have cracked 65.

That 65 seems to be a magic number of sorts. If you shoot one round of 65 on the week, it’s likely you’re going to be there at the end of the weekend. You don’t have to shoot a low number of course -- Spieth nearly won shooting between 70-72 for four rounds in 2014 -- but it obviously helps.