Augusta National is as challenging and fair a test as there is in golf, and to lead wire-to-wire -- Thursday through Sunday -- is a tremendously difficult feat.
Jordan Spieth's performance last year was as spectacular as anything we've seen at Augusta National, as he dominated from the start, posting a first round 64 and taking a lead he would never relinquish. Spieth became the first champion since 1976 to lead from start to finish, joining four Masters legends in achieving that rare feat.
Craig Wood (1941), Arnold Palmer (1960), Jack Nicklaus (1972), Raymond Floyd (1976) and Spieth (2015) are the only five to have ever lead after all four rounds en route to a green jacket.
Note: Trevor Immelman (2008), Seve Ballesteros (1980), Arnold Palmer (1964), Jimmy Demaret (1947), Herman Keiser (1946) and Horton Smith (1934) were all T1 after the first round and led after the second, third and fourth rounds, but those are not considered a wire-to-wire wins by Augusta National.
It's rare to find a list in the history books at Augusta National Golf Club that does not feature Tiger Woods' name predominantly, but even the Big Cat has never been able to pull off a wire-to-wire win at the Masters.
It took nearly 40 years for us to see it happen again, and the odds aren't good for a repeat performance in 2016. A lead after the first round is nice, but as they say, you can't win the tournament on Thursday, only lose it.
