The presentation of the Green Jacket to the winner of The Masters has taken place since Sam Snead claimed victory in the tournament in 1949. But can the winner take the iconic prize home?
Bernhard Langer congratulates Jack Nicklaus on receiving the Green Jacket from him in 1986
The Green Jacket is presented to the winner of the Masters by the previous year’s victor. If the winner defends his title or last year’s champion is unavailable, the chairman does the honors instead. However, it isn't as simple as one Green Jacket being handed down from winner to winner. When it comes to quirks of tradition, Augusta National Golf Club is up there with the best. For example, every caddie has to wear a white boiler suit and a green cap. In a similar vein, every member of Augusta National has a Green Jacket that they must wear during the tournament. Indeed, the Green Jacket handed to the winner is actually one borrowed from a member with a similar build.
Nevertheless, despite the Green Jacket being far from a one-of-its-kind garment, only the winner of The Masters gets to take theirs home or even leave the grounds with it. When Masters week gets under way the following year, the player is expected to return it to the clubhouse. Once he does, the jacket remains his property and is kept in storage with other other champions' jackets in a special cloakroom.
There are only a few examples of former winners who’ve kept the Green Jacket. For instance, Gary Player, who won the Masters in 1961, took the Green Jacket home with him to South Africa and forgot to bring it back the following year. Eventually, he was allowed to keep the jacket after making a series of excuses for why he kept forgetting to return it. Meanwhile, more poignantly, 1970 winner Billy Casper was buried in the Green Jacket after his wife obtained permission from Augusta following his death in 2015.
For most winners, though, they get to enjoy one of the most iconic prizes in sport outside the grounds of the Augusta National Golf Club for just one year before presenting the Green Jacket to their successor at Butler Cabin, ensuring the latest recipient’s golfing immortality.
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