He is the golfer who won the Masters three times before Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer ever did

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Winning at Augusta National is one of the greatest accomplishments in any sport.

Having the Green Jacket rest upon your shoulders lifts you to a new stratosphere in golfing folklore. And to win three times? Then you’re in the pantheon among golf’s all-time greats.

Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Arnold Palmer have all done it. In fact, there are only eight players in the tournament’s 89-year history who have won at Augusta National at least three times.

But before them all, there was a man who first conquered the famous course, but it was the only major championship he ever won.

The first three-time winner of The Masters

Before Scottie Scheffler, there was another Texas-born golfer who dominated at Augusta multiple times. He won 31 PGA Tour events in his career and three Masters. 

Jimmy Demaret, nicknamed “The Wardrobe”, was known for the bright clothing he had specially made for each tournament. He was beloved by fans and even spent his time away from the course doing comedy sets. 

Demaret won his first Masters aged 30 in 1940. But it wasn’t until he was in his 40s that he reached the prime of his career. 

After his second win at The Masters in 1947, Demaret finished runner-up to Ben Hogan in the 1948 U.S. Open and reached the semifinals of the PGA Championship four times, but never won either major. He was also one stroke short of making the playoff for the 1957 U.S. Open, at age 47. 

But in 1950, 10 years on from his first win at Augusta, Demaret became the first three-time major winner at The Masters at five under par, etching his name into the history books. 

After his career, Demaret became one of the first former professionals to enter broadcasting. He was a commentator for All-Star Golf in the 60s, and was co-host of Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf alongside Gene Sarazen, who was the first winner of the career grand slam.

Every three-time winner of The Masters

Demaret is in esteemed company among the other three-time Masters winners. Nicklaus, who has the record for the most major wins ever, also had the most wins at Augusta with six. And as Woods trails Nicklaus in majors, he’s also one behind in Masters wins with five. 

The great Palmer went one better than Demaret, becoming the first four-time winner of the tournament in 1964. He joins Woods and Nicklaus as the only players to win The Masters four times. 

Among the three-time winners is Sir Nick Faldo, the only British player to win at Augusta multiple times. Gary Player, the first non-American to win the career grand slam, also has three, as does the all-time leader in PGA Tour wins, Sam Snead. 

The most recent man to join this list was Phil Mickelson, who won it in 2010, and Scheffler is the most likely to be next, having won two in 2022 and 2024.