Wills Masters

This article is about the Australian golf tournament. For the New Zealand golf tournament, see New Zealand Wills Masters.

The Wills Masters was a golf tournament held in Australia and played annually from 1963 to 1975. The Wills Classic had been held in Australia from 1960 and 1962. Total prize money from 1963 to 1965 was A£4,000. In 1966 and 1967 it was A$8,000 increasing to A$10,000 in 1968, A$20,000 from 1969 to 1971, A$25,000 in 1972 and A$35,000 from 1973 to 1975. The sponsor was W.D. & H.O. Wills, a cigarette manufacturer.

Wills Masters

Tournament information
Location	Australia
Established	1963
Final year	1975
Final champion
David Graham

Winners

Year	Winner	Country	Venue	Score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Winner's share	Ref
1963	Arnold Palmer	United States	The Lakes Golf Club	285	2 strokes	Jack Nicklaus	A£1,000	^[1]
1964	Cobie Legrange	South Africa	Victoria Golf Club	277	3 strokes	Bruce Devlin   Jack Nicklaus		^[2]
1965	Bruce Devlin	Australia	The Australian Golf Club	286	1 stroke	Peter Thomson		^[3]
1966	Kel Nagle	Australia	Victoria Golf Club	278	2 strokes	Roberto De Vicenzo	A$2,000	^[4]
1967	Alan Murray	Australia	The Australian Golf Club	290	Playoff	Roberto De Vicenzo		^[5]
1968	Gary Player	South Africa	Manly Golf Club	277	Playoff	Peter Townsend		^[6]
1969	George Knudson	Canada	Victoria Golf Club	279	2 strokes	Bob Stanton   Peter Thomson		^[7]
1970	Brian Barnes	Scotland	The Australian Golf Club	288	1 stroke	Wally Gale   George Knudson   Guy Wolstenholme	A$3,300	^[8]
1971	Bruce Crampton	Australia	Victoria Golf Club	281	3 strokes	Maurice Bembridge		^[9]
1972	Bob Murphy	United States	The Australian Golf Club	278	3 strokes	Sukree Onsham	A$3,800	^[10]
1973	Ted Ball	Australia	Victoria Golf Club	282	2 strokes	Jerry Heard	A$7,000	^[11]
1974	Ted Ball (2)	Australia	The Australian Golf Club	281	2 strokes	Gary Player   Ian Stanley	A$7,000	^[12]
1975	David Graham	Australia	Victoria Golf Club	282	2 strokes	Rob McNaughton	A$7,000	^[13]

In 1967 Murray won at the first hole of a sudden-death playoff. In 1968 Player won at the second extra hole.

References

1. "Palmer Takes Wills Masters". The Canberra Times. Vol. 39, no. 10, 690. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 11 November 1963. p. 24. Retrieved 24 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
2. "Legrange wins Masters". The Canberra Times. Vol. 39, no. 10, 986. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 26 October 1964. p. 14. Retrieved 24 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
3. "Last round fight-back wins Wills for Devlin". The Canberra Times. Vol. 40, no. 11, 307. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 8 November 1965. p. 16. Retrieved 24 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
4. "Birdies give Kel Nagle victory in Masters". The Canberra Times. Vol. 41, no. 11, 516. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 24 October 1966. p. 16. Retrieved 24 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
5. "Wills victory to Murray in play-off". The Canberra Times. Vol. 42, no. 11, 826. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 23 October 1967. p. 16. Retrieved 24 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
6. "Gary Player wins play-off". The Canberra Times. Vol. 43, no. 12, 154. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 11 November 1968. p. 14. Retrieved 24 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
7. "Knudson beat the heat for golf win". The Canberra Times. Vol. 44, no. 12, 446. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 20 October 1969. p. 16. Retrieved 24 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
8. "Wills Masters". The Canberra Times. Vol. 45, no. 12, 725. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 19 October 1970. p. 12. Retrieved 24 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
9. "Wills Masters victory to Crampton". The Canberra Times. Vol. 46, no. 12, 950. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 25 October 1971. p. 14. Retrieved 24 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
10. "Bob Murphy wins Wills Masters". The Canberra Times. Vol. 47, no. 13, 261. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 23 October 1972. p. 14. Retrieved 24 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
11. "Ted Ball wins Wills Masters". The Canberra Times. Vol. 48, no. 13, 572. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 22 October 1973. p. 14. Retrieved 24 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
12. "Ted Ball takes Wills Masters". The Canberra Times. Vol. 49, no. 13, 897. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 28 October 1974. p. 14. Retrieved 24 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
13. "Wills Masters Graham wins classic by two strokes". The Canberra Times. Vol. 50, no. 14, 208. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 28 October 1975. p. 16. Retrieved 24 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.