1939 Masters Tournament
The 1939 Masters Tournament was the sixth Masters Tournament, held March 31 to April 2 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Due to adverse weather conditions, the first round was postponed to Friday and the final two rounds were played on Sunday.[2]
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 31 – April 2, 1939 |
| Location | Augusta, Georgia |
| Course(s) | Augusta National Golf Club |
| Organized by | Augusta National Golf Club |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72 |
| Field | 46 players[1] |
| Cut | None |
| Prize fund | $5,000 |
| Winner's share | $1,500 |
| Champion | |
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| 279 (−9) | |
Ralph Guldahl won his only Masters title with a tournament record 279 (−9), one stroke better than runner-up Sam Snead. He had finished as a runner-up the previous two years, and it was the third of Guldahl's three major titles; he won consecutive U.S. Open titles in 1937 and 1938. The previous Masters record was 282 (−6) in 1935,[3] and Guldahl's mark stood until 1953, when Ben Hogan shot 274 (−14).
The purse was $5,000 with a winner's share of $1,500. The gallery for Sunday's final two rounds was estimated at 10,000 spectators.[4] Challenging weather conditions during the second round on Saturday included hail, wind, rain, and some sun breaks.[5][6]
Past champions in the field
| Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gene Sarazen | | 1935 | 73 | 66 | 72 | 72 | 283 | −5 | 5 |
| Byron Nelson | | 1937 | 71 | 69 | 72 | 75 | 287 | −1 | 7 |
| Henry Picard | | 1938 | 71 | 71 | 76 | 71 | 289 | +1 | 8 |
| Horton Smith | | 1934, 1936 | 75 | 79 | 74 | 72 | 300 | +12 | T26 |
- The Masters did not have a 36-hole cut until 1957
Round summaries
First round
Friday, March 31, 1939
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billy Burke | | 69 | −3 |
| 2 | Sam Snead | | 70 | −2 |
| T3 | Tommy Armour |  | 71 | −1 |
| Byron Nelson | | |||
| Henry Picard | | |||
| T6 | Jimmy Demaret | | 72 | E |
| Ralph Guldahl | | |||
| Ky Laffoon | | |||
| Lawson Little | | |||
| Dick Metz | | |||
| Toney Penna | .svg.png){kind=small} | |||
| Craig Wood | |
Source:[7]
Second round
Saturday, April 1, 1939
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gene Sarazen | | 73-66=139 | −5 |
| T2 | Ralph Guldahl | | 72-68=140 | −4 |
| Byron Nelson | | 71-69=140 | ||
| Sam Snead | | 70-70=140 | ||
| 5 | Billy Burke | | 69-72=141 | −3 |
| 6 | Henry Picard | | 71-71=142 | −2 |
| 7 | Lawson Little | | 72-72=144 | E |
| T8 | Tommy Armour | | 71-74=145 | +1 |
| Craig Wood | | 72-73=145 | ||
| T10 | Ben Hogan | | 75-71=146 | +2 |
| Jimmy Thomson | | 75-71=146 |
Third round
Sunday, April 2, 1939 (morning)
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ralph Guldahl | | 72-68-70=210 | −6 |
| 2 | Gene Sarazen | | 73-66-72=211 | −5 |
| T3 | Billy Burke | | 69-72-71=212 | −4 |
| Lawson Little | | 72-72-68=212 | ||
| Byron Nelson | | 71-69-72=212 | ||
| Sam Snead | | 70-70-72=212 | ||
| 7 | Craig Wood | | 72-73-71=216 | E |
| T8 | Ben Hogan | | 75-71-72=218 | +2 |
| Henry Picard | | 71-71-76=218 | ||
| T10 | Ed Dudley | | 75-75-69=219 | +3 |
| Toney Penna | | 72-75-72=219 |
Final round
Sunday, April 2, 1939 (afternoon)
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ralph Guldahl | | 72-68-70-69=279 | −9 | 1,500 |
| 2 | Sam Snead | | 70-70-72-68=280 | −8 | 800 |
| T3 | Billy Burke | | 69-72-71-70=282 | −6 | 550 |
| Lawson Little | | 72-72-68-70=282 | |||
| 5 | Gene Sarazen | | 73-66-72-72=283 | −5 | 400 |
| 6 | Craig Wood | | 72-73-71-68=284 | −4 | 300 |
| 7 | Byron Nelson | | 71-69-72-75=287 | −1 | 250 |
| 8 | Henry Picard | | 71-71-76-71=289 | +1 | 175 |
| 9 | Ben Hogan | | 75-71-72-72=290 | +2 | 125 |
| T10 | Ed Dudley | | 75-75-69-72=291 | +3 | 100 |
| Toney Penna | | 72-75-72-72=291 |
Source:[4]
References
- "Past winners and results". The Masters. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
- "Golf Masters get rained out". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. March 31, 1939. p. 13.
- "Ralph Guldahl winner in Augusta tourney". Milwaukee Sentinel. INS. April 3, 1939. p. 12.
- "Guldahl wins Augusta cup". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. April 3, 1939. p. 8.
- "Bobby Jones is far down in Masters' open golf tournament". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. April 2, 1939. p. 1, sports.
- "Veteran Gene Sarazen shoots 66 to take lead in Masters". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. United Press. April 2, 1939. p. 13.
- McLemore, Henry (April 1, 1939). "Burke shatters par to lead Masters". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. p. 7.
External links
- Masters.com – past winners and results
- About.com – 1939 Masters
- Augusta.com – 1939 Masters leaderboard and scorecards