1939 Masters Tournament

1939 Masters Tournament
Tournament information
DatesMarch 31 – April 2, 1939
LocationAugusta, Georgia
33°30′11″N 82°01′12″W / 33.503°N 82.020°W / 33.503; -82.020
Course(s)Augusta National Golf Club
Organized byAugusta National Golf Club
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par72
Field46 players[1]
CutNone
Prize fund$5,000
Winner's share$1,500
Champion
United States Ralph Guldahl
279 (−9)
Location map
Augusta National is located in the United States
Augusta National
Augusta National
Location in the United States
Augusta National is located in Georgia
Augusta National
Augusta National
Location in Georgia
← 1938
1940 →

The 1939 Masters Tournament was the sixth Masters Tournament, held from 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]

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]

Field

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1. Masters champions

Byron Nelson (7,9,10,12), Henry Picard (7,9,10,12), Gene Sarazen (2,4,6,7,9,10,12), Horton Smith (7,9,10,12)

2. U.S. Open champions

Tommy Armour (4,6,10), Billy Burke (9), Johnny Farrell, Ralph Guldahl (7,9,10), Walter Hagen (4,6), Bobby Jones (3,4,5,9), Tony Manero (7,9)

3. U.S. Amateur champions

Lawson Little (5,9), Jess Sweetser (5,a), Willie Turnesa (11,a)

4. British Open champions

Jock Hutchison (6), Denny Shute (6,7,10)

5. British Amateur champions

Charlie Yates (8,a)

6. PGA champions

Johnny Revolta (7,9,10), Paul Runyan (9,10,12)

7. Members of the U.S. 1937 Ryder Cup team

Ed Dudley (9), Sam Snead (12)

8. Members of the U.S. 1938 Walker Cup team

Ray Billows (a), Tommy Suffern Tailer (9,a)

9. Top 30 players and ties from the 1938 Masters Tournament

Harry Cooper (10), Vic Ghezzi (10), Jimmy Hines (10,12), Ben Hogan, Ky Laffoon, Ray Mangrum, Jug McSpaden (10), Dick Metz (10), Felix Serafin, Jimmy Thomson, Frank Walsh, Al Watrous

10. Top 30 players and ties from the 1938 U.S. Open

Joe Belfore, Jim Foulis (12), Frank Moore, Toney Penna

11. 1938 U.S. Amateur quarter-finalists

Dick Chapman (a), Chick Harbert (a), Joe Thompson (a)

12. 1938 PGA Championship quarter-finalists
13. Two players, not already qualified, with the best scoring average in the winter part of the 1939 PGA Tour

Jimmy Demaret, Craig Wood

14 Foreign invitations

Stanley Horne

Additional invitation

Ted Adams (a) winner of 1938 Canadian Amateur Championship

Round summaries

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First round

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Friday, March 31, 1939

Place Player Score To par
1 United States Billy Burke 69 −3
2 United States Sam Snead 70 −2
T3 United States Tommy Armour 71 −1
United States Byron Nelson
United States Henry Picard
T6 United States Jimmy Demaret 72 E
United States Ralph Guldahl
United States Ky Laffoon
United States Lawson Little
United States Dick Metz
United States Toney Penna
United States Craig Wood

Source:[7]

Second round

[edit]

Saturday, April 1, 1939

Place Player Score To par
1 United States Gene Sarazen 73-66=139 −5
T2 United States Ralph Guldahl 72-68=140 −4
United States Byron Nelson 71-69=140
United States Sam Snead 70-70=140
5 United States Billy Burke 69-72=141 −3
6 United States Henry Picard 71-71=142 −2
7 United States Lawson Little 72-72=144 E
T8 United States Tommy Armour 71-74=145 +1
United States Craig Wood 72-73=145
T10 United States Ben Hogan 75-71=146 +2
United States Jimmy Thomson 75-71=146

Source:[5][6]

Third round

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Sunday, April 2, 1939   (morning)

Place Player Score To par
1 United States Ralph Guldahl 72-68-70=210 −6
2 United States Gene Sarazen 73-66-72=211 −5
T3 United States Billy Burke 69-72-71=212 −4
United States Lawson Little 72-72-68=212
United States Byron Nelson 71-69-72=212
United States Sam Snead 70-70-72=212
7 United States Craig Wood 72-73-71=216 E
T8 United States Ben Hogan 75-71-72=218 +2
United States Henry Picard 71-71-76=218
T10 United States Ed Dudley 75-75-69=219 +3
United States Toney Penna 72-75-72=219

Final round

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Sunday, April 2, 1939   (afternoon)

Final leaderboard

[edit]
Champion
Silver Cup winner (low amateur)
(a) = amateur
(c) = past champion
Top 10
Place Player Score To par Money (US$)
1 United States Ralph Guldahl 72-68-70-69=279 −9 1,500
2 United States Sam Snead 70-70-72-68=280 −8 800
T3 United States Billy Burke 69-72-71-70=282 −6 550
United States Lawson Little 72-72-68-70=282
5 United States Gene Sarazen (c) 73-66-72-72=283 −5 400
6 United States Craig Wood 72-73-71-68=284 −4 300
7 United States Byron Nelson (c) 71-69-72-75=287 −1 250
8 United States Henry Picard (c) 71-71-76-71=289 +1 175
9 United States Ben Hogan 75-71-72-72=290 +2 175
T10 United States Ed Dudley 75-75-69-72=291 +3 100
United States Toney Penna 72-75-72-72=291

Sources:[8][9]

References

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  1. ^ "Past winners and results". The Masters. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  2. ^ "Golf Masters get rained out". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. March 31, 1939. p. 13.
  3. ^ "Ralph Guldahl winner in Augusta tourney". Milwaukee Sentinel. INS. April 3, 1939. p. 12.
  4. ^ "Guldahl wins Augusta cup". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. April 3, 1939. p. 8.
  5. ^ a b "Bobby Jones is far down in Masters' open golf tournament". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. April 2, 1939. p. 1, sports.
  6. ^ a b "Veteran Gene Sarazen shoots 66 to take lead in Masters". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. United Press. April 2, 1939. p. 13.
  7. ^ McLemore, Henry (April 1, 1939). "Burke shatters par to lead Masters". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. p. 7.
  8. ^ "Masters – Past Winners & Results". Augusta National Inc. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  9. ^ "Past results – Masters tournament". PGA Tour. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
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