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.
Ralph Guldahl won his only Masters title with a tournament record 279, 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 in 1935, and Guldahl's mark stood until 1953, when Ben Hogan shot 274.
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. Challenging weather conditions during the second round on Saturday included hail, wind, rain, and some sun breaks.

Past champions in the field

First round

Friday, March 31, 1939
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Billy Burke69−3
2Sam Snead70−2
T3Tommy Armour
71−1
T3Byron Nelson71−1
T3Henry Picard71−1
T6Jimmy Demaret72E
T6Ralph Guldahl72E
T6Ky Laffoon72E
T6Lawson Little72E
T6Dick Metz72E
T6Toney Penna
72E
T6Craig Wood72E

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Second round

Saturday, April 1, 1939
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Gene Sarazen73-66=139−5
T2Ralph Guldahl72-68=140−4
T2Byron Nelson71-69=140−4
T2Sam Snead70-70=140−4
5Billy Burke69-72=141−3
6Henry Picard71-71=142−2
7Lawson Little72-72=144E
T8Tommy Armour
71-74=145+1
T8Craig Wood72-73=145+1
T10Ben Hogan75-71=146+2
T10Jimmy Thomson
75-71=146+2

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Third round

Sunday, April 2, 1939
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Ralph Guldahl72-68-70=210−6
2Gene Sarazen73-66-72=211−5
T3Billy Burke69-72-71=212−4
T3Lawson Little72-72-68=212−4
T3Byron Nelson71-69-72=212−4
T3Sam Snead70-70-72=212−4
7Craig Wood72-73-71=216E
T8Ben Hogan75-71-72=218+2
T8Henry Picard71-71-76=218+2
T10Ed Dudley75-75-69=219+3
T10Toney Penna
72-75-72=219+3

Final round

Sunday, April 2, 1939
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
1Ralph Guldahl72-68-70-69=279−91,500
2Sam Snead70-70-72-68=280−8800
T3Billy Burke69-72-71-70=282−6550
T3Lawson Little72-72-68-70=282−6550
5Gene Sarazen73-66-72-72=283−5400
6Craig Wood72-73-71-68=284−4300
7Byron Nelson71-69-72-75=287−1250
8Henry Picard71-71-76-71=289+1175
9Ben Hogan75-71-72-72=290+2125
T10Ed Dudley75-75-69-72=291+3100
T10Toney Penna
72-75-72-72=291+3100

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