1938 Masters Tournament Winner and Scores

The 1938 Masters Tournament marked the fifth anniversary edition. To celebrate, Henry Picard claimed a 2-stroke win over Harry Cooper and Ralph Guldahl.

Winner: Henry Picard, 285

Where it was played: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia

Tournament dates: April 1-4, 1938

Leader after first round: Harry Cooper, 68

Leader after second round: Ed Dudley, 139

Leader after third round: Henry Picard, 215

What Happened at the 1938 Masters Tournament

Henry Picard opened with a 71, three behind "Lighthorse Harry" Cooper's lead of 68. Cooper was doomed by a second-round 77, while Picard was steady with rounds of 72, 72 and 70. Picard began the final round leading by one over Cooper and Ralph Guldahl, and they both carded 71s. Guldahl had chances down the stretch to catch Picard, but 3-putted both the 16th and 18th holes.

Picard developed a sore left thumb as he was preparing for this tournament, and before the first round switched from an overlapping grip to an interlocking grip to relieve pressure on that digit. It obviously worked.

It was Guldahl's second consecutive second-place finish in The Masters, a streak he ended by winning in 1939. Picard went on to win another major at the 1939 PGA Championship. Cooper never won a major, but did win 29 PGA Tour events and was runner-up in four majors. For a long time, Cooper held the record for most second-place finishes in majors without winning one.

The 1938 Masters was the occasion of Ben Hogan's first appearance in the tournament. He finished 25th, then didn't finish outside the Top 10 again when playing The Masters until 1957.

This was the final year in which the tournament was played under its original name, the Augusta National Invitation Tournament. Although many golfers and fans informally called it The Masters from the start, the name was not officially changed to The Masters Tournament until 1939.

For the only time in the tournament's history, play was scheduled to begin on Friday rather than Thursday. Friday's play was washed out, however, so the schedule was 18 holes on Saturday, 36 on Sunday and 18 holes for a Monday finish.

1938 Masters Final Scores

Henry Picard 71-72-72-70—285
Harry Cooper 68-77-71-71—287
Ralph Guldahl 73-70-73-71—287
Paul Runyan 71-73-74-70—288
Byron Nelson 73-74-70-73—290
Ed Dudley 70-69-77-75—291
Felix Serafin 72-71-78-70—291
Dick Metz 70-77-74-71—292
Jimmy Thomson 74-70-76-72—292
Vic Ghezzi 75-74-70-74—293
Jimmy Hines 75-71-75-72—293
Lawson Little 72-75-74-72—293
Billy Burke 73-73-76-73—295
Gene Sarazen 78-70-68-79—295
Stanley Horne 74-74-77-71—296
Bobby Jones 76-74-72-75—297
Harold "Jug" McSpaden 72-75-77-71—297
Bobby Cruickshank 72-75-77-74—298
Ray Mangrum 78-72-76-72—298
Johnny Revolta 73-72-76-77—298
a-Tommy Tailer 74-69-75-80—298
a-Chuck Kocsis 76-73-77-73—299
Horton Smith 75-75-78-71—299
Sam Parks Jr. 75-75-76-74—300
Wiffy Cox 74-78-74-75—301
Ben Hogan 75-76-78-72—301
Ky Laffoon 78-76-74-74—302
Tony Manero 72-78-82-70—302
Frank Walsh 74-75-77-76—302
Al Watrous 73-77-76-76—302
Toney Penna 71-76-77-80—304
Sam Snead 78-78-75-73—304
a-Jess Sweetser 82-75-73-75—305
Leo Mallory 76-75-81-74—306
Craig Wood 73-75-83-75—306
a-Ross Somerville 77-78-82-71—308
a-Bud Ward 77-76-79-76—308
Willie Macfarlane 76-80-75-78—309
a-Charlie Yates 76-78-82-76—312

Previous and next:
1937 Masters - 1939 Masters

Popular posts from this blog