1941 Masters Tournament Scores and Winner
The 1941 Masters was the eighth time the tournament was played. The winner was a golfer with a reputation for hard-luck losses — this time he got the win, but he had previously lost in extra holes at all four of the professional majors.
Winner: Craig Wood, 280
Where it was played: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia
Tournament dates: April 3-6, 1941
Leader after first round: Craig Wood, 66
Leader after second round: Craig Wood, 137
Leader after third round: Craig Wood, 208
What Happened in the 1941 Masters Tournament
Craig Wood finished second in the inaugural 1934 Masters. Then he finished second again in the 1935 Masters, losing an 18-hole playoff to Gene Sarazen. In fact, by the time Wood reached the 1941 Masters, he was still winless in majors, but had lost in playoffs or extra holes at all four of what are now known as the major championships: The Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship.But here, at the 1941 Masters, Wood finally broke through for that major championship victory. And he did it by becoming The Masters' very first wire-to-wire winner.
Although Wood, 39 years old at the time, never relinquished the lead after a first-round 66, he was tied at one point during the final round. Byron Nelson began Round 4 five shots behind Wood and made up that entire deficit on the front nine. Wood shot 38 on his front nine, Nelson 33.
But their fortunes reversed when the nines changed, and Wood wound up winning by three over runner-up Nelson. Sam Byrd, a former Major League Baseball player whose nickname was "Babe Ruth's Legs" (because he was often used as a pinch-runner for Ruth) finished in solo third.
Wood went on to win the next major played, the 1941 U.S. Open, too. There was not another wire-to-wire winner in The Masters until Arnold Palmer did it in 1960.
The 1941 Masters also marks the final major championship appearance by 11-time major winner Walter Hagen. Hagen's career was already in decline by the time The Masters began in 1934, and his best finish here was a tie for 11th. Hagen carded an 87 in the first round of the 1941 Masters and then withdrew.
1941 Masters Final Scores
| Craig Wood | 66-71-71-72—280 |
| Byron Nelson | 71-69-73-70—283 |
| Sam Byrd | 73-70-68-74—285 |
| Ben Hogan | 71-72-75-68—286 |
| Ed Dudley | 73-72-75-68—288 |
| Vic Ghezzi | 77-71-71-70—289 |
| Sam Snead | 73-75-72-69—289 |
| Lawson Little | 71-70-74-75—290 |
| Willie Goggin | 71-72-72-76—291 |
| Lloyd Mangrum | 71-72-72-76—291 |
| Harold "Jug" McSpaden | 75-74-72-70—291 |
| Jimmy Demaret | 77-69-71-75—292 |
| Clayton Heafner | 73-70-76-73—292 |
| Harry Cooper | 72-73-75-73—293 |
| Ralph Guldahl | 76-71-75-71—293 |
| Jimmy Thomson | 73-75-72-73—293 |
| Jack Ryan | 73-74-74-74—295 |
| Denny Shute | 77-75-74-70—296 |
| a-Dick Chapman | 76-73-70-78—297 |
| Jimmy Hines | 76-74-75-72—297 |
| Gene Kunes | 76-74-76-71—297 |
| Dick Metz | 74-72-75-76—297 |
| Sam Parks Jr. | 75-76-75-71—297 |
| Toney Penna | 73-74-80-70—297 |
| Gene Sarazen | 76-72-74-75—297 |
| Felix Serafin | 72-79-74-72—297 |
| Horton Smith | 74-72-77-74—297 |
| Ray Mangrum | 76-70-78-74—298 |
| Jim Ferrier | 75-76-73-75—299 |
| Jim Foulis | 76-75-71-77—299 |
| Martin Pose | 77-74-76-72—299 |
| Al Watrous | 74-75-76-75—300 |
| Leonard Dodson | 75-77-78-71—301 |
| a-George Dawson | 74-78-77-73—302 |
| Paul Runyan | 78-78-74-73—303 |
| a-Charlie Yates | 78-75-75-75—303 |
| Frank Walsh | 74-76-76-78—304 |
| Tommy Armour | 75-75-76-79—305 |
| Johnny Bulla | 73-76-78-79—306 |
| Bobby Jones | 76-74-78-79—307 |
| Bruce Coltart | 80-78-75-75—308 |
| Andy Gibson | 78-75-80-76—309 |
| Jock Hutchison | 77-81-76-78—312 |
| Tony Manero | 73-80-78-82—313 |
| a-W.B. McCullough | 79-74-84-76—313 |
| a-Art Doering Jr. | 74-79-77-81—314 |
| a-Andrew Szwedko | 81-79-78-81—319 |
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