1938 Masters Tournament Winner and Scores
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 |
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1937 Masters - 1939 Masters