The 2020 virtual Masters: The 10 statistical favorites
By Bill Felber
Byron Nelson, 1937, 1942 (1937-1946), -1.54
During the years around World War II, Nelson was the game’s premier player, and his Masters record showed it. Among the seven Masters conducted between 1937 and 1946, Nelson won two, and never finished worse than a tie for seventh place.
Had the 1943, 1944 and 1945 tournaments been played, it is only reasonable to speculate that Nelson’s Masters record would be even gaudier. In a virtual all-time Masters, he stands a good chance of contending.
Nelson led the 1937 event through the first two rounds, relinquished the lead on Saturday to Ralph Guldahl, and still trailed Guldahl by four shots through 11 holes on Sunday. But on the 12th and 13th, Nelson famously shot to the front by going birdie-eagle while Guldahl made double bogey and bogey. Nelson won by two.
He was fifth in 1938, seventh in 1939 and third in 1940 before chasing Craig Wood to the finish in 1941. Nelson won the 1942 event in a playoff with Ben Hogan, rallying from a double-bogey start to take the lead with an eagle at 8 and winning by one stroke.
His tie for seventh in 1946 came at what for Nelson was essentially the end of his career. By then he had shut down his weekly Tour grind and committed only to playing select events, of which the Masters obviously was one.