Decade by decade, the best of the Masters

Masters: Getting started

There were six Masters played between the 1934 inaugural edition and 1939, meaning a player had to compete in at least three to qualify for consideration. Thirty-two stars of the era did so, 13 of those 32 making all six starts.

Alphabetically, the select 13 were Billy Burke, Ed Dudley, Vic Ghezzi, Jimmy Hines, Bobby Jones, Ky Laffoon, Henry Picard, John Revolta, Paul Runyan, Horton Smith, Al Watrous, Craig Wood, and Charles Yates.

The roster of most dominant Masters performers is light by two very familiar names. Ben Hogan did not qualify for consideration, having competed only twice, in 1938 and 1939.  Sam Snead, who also played in 1937, did meet the minimum standard. But a poor performance in 1938 – he tied for 31st – plummeted Snead outside the decade top 10.

That left the battle to be fought among the decade’s five  Masters champions: Horton Smith (1934 and 1936), Gene Sarazen (1935), Byron Nelson (1937), Henry Picard (1938), and Ralph Guldahl (1939).

Here’s the way the decade top 10 worked out:

Rk Player                        Avg. Std. Dev

1. Ralph Guldahl                -1.82

2. Byron Nelson                -1.18

3. Gene Sarazen                -1.07

4. Ed Dudley                       -1.07

5. Paul Runyan                  -0.90

6. Harry Cooper                 -0.90

7. Lawson Little                 -0.79

8. Henry Picard                  -0.78

9. Denny Shute                  -0.72

10 Horton Smith               -0.62

Guldahl appeared in only the 1937, 1938, and 1939 events. But his exceptionality in all three placed him easily ahead of his competition in the decade-long ranking. In his 1937 debut, he contended until infamously playing the 12th and 13th on Sunday in 5-6 while Nelson covered the same turf in 2-3. That allowed Nelson to make up six strokes and beat Guldahl by two.

Guldahl again finished second in 1938, this time tying Cooper two strokes behind Picard. In 1939, as two-time defending U.S. Open champion, he edged Snead by one stroke. That gave Guldahl three top two placings in his three starts; he would make five more Masters appearances without a top 10.

Although the decade’s only two-time champion, Smith barely makes the decade top 10 because his other performances were mediocre, none landing him inside the top 15.