Today In Sports History (April 2, 1939)

On this day in 1939, Ralph Guldahl won the 6th Masters Tournament after back-to-back second-place finishes. In 1937 Ralph Guldahl had the lead at Augusta National in the final round until holes 12 & 13. He let Byron Nelson made up 6 strokes in two holes to eventually capture the elusive title. It was also the first year the now-famous green jacket was introduced to the masses. Guldahl would go on to take second. The next year he would again fall short, this time to Henry Picard. However, 1939 would be the year for Ralph Guldahl. He went 3-under-par on the final 9 holes to finally lay claim to a Masters title, defeating PGA legend Sam Sneed in the process. Guldahl shot 9-under-par for the whole tournament (279 total strokes) which was a record that would last until 1953. Guldahl won 3 major championships in his professional career, also winning the US Open twice.