On this date in 1937, Byron Nelson shot a 70 for a 283 total to win the fourth Masters Tournament by two shots over Ralph Guldahl. Nelson famously made up six shots on Guldahl at Amen Corner, Nelson had 2-3—birdie/eagle—on Nos. 12 and 13 compared with Guldahl’s 5-6 to take command.
On this date in 1947, Bob Jones shot a 75 in the first round of the Masters Tournament. It was his second-to-last year to play the tournament he started. He finished tied for 55th that year and played the Masters for the final time in 1948.
On this date in 1939, Ralph Guldahl won the sixth Masters Tournament by one shot over Sam Snead after shooting 70 and 69 in a 36-hole final day due to a Thursday rainout. Guldahl had an overall nine-under score of 279 and stopped a two-year streak of finishing second.
Born on this date in 1901, one year before Gene Sarazen and Bobby Jones, was Johnny Farrell in White Plains, New York. Farrell was an underappreciated player in the Jones-Sarazen years, winning the 1928 U.S. Open during their reign. Farrell won more than 20 tour events but established himself as a premier club pro, prominently at Baltusrol in Springfield, New Jersey.
Of special birthday significance, World Golf Hall of Famer Tommy Bolt was born in Haworth, Oklahoma, on this date in 1916, and three-time U.S. Senior Open champion Miller Barber was born on March 31, 1931, in Shreveport, Louisiana. Each had a pair of unique nicknames; Bolt was Terrible Tempered Tommy and Thunder Bolt and Barber was known as Precious and the Mysterious Mr. X.
On this date in 1957, Arnold Palmer shot a 70 in the third round of the Azalea Open and went on to win the following day with a score of 282 to pick up first place and $1,700.
On this date in 1992, Dottie Mochrie, aka Dottie Pepper, won the Nabisco Dinah Shore at Rancho Mirage, California, after a sudden-death playoff with Juli Inkster. They had tied at 279, nine-under par.
There have been six eight-hole, sudden-death playoffs in PGA Tour history, the most number of holes played to produce a winner. (Cary Middlecoff and Lloyd Mangrum played 11 in the 1949 Motor City Open but they were declared co-winners due to darkness.) On this date in 1965, the first eight-hole playoff was held when Dick Hart defeated Phil Rodgers at the Azalea Open at Cape Fear Country Club in Wilmington, North Carolina.
On this day in 1968, the PGA announced that the United States team to compete in the World Cup would be made up of the champions at the U.S. Open and PGA Championship, if American, of course.
On this date in 1951, the one-year-old LPGA Tour saw Patty Berg win the Sandhills Women’s Open at Southern Pines Country Club in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Berg shot 221 to win by 10 shots over Babe Zaharias and take home the $750 first prize out of a total prize pot of $3,000.
The first Masters, full name Augusta National Invitation Tournament, concluded on this date in 1934 with Horton Smith shooting an even-par 72 and winning by a shot from Craig Wood.
On this date in 1951 , the World Golf Hall of Fame member Pat Bradley was born in Westford, Massachusetts. The affable Bradley was also a tenacious competitor. Her nephew is Keegan Bradley, the 2011 PGA Championship winner. Among her six majors won was the 1981 U.S. Women’s Open.
On this date in 1958, Arnold Palmer won the St. Petersburg Open, March 20-23, with scores and first-place money of 70-69-72-65—276, 1st, $2,000.
On this date in 1934, the golf world changed substantially. Bobby Jones’ golf tournament, to be known as the Masters, played its first round in its inaugural playing and it was led by Jimmy Hines and Horton Smith with 70s. Smith would go on to win by one shot over Craig Wood.
On this date in 1993, Ben Crenshaw beat the darkness to win the Nestle Invitational at Bay Hill. Crenshaw hadn’t played at Bay Hill since 1988 but had personally been invited to play by Arnold Palmer during the 1992 Masters. The victory was worth $180,000 and upped Crenshaw’s career earnings to $5,354,526.
A golfer’s passing is not normal trivia fodder, but when it’s Harry Vardon, it’s worth observing. The only six-time Open champion and the only notable figure who has his name attached to a way of holding the grip, Vardon died on this date in 1937 a couple months shy of age 67.
A pair of major championship winners were born on this date. Five-time champion of The Open, J.H. Taylor, was born in 1871; he died in 1963. And more recently, Masters champion of 1967 Gay Brewer was born in 1932. Nicknamed “Hound Dog” for his appearance and upturned nose, Brewer passed away in 2007.
On this date in 1973, Sandra Haynie shot 216 to win the Orange Blossom Classic on Seminole Lakes Country Club in St. Petersburg, Florida, by one over Marlene Hagge.
On this date in 1902, the great Bobby Jones was born in Atlanta. He was a golf prodigy who became one of the greatest sports figures of all-time and whose lasting legacy is the Masters Tournament. He died on December 18, 1971.
On this date in 1958, the underappreciated Beverly Hanson won the prestigious Titleholders Championship at Augusta Country Club, shooting four under par to beat Betty Dodd by five.