Byron Nelson went birdie-eagle on Nos. 12 and 13 on April 4, 1937, en route to a final-round 70 and two-shot victory over Ralph Guldahl. Lord Byron also won in 1942. On April 4, 1995, the Arnold Palmer Plaque behind the 16th tee was dedicated.
Craig Wood shot a 66 in the first round on April 3, 1941, to lead by five. He went on to lead wire to wire and win by three strokes over Byron Nelson.
After finishing as runner-up two years in a row, Ralph Guldahl won the sixth Masters by one shot over Sam Snead on April 2, 1939. Non-Masters notes: Born on this date were: Shane Lowry (1987), J.J. Henry (1975) and World Golf Hall of Fame member Ayako Okamoto (1951)
The 1928 U.S. Open champion, Johnny Farrell, was born on April 1, 1901, one year before Bobby Jones and Gene Sarazen. Farrell was a longtime head professional at Baltusrol Country Club in New Jersey, and won 22 PGA Tour events. He died in June 1988.
Tony Jacklin won the 1968 Greater Jacksonville Open on March 31 to become the first Englishman to win a modern U.S. pro tour event and an important event of any kind since Ted Ray won the 1920 U.S. Open.
The only time the Masters Tournament finished in March was the first year, 1934, on March 25. The Masters had two more March days, the first and second rounds in 1939 on the 30th and 31st. Otherwise, the tournament has always been held during the first two weeks of April.
The LPGA Tour’s ANA Inspiration, the year’s first major, is this weekend at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, Calif. For years known as the Dinah Shore with sponsors Colgate and Nabisco, the ANA was won on March 29, 1992, by Dottie Pepper (Mochrie at the time). Pepper, then 26, birdied the 18th hole to tie Juli Inkster, and then won on the first hole of sudden-death, No. 10, with a par-4 to Inkster’s bogey. Pepper, who had been runner-up in 1991, also won the tournament in 1999 when she set the tournament record of 19-under 269.
Five times a PGA Tour event has been decided after an eight-hole, sudden-death playoff, the most holes it has taken to decide a winner. The first of the five occasions was on March 28, 1965, when Dick Hart beat Phil Rodgers at the Azalea Open.
Two months shy of turning 48, Sam Snead won the 1960 De Soto Open Invitational on March 27. It was his 80th of 82 PGA Tour victories, still the most in tour history.
The all-time leader in PGA Tour victories, Sam Snead, had one of his 82 when he won the Greater Greensboro Open at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., on March 26, 1950. He won the $2,000 first-place prize with rounds of 66-70-66-67—269.
One of the most historical “this day in golf” entries is for March 25, 1934. Horton Smith won the first Masters, shooting an even-par 72 in the final round, beating Craig Wood by a shot thanks to a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-5 17th. The nines were reversed in 1935, so in 1934 the 17th was actually the eighth hole we know it as today.
World Golf Hall of Famer Pat Bradley turns 66 on March 24. One of the greatest winners and mentally tough competitors in golf, Bradley won 31 LPGA Tour events from 1976 to 1995. Her six majors include the 1981 U.S. Women’s Open. Part of golf lore is that her mother would ring a cow bell from the family home in Massachusetts after each Pat victory. (See the Golf Writers from the Heart item on Bradley.)
Amateur champion golfer Dick Chapman was born on March 23, 1911. Not well remembered today, Chapman was an international star, not only winning the U.S. Amateur in 1940 but the British Amateur in 1951 plus the amateur titles of France, Canada and Italy. He played on three U.S. Walker Cup teams in 1947, 1951 and 1953. He died in 1978.
Eventual winner Horton Smith was a coleader with 70 on March 22, 1934, the first round of the inaugural Masters, called the Augusta National Invitation Tournament. Tournament and course creator and huge fan favorite Bobby Jones shot 76.
The first Players Championship held at the TPC Stadium Course concluded 35 years ago on March 21, 1982. Jerry Pate won by two shots with a final-round, five-under 67 and then christened the event during the award ceremony by tossing both Commissioner Deane Beman and course architect Pete Dye into the lake alongside the 18th hole and jumping in himself.
Jerry Pate dives into the 18th-hole lake with Dye and Beman already in it.
Cary Middlecoff won the Jacksonville (Fla.) Open at Hyde Park Golf Club in 1950. He shot a 69 the final day to win the $2,000 first-place money. The World Golf Hall of Fame member won at least one tour event for 10 straight years from 1947 to 1956, and won 36 events overall.
Honor Arnie Week: Today's date holds great meaning for A.P. in Bay Hill history. On March 19, 2004, he played his final round as a competitor, shooting 79 to miss the 36-hole cut. In 1993, he shot 76 but still made the cut for the final time in the event. And, of course, today a champion will be crowned for the first time after his passing in September. Non-Arnie note: The great J.H. Taylor, five-time Open champion, was born on this day in 1871.
Honor Arnie Week: Arnold Palmer began his final time as a player in the Bay Hill Invitational on March 18, 2004. He shot an 88 in Round 1. Another March 18 round, in 1993, was better when he scored 73 in Round 1, made the cut and tied for 71st. That was the last year he made the cut at Bay Hill.
Honor Arnie Week: In March 1948, at age 18, Arnold Palmer played in his first PGA Tour event—as an amateur—at the Greater Greensboro Open, which was held at Sedgefield Country Club on the 19th to 21st. He shot rounds of 78-76—154 to miss the 36-hole cut. Non-Arnie item: Grand Slam champion and Masters founder Bobby Jones was born on this day in 1902.
Honor Arnie Week: March 16 was not a great date for A.P. as a player in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. In 2001 he shot 78, 2000 an 82, and 1995 a 73, missing the cut each year. In 1991 heavy rain played havoc with the third round, in which he shot 70, but the event was rain-shortened to three rounds. And in 1984, he shot 71 and tied for 68th. Non-Arnie note: Three-time U.S. Women’s Open winner and World Golf Hall of Fame member Hollis Stacy turns 63 today.