1946 Masters Tournament

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{Infobox individual golf tournament

| name = 1946 Masters Tournament

| image =

| dates = April 4–7, 1946

| location = Augusta, Georgia

| course = Augusta National Golf Club

| org = Augusta National Golf Club

| tour = PGA Tour

| par = 72

| yardage = {{convert|6800|yd|0}} {{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mR0aAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ECUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3665%2C2342411 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |agency=Associated Press |title=Keiser shaky, retains lead |date=April 7, 1946 |page=1, sports}}

| field = 51 players

| cut = none

| purse = $10,000

| winners_share = $2,500

| champion = {{flagicon|USA|1912}} Herman Keiser

| score = 282 (−6)

| previous = 1942

| next = 1947

| map = USA#USA Georgia

| map_relief = yes

| map_label = Augusta National

| map_caption = Location in the United States##Location in Georgia

| coordinates = {{coord|33.503|N|82.020|W|type:event|display=inline,title}}

}}

The 1946 Masters Tournament was the tenth Masters Tournament, held April 4–7 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. It was the first in four years, because of World War II. The purse was $10,000, double that of the previous Masters in 1942, with a winner's share of $2,500.

Herman Keiser won his only major title, one stroke ahead of runner-up Ben Hogan, the tour's money leader.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FzIyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=W-cFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5848%2C3147892 |newspaper=Miami News |title=Hogan far ahead in winter earnings |agency=United Press |date=April 8, 1946 |page=4B}} Keiser and Hogan both three-putted the slick 18th green on Sunday;{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mh0aAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ECUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3964%2C3225180 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |agency=Associated Press |title=Keiser wins Masters tourney as Hogan misses short putt |date=April 8, 1946 |page=4-part 2 }} Keiser from {{convert|20|ft|0}}, and a half-hour later Hogan from {{convert|15|ft|1}}.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FzIyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=W-cFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4494%2C3127370 |newspaper=Miami News |last=Keeler |first=O.B. |title=Hogan 3-putts final hole giving Keiser Masters' title |date=April 8, 1946 |page=2B}}{{cite news |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1946/04/08/page/25/article/keiser-wins-masters-golf-meet-with-282 |newspaper=Chicago Daily Tribune |last=Bartlett |first=Charles |title=Keiser wins Masters golf meet with 282 |date=April 8, 1946 |page=25}}

Hogan won the PGA Championship four months later in August for his first major title at age 34. He later won the Masters in 1951 and 1953 and finished his career with nine wins in majors.

Field

With only one major championship played in 1945, the invitation criteria were modified. Eight amateurs and eight professionals were selected by a committee in February and four further professionals were invited just before the event.

;1. Masters champions

Jimmy Demaret (7), Ralph Guldahl (2,7), Byron Nelson (2,6,7,8), Henry Picard (6,7), Horton Smith (7), Craig Wood (2,7)

;2. U.S. Open champions

Billy Burke (7), Bobby Jones (3,4,5,7), Lawson Little (3,5,7)

;3. U.S. Amateur champions

Dick Chapman (a)

;4. British Open champions

Denny Shute (6,8)

;5. British Amateur champions

Charlie Yates (7,a)

;6. PGA champions

Vic Ghezzi (8), Bob Hamilton, Sam Snead (7)

;7. Top 30 players and ties from the 1942 Masters Tournament

Sammy Byrd (8), Jim Ferrier, Jim Foulis, Chick Harbert, Chandler Harper, Dutch Harrison, Ben Hogan, Herman Keiser, Gene Kunes, Jug McSpaden, Johnny Palmer, Toney Penna, Felix Serafin, Jimmy Thomson

;8. 1945 PGA Championship quarter-finalists

Claude Harmon, Ralph Hutchison, Ky Laffoon

;9. Selected amateurs, not already qualified

Bob Cochran (a), Fred Haas, Cary Middlecoff (a), Frank Stranahan (a)

;10. Selected professionals, not already qualified

Herman Barron, Johnny Bulla, Ed Dudley, Jimmy Hines, Lloyd Mangrum, Dick Metz, Ed Oliver, Jim Turnesa

;11. One amateur, not already qualified, selected by a ballot of ex-U.S. Amateur champions

;12. One professional, not already qualified, selected by a ballot of ex-U.S. Open champions

Al Watrous

;13. Two players, not already qualified, with the best scoring average in the winter part of the 1946 PGA Tour

Leland Gibson, George Schneiter

;14. Additional invitations

Clayton Heafner, Rod Munday, Buck White, Al Zimmerman

Round summaries

=First round=

Thursday, April 4, 1946

class="wikitable"

!Place!!Player!!Score!!To par

rowspan="2" align="center"|T1{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Chick Harbertrowspan="2" align="center"|69rowspan="2" align="center"|−3
| {{flagicon|USA|1912}} Herman Keiser
rowspan="3" align="center"|T3{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Vic Ghezzirowspan="3" align="center"|71rowspan="3" align="center"|−1
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Fred Haas
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Toney Penna
rowspan="4" align="center"|T6{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Johnny Bullarowspan="4" align="center"|72rowspan="4" align="center"|E
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Cary Middlecoff
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Byron Nelson
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Jimmy Thomson
rowspan="2" align="center"|T10{{flagicon|USA|1912}} George Schneiterrowspan="2" align="center"|73rowspan="2" align="center"|+1
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Clayton Heafner

Source:{{cite news |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1946/04/05/page/27/article/war-vets-lead-first-round-of-masters-golf |newspaper=Chicago Daily Tribune |last=Bartlett |first=Charles |title=War vets lead first round of Masters golf |date=April 5, 1946 |page=27}}

=Second round=

Friday, April 5, 1946

class="wikitable"

!Place!!Player!!Score!!To par

align="center"|1{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Herman Keiser69-68=137align="center"|−7
align="center"|2{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Jimmy Thomson72-70=142align="center"|−2
align="center"|3{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Clayton Heafner74-69=143align="center"|−1
rowspan="4" align="center"|T4{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Bob Hamilton75-69=144rowspan="4" align="center"|E
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Chick Harbert69-75=144
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Ben Hogan74-70=144
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Toney Penna71-73=144
rowspan="3" align="center"|T8{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Jimmy Demaret75-70=145rowspan="3" align="center"|+1
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Jim Foulis70-75=145
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Byron Nelson72-73=145

Source:{{cite news |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1946/04/06/page/19/article/keiser-leads-masters-golf-thru-2d-round|newspaper=Chicago Daily Tribune |last=Bartlett |first=Charles |title=Keiser leads Master golf thru 2d round |date=April 6, 1946 |page=19}}

=Third round=

Saturday, April 6, 1946

class="wikitable"

!Place!!Player!!Score!!To par

align="center"|1{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Herman Keiser69-68-71=208align="center"|−8
align="center"|2{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Ben Hogan74-70-69=213align="center"|−3
rowspan="3" align="center"|T3{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Jim Ferrier74-72-68=214rowspan="3" align="center"|−2
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Fred Haas71-75-68=214
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Clayton Heafner74-69-71=214
align="center"|6{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Bob Hamilton75-69-71=215align="center"|−1
rowspan="2" align="center"|T7{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Jimmy Demaret75-70-71=216rowspan="2" align="center"|E
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Byron Nelson72-73-71=216
rowspan="3" align="center"|T9{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Jim Foulis75-70-72=217rowspan="3" align="center"|+1
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Vic Ghezzi71-79-67=217
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Ky Laffoon74-73-70=217

Source:{{cite news |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1946/04/07/page/31/article/keiser-holds-5-shot-masters-golf-lead |newspaper=Chicago Sunday Tribune |last=Bartlett |first=Charles |title=Keiser holds 5-shot Masters golf lead |date=April 7, 1946 |page=1, part 2}}

=Final round=

Sunday, April 7, 1946

==Final leaderboard==

class="wikitable"
style="background:gold"

| Champion

style="background:silver"

| Silver Cup winner (low amateur)

(a) = amateur
(c) = past champion

class="wikitable" style="width:50em;margin-bottom:0;"

|+style="text-align:left"|Top 10

!Place!!Player!!Score!!To par!!Money (US$)

style="background:gold"

|align=center|1

{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Herman Keiser69-68-71-74=282align=center|−6align=center|2,500
align=center|2{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Ben Hogan74-70-69-70=283align=center|−5align=center|1,500
align=center|3{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Bob Hamilton75-69-71-72=287align=center|−1align=center|1,000
rowspan=3 align=center|T4{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Jimmy Demaret (c)75-70-71-73=289rowspan=3 align=center|+1rowspan=3 align=center|683
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Jim Ferrier74-72-68-75=289
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Ky Laffoon74-73-70-72=289
rowspan=4 align=center|T7{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Chick Harbert69-75-76-70=290rowspan=4 align=center|+2rowspan=4 align=center|356
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Clayton Heafner74-69-71-76=290
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Byron Nelson (c)72-73-71-74=290
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Sam Snead74-75-70-71=290

class="collapsible collapsed wikitable" style="width:50em;margin-top:-1px;"
scope="col" colspan="6" | Leaderboard below the top 10
PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)
align=center|11{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Jim Foulis75-70-72-74=291align=center|+3align=center|250
rowspan=3 align=center|T12{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Vic Ghezzi71-79-67-76=293rowspan=3 align=center|+5align=center|213
style="background:silver"|{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Cary Middlecoff (a)style="background:silver"|72-76-71-74=293align=center|0
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} George Schneiter73-73-72-75=293align=center|213
align=center|15{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Fred Haas71-75-68-80=294align=center|+6align=center|175
rowspan=2 align=center|T16{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Johnny Bulla72-76-73-74=295rowspan=2 align=center|+7rowspan=2 align=center|138
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Lloyd Mangrum76-75-72-72=295
align=center|18{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Claude Harmon76-75-74-71=296align=center|+8align=center|100
align=center|19{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Chandler Harper74-76-73-74=297align=center|+9align=center|100
align=center|20{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Frank Stranahan (a)76-74-73-75=298align=center|+10align=center|0
rowspan=4 align=center|T21{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Lawson Little74-74-78-73=299rowspan=4 align=center|+11rowspan=4 align=center|50
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Toney Penna71-73-80-75=299
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Felix Serafin76-75-79-69=299
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Horton Smith (c)78-77-75-69=299
rowspan=4 align=center|T25{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Herman Barron74-73-74-79=300rowspan=4 align=center|+12rowspan=27 align=center|
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Henry Picard (c)79-73-71-77=300
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Denny Shute79-77-71-73=300
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Jimmy Thomson72-70-79-79=300
rowspan=3 align=center|T29{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Gene Kunes76-72-77-76=301rowspan=3 align=center|+13
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Jug McSpaden75-74-75-77=301
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Al Zimmerman76-76-74-75=301
rowspan=5 align=center|T32{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Ed Dudley76-76-76-74=302rowspan=5 align=center|+14
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Bobby Jones75-72-77-78=302
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Dick Metz77-75-71-79=302
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Johnny Palmer76-75-77-74=302
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Al Watrous80-76-72-74=302
rowspan=3 align=center|T37{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Dutch Harrison75-77-75-76=303rowspan=3 align=center|+15
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Ed Oliver79-73-71-80=303
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Jim Turnesa73-78-71-81=303
align=center|40{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Sammy Byrd75-79-71-79=304align=center|+16
rowspan=2 align=center|T41{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Dick Chapman (a)77-77-73-79=306rowspan=2 align=center|+18
{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Ralph Hutchison79-78-75-74=306
align=center|43{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Leland Gibson78-80-75-75=308align=center|+20
align=center|44{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Rod Munday78-77-76-78=309align=center|+21
align=center|45{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Buck White77-82-76-75=310align=center|+22
align=center|46{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Billy Burke80-80-77-75=312align=center|+24
align=center|47{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Bob Cochran (a)81-76-76-80=313align=center|+25
align=center|48{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Ralph Guldahl (c)85-76-78-76=315align=center|+27
align=center|49{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Jimmy Hines79-80-77-80=316align=center|+28
align=center|50{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Charlie Yates (a)78-79-78-86=321align=center|+33
align=center|WD{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Craig Wood (c)83align=center|+11

Sources:{{cite web |title=Masters – Past Winners & Results |url=https://www.masters.com/en_US/tournament/past_winners.html |publisher=Augusta National Inc. |access-date=April 20, 2021}}{{cite web |title=Past results – Masters tournament |url=https://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/masters-tournament/past-results.html |publisher=PGA Tour |access-date=April 20, 2021}}

== Scorecard ==

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

!Hole!!1!!2!!3!!4!!5!!6!!7!!8!!9!!10!!11!!12!!13!!14!!15!!16!!17!!18

Par454343454443545344
align=left|{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Keiserstyle="background: PaleGreen;"|−7style="background: Pink;"|−8−8−8style="background: PaleGreen;"|−7style="background: Pink;"|−8style="background: PaleGreen;"|−7style="background: Pink;"|−8style="background: PaleGreen;"|−7−7−7−7−7−7−7−7−7style="background: PaleGreen;"|−6
align=left|{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Hoganstyle="background: PaleGreen;"|−2style="background: Pink;"|−3−3−3−3−3−3style="background: Pink;"|−4−4−4−4style="background: Pink;"|−5style="background: Pink;"|−6style="background: PaleGreen;"|−5style="background: Pink;"|−6−6−6style="background: PaleGreen;"|−5

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

References

{{reflist}}