March 25, 1934: The 1st Masters

Horton Smith

March 25, 1934: The 1st Augusta National Invitation Tournament is played, at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Horton Smith is the winner. The 25-year-old native of Springfield, Missouri would win it again in 1936, but those would be the only "major" tournaments that he ever won. He lived until 1963.

NOTE: For a long time, with this project, I resisted putting in references to golf, because of the kind of people who tend to play it. I finally caved in, although I haven't included as many references as I would if it were a real sport, which it is not.

Bobby Jones had founded the Club and the Tournament, and had designed the course. He even came out of retirement to play in the 1st Tournament. He finished in a tie for 14th.

In 1939, the Tournament was renamed The Masters Tournament. It is played annually, in the 1st full week of April, when the Club's flowers, in particular on its renowned dogwood trees, are in full bloom. It was canceled due to World War II in 1943, '44 and '45; and moved to November in 2020, due to the COVID pandemic.

The men who run Augusta National like to call The Masters "a tradition like no other." For decades, it was broadcast, first on radio and then on television, on CBS. It has since switched to ESPN. Whichever network it's on, they tend to gloss over the fact that Augusta National, one of the best-known institutions of the American South, did not admit black men until 1990, and did not admit women until 2012.

In 1949, Sam Snead became the 1st winner to be honored with a green jacket, which became symbolic of the tournament. The previous year's winner puts the jacket on the new winner, unless there is a back-to-back winner, in which case the Club Chairman does it. Winners keep their jacket for the year after their victory, then return it to the club to wear whenever they are present on the club grounds. (It's not like the Pro Football Hall of Fame, where the gold jackets can be worn anywhere.) The jacket is so symbolic of the host city that its minor-league baseball team, although symbolized by an insect in commemoration of the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets, is named the Augusta Greenjackets.

Gary Player of South Africa was the 1st non-American winner, in 1961. He won it again in 1974 and 1978, but no other foreigner would win it until Seve Ballesteros of Spain in 1980. Jack Nicklaus has the most wins, 6, including in 1986, when he was 46 and became the oldest winner. Tiger Woods has won it 5 times, including in 1997, when he was 21 and became the youngest winner. Arnold Palmer won it 4 times. The record low score is 268, by Dustin Johnson in 2020. The lowest in the regular format, in April, with spectators, is 270, by Woods in 1997, a record that was tied by Jordan Speith in 2015. 

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March 25, 1934 was a Sunday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. There was 1 game played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Detroit Red Wings beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-3 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.