1939: Golf

Golf during 1939 was featured by the dominance in tournament play of a small group of players. Among the men, Byron Nelson of Reading, Pa., Henry Picard of Hershey, Pa., and Marvin Ward of Spokane, Wash., showed the way. In the case of feminine golfers, Patty Berg of Minneapolis, Minn., last year's national champion, won most of the important tournaments until forced out of competition by an appendectomy. Betty Jameson of San Antonio, Tex., always among the leaders, went on to win the other major honors.

In an extremely dramatic finish Byron Nelson fired a sub-par 68 on the last round to tie with Craig Wood, Mamaroneck, N. Y., and Dennismore Shute, Huntington, W. Va., at 284 strokes after 72 grueling holes in the National Open Championship staged at the Philadelphia Country Club, Philadelphia, Pa. Samuel Snead, White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., was leading the field by a wide margin up to the final hole, but a disastrous last hole blow-up in which he took an 8 ruined his chances. Marvin Ward, former Walker Cup player, finished only one stroke behind to lead the amateur contingent.

In the first play-off, Nelson and Wood were 4 under par with 68's, eliminating Shute. The following day a second play-off was held, and Nelson took undisputed possession of the championship by shooting a sparkling 70.

Just a month later the professionals met at the Pomonok Country Club, Flushing, L. I., to decide the Professional Golfers Association National match-play championship. Nelson, the new open champion, played inspired golf and fought his way to the finals only to be beaten by Henry Picard, 1 up on the 37th hole. Semi-finalists were Richard Metz of Chicago and E. J. Harrison of Oak Park, Ill.

Because of a conflict with the P.G.A. championship, many leading American golfers failed to try for the British Open Championship. This event was held at St. Andrews, and it was won by Richard Burton, professional of Cheshire, England with a total score of 290. Runner-up and chief American threat was John Bulla, Chicago professional, who finished with a 292. The favorite, Robert Locke of South Africa, took 296, and England's Ryder Cup Captain, Henry Cotton, had a 298. Lawson Little of Bretton Woods, N. H., former British Amateur champion, failed to finish.

The British Ladies' Championship was regained by Miss Pamela Barton, who held the title in 1936. In winning at Portrush, Miss Barton defeated Mrs. T. Marks of Malone in the final round. Mrs. Marks was the first Irish player to figure in the final round of this championship for twenty-eight years.

The British also retained their own Amateur Championship when Charles Yates of Atlanta, Ga., who won last year, lost out in the third round to Richard D. Chapman of Greenwich, Conn. Chapman reached the quarter-finals, where he was eliminated by the eventual runner-up, Lt. Anthony Duncan. Last American survivor was William Holt of Syracuse, N. Y., who lost to Alex Kyle, former British Walker Cup player of Sand Moor, Yorkshire, 2 and 1 in the semi-finals. In the first final ever played between a Welshman and a Scot, Kyle was the victor 2 and 1. Ellsworth Vines, former American tennis champion, competed and went to the third round.

Chapman, however, succeeded in bringing back to America the French Amateur Championship, when he defeated Jacques Leglise, 5 and 4 in the 36-hole final.

The United States Seniors Golf Championship, a 36-hole medal play tournament held at the Apawamis Club, Rye, N. Y., was won by Charles H. Jennings of Roaring Gap, N. C., with a score of 148. The sixty-two year old veteran also won the title in 1924.

Although Miss Patty Berg, the defending champion, did not compete, the field in the United States Women's Championship at Wee Burn Club, Noroton, Conn., was exceptionally strong. Miss Pamela Barton, British Ladies Champion, and American titleholder in 1936, was the favorite, but she was eliminated in an early round. The winner, 21-year-old Betty Jameson, defeated Dorothy Kirby of Atlanta, Ga., by a score of 3 and 2 in the 36-hole final.

Vincent D'Antoni, 21-year-old senior from Tulane University, took the National Intercollegiate title at the Wakondah Country Club, Des Moines, Ia. This tournament had its most successful year, with 186 entries. D'Antoni succeeded Johnny Burke of Georgetown as champion when he beat Warren Berl, 18-year-old Stanford University sophomore, 10 and 8. The team title was successfully defended by Stanford.

The North Shore Country Club, Chicago, Ill., was the scene of the United States Amateur championship. Here Marvin Ward of Spokane established his supremacy over his fellow simon pures, defeating Raymond Billows of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in the 36-hole final, 7 and 5. Semi-finalists were Arthur Doering, Jr., Chicago, and Don Schumacher, Dallas, Tex. William Turnesa, the defending champion, was eliminated in an early round.

The National Public Links Championship, played in Baltimore, was won by Andrew Szwedko, a steel worker from Pittsburgh, Pa., when he defeated Philip Gordon of Oakland, Calif., in the 36-hole final, 1 up.

In 1939, as in every year since 1914, a native failed to win the Canadian Open Championship. Harold McSpaden, Winchester, Mass., professional, took first prize with a 72-hole total of 282, 5 strokes better than the total of Ralph Guldahl, Madison, N. J., the runner-up. The event was played over the Riverside course, St. John, N. B. Leading Canadian players were professional Stanley Horne and amateur Ross Summerville, tied with 291.

Leading money winner over the year's play was Henry Picard, who earned $10,303 in prizes. Byron Nelson was awarded the Harry Vardon trophy, emblematic of the highest point score attained over all of 1939's major tournaments. Nelson finished with 473 points, followed by Picard with 461 and Snead with 345. Snead took both honors in 1936.

Although the matches were cancelled due to the war, a United States Ryder Cup Team was appointed by a nominating committee headed by Walter Hagen as non-playing captain. Those honored by selection were Victor Ghezzi, Deal, N. J., Ralph Guldhal, Madison, N. J., James Hines, Great Neck, L. I., Harold McSpaden, Winchester, Mass., Richard Metz, Chicago, Byron Nelson, Reading, Pa., Paul Runyan, White Plains, N. Y., Horton Smith, Chicago, and Samuel Snead, White Sulphur Springs, W. Va.

Thomas Walsh of Chicago, Ill., was elected president of the Professional Golfers Association, succeeding George Jacobus, Ridgewood, N. J. Harold W. Pierce, Boston, Mass., was nominated to succeed A. M. Reid, New York, as President of the United States Golf Association.