The tournament was at this point officially named the “Augusta National Invitation Tournament”, and would not officially adopt the Masters Tournament name until 1939. Opening with a six-under 66, Byron Nelson led after the first and second rounds, but a 75 on Saturday dropped him four strokes back, in a tie for third. On the final nine on Sunday, he gained six strokes on third round leader Ralph Guldahl over two holes and won the tournament by two strokes. Compared to Guldahl’s 5–6 (double bogey, bogey), Nelson played the 12th and 13th holes 2–3 (birdie, eagle), respectively. The Nelson Bridge, over Rae’s Creek departing the 13th tee, was dedicated in 1958 to commemorate the feat. At age 25, this was the first of Nelson’s five major titles; he won the Masters again in 1942, which was not held again until 1946. Guldahl rebounded and won three majors over the next two years: the U.S. Open in 1937 and 1938 and the Masters in 1939. Sam Snead made his Masters debut and finished 18th. The purse was $5,000 with a winner’s share of $1,500. April 4, 1939 23
