Eighty-nine years ago, at 9.45am (local time), defending Miami Open champion Ralph Stonehouse took the first tee shot of what would become one of the most famous (and celebrated) tournaments in the world. From the Camellia tee, the current 10th hole, Stonehouse kicked off the Augusta National Invitation Tournament, the original name of the tournament.
The following year the order of the holes was reversed, thus establishing what is still followed today. The current name Masters Tournament, however, was adopted in 1939.
Augusta, history
Finally, in 1948, it was decided to move from the month of March to the first weekend of April.
But let’s go back to 1934. On a brand new course, designed by the great Alister MacKenzie, on the 365 acres of Fruitland Nurseries, the estate purchased by Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts, Missouri pro Horton Smith became the first Masters Champion in history.
Smith prevailed with 284 strokes, beating Craig Wood by one stroke (find the full ranking here). He cashed a first coin of $1,500, about $32,000 today, which was a very significant sum at the time, considering it was more than the U.S.
first prize amount. Open and the PGA Championship. The US player will repeat the Masters Tournament title in 1936. In 1990 he was inducted into the World…
