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Craig Wood

United States · born , Lake Placid, New York, USA · died

2major championships

Summary

  • First major 1941 The Masters
  • Last major 1941 U.S. Open
  • Ryder Cup 3 Cups · 1-3-0 · 1 points (25.0%)
  • Runner-up in majors 5 times

Wins

  1. 1941 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 280 (-8) · by 3 strokes from Byron Nelson
  2. 1941 U.S. Open Colonial C.C. · 284 (+4) · by 3 strokes from Denny Shute

Near misses

  1. 1933 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · runner-up to Denny Shute · 292 · lost playoff
  2. 1934 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Horton Smith · 285
  3. 1934 PGA Championship The Park Country Club · runner-up to Paul Runyan · lost the final won on 38th hole
  4. 1935 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Gene Sarazen · 282 · lost playoff
  5. 1939 U.S. Open Philadelphia C.C. · runner-up to Byron Nelson · playoff: 36 holes; Nelson 68, 70

Ryder Cup

3 Cups, 4 matches: 1 won, 3 lost, 0 halved, 1 points. Foursomes 0-1-0, four-ball 0-0-0, singles 1-2-0.

  1. 1931 Scioto Country Club USA · USA won 9–3 · 0-1-0, 0 points
  2. 1933 Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club USA · GB won 6.5–5.5 · 1-1-0, 1 point
  3. 1935 Ridgewood Country Club USA · USA won 9–3 · 0-1-0, 0 points

Rivals

Beat him

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Paul Runyan's rivals →

Moments

  1. 1941 Masters Craig Wood led after every round, becoming the first wire-to-wire winner in Masters history.
  2. 1941 Masters Byron Nelson erased a five-stroke deficit on the final front nine, but Wood steadied on the back nine to win by three after earlier losing playoffs in all four majors.

Records and firsts

  1. 1941 Masters Wire-to-wire Masters winner: outright · led by 5 after R1; won by 3
  2. — PGA Championship longest finals · 38 holes (1923 Sarazen d. Hagen; 1934 Runyan d. Craig Wood; 1941 Ghezzi d. Nelson)

Results by championship

    Best day

    1941 Masters

    Augusta National Golf Club · 280 (-8) · by 3 strokes from Byron Nelson

    Craig Wood led after every round, becoming the first wire-to-wire winner in Masters history.

    Byron Nelson erased a five-stroke deficit on the final front nine, but Wood steadied on the back nine to win by three after earlier losing playoffs in all four majors.

    Record: outright · led by 5 after R1; won by 3

    Chosen by rule: the major win our record tables single out. Year page: 1941.

    Career line, 1931–1941

    Masters
    1934 Masters: runner-up to Horton Smith1935 Masters: runner-up to Gene Sarazen1941 Masters: won
    PGA Championship
    1934 PGA Championship: runner-up to Paul Runyan
    U.S. Open
    1939 U.S. Open: runner-up to Byron Nelson1941 U.S. Open: won
    The Open
    1933 The Open: runner-up to Denny Shute
    Ryder Cup
    1931 Ryder Cup (USA): 0-1-01933 Ryder Cup (USA): 1-1-01935 Ryder Cup (USA): 0-1-0
    19351940

    10 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Major win
    • Runner-up
    • Ryder Cup, USA

    Craig Wood was born on November 18, 1901, in Lake Placid, New York, USA. Wood won 2 major championships: 1 Masters (1941) and 1 U.S. Open (1941). Wood played in 3 Ryder Cups for USA (1931, 1933, 1935), winning 1, losing 3 and halving 0 of 4 matches for 1 point.

    See Craig Wood in our rooms: The Masters, U.S. Open, The Open, Greatest Golfer by State and Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Wins in the majors (2)

    1. 1941 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 280 (-8) · by 3 strokes from Byron Nelson
    2. 1941 U.S. Open Colonial C.C., Fort Worth, TX · 284 (+4) · by 3 strokes from Denny Shute

    Near misses

    1. 1933 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · runner-up to Denny Shute · 292 · lost playoff
    2. 1934 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Horton Smith · 285
    3. 1934 PGA Championship The Park Country Club · runner-up to Paul Runyan · lost the final won on 38th hole
    4. 1935 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Gene Sarazen · 282 · lost playoff
    5. 1939 U.S. Open Philadelphia C.C. · runner-up to Byron Nelson · playoff: 36 holes; Nelson 68, 70

    U.S. Open top-10 finishes in his career: 5 (GNN U.S. Open room data).

    Ryder Cup

    Wood played 3 Ryder Cups for USA: 4 matches, 1 won, 3 lost, 0 halved, 1 points (25.0% of those available). By format: foursomes 0-1-0, four-ball 0-0-0, singles 1-2-0 (won-lost-halved).

    1. 1931 Scioto Country Club USA · USA won 9–3 · 0-1-0, 0 points
    2. 1933 Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club USA · GB won 6.5–5.5 · 1-1-0, 1 point
    3. 1935 Ridgewood Country Club USA · USA won 9–3 · 0-1-0, 0 points

    Partners, with matches played together: Paul Runyan (1).

    PGA Championship match play

    Every recorded match in our bracket file, 1916–1957: 16 won, 10 lost, including 0 of 1 finals.

    1. 1929 Round of 32 beat Horton Smith won on 37th hole
    2. 1929 Round of 16 beat Neil Christian 3 & 2
    3. 1929 Quarterfinal lost to Johnny Farrell won on 37th hole
    4. 1932 Round of 32 lost to Gene Kunes 3 & 2
    5. 1934 Round of 32 beat Leo Fraser 6 & 5
    6. 1934 Round of 16 beat Harry Cooper 4 & 3
    7. 1934 Quarterfinal beat Al Watrous 2 & 1
    8. 1934 Semifinal beat Denny Shute 2 & 1
    9. 1934 Final lost to Paul Runyan won on 38th hole
    10. 1936 Round of 64 beat John Kinder 2 & 1
    11. 1936 Round of 32 beat Frank Walsh 1 up
    12. 1936 Round of 16 beat Harry Cooper 2 & 1
    13. 1936 Quarterfinal beat Tony Manero 5 & 4
    14. 1936 Semifinal lost to Jimmy Thomson 4 & 3
    15. 1937 Round of 64 beat Joe Belfore 1 up
    16. 1937 Round of 32 lost to Byron Nelson 4 & 2
    17. 1940 Round of 64 beat Walter Romans 5 & 4
    18. 1940 Round of 32 lost to Jim Foulis won on 19th hole
    19. 1941 Round of 64 beat C. Norsworthy 3 & 2
    20. 1941 Round of 32 lost to Mark Fry 6 & 5
    21. 1942 Round of 32 beat Rod Munday 5 & 4
    22. 1942 Round of 16 beat Leland Gibson 7 & 6
    23. 1942 Quarterfinal lost to Jimmy Demaret 7 & 6
    24. 1944 Round of 32 beat Jimmy D’Angelo 5 & 4
    25. 1944 Round of 16 lost to Art Bell 3 & 2
    26. 1949 Round of 64 lost to Jack Harden 1 up

    Records and firsts

    Rows from our record tables that name this player, worded as the tables word them.

    1. 1941 Masters Wire-to-wire Masters winner: outright · led by 5 after R1; won by 3
    2. — PGA Championship longest finals · 38 holes (1923 Sarazen d. Hagen; 1934 Runyan d. Craig Wood; 1941 Ghezzi d. Nelson)

    Sources

    Elsewhere: Wikipedia.

    Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

    1. golfcompendium.com: masters winners
    2. golfcompendium.com: us open winners
    3. golfcompendium.com: british open winners
    4. golfcompendium.com: pga championship winners
    5. Wikipedia: Craig Wood
    6. golfcompendium.com: pga tour career wins
    7. Wikipedia: Craig Wood (golfer)
    8. golfcompendium.com: 1934 masters tournament
    9. golfcompendium.com: 1935 masters tournament
    10. Wikipedia: Masters Tournament
    11. pga.com: list masters champions
    12. WP: List of American Ryder Cup golfers
    13. golfcompendium.com: 1941 masters tournament
    14. Wikipedia: 1941 Masters Tournament
    15. golf.com: masters purse masters winners payouts alltime
    16. todays-golfer.com: how the masters prize money has changed over the years
    17. pgatour.com: what is the cut at the masters tournament augusta national (archived copy; the original link no longer works)
    18. todays-golfer.com: cut rules
    19. golfcompendium.com: 1957 masters
    20. nbcsports.com: by the numbers jumpsuit numbers for every masters champions caddie
    21. liveabout.com: what are the yardages at augusta national during the masters 1564592
    22. GNN U.S. Open room (champions data)
    23. PGA of America 2013 media guide, p. 102
    24. Golf Compendium 1929
    25. Golf Compendium 1934
    26. PGA of America winners & venues
    27. Golf Compendium 1936
    28. Golf Compendium 1942
    29. Golf Compendium 1944
    30. GC: 1931 ryder cup
    31. Wikipedia: 1931 Ryder Cup
    32. GC: 1933 ryder cup
    33. Wikipedia: 1933 Ryder Cup
    34. GC: 1935 ryder cup
    35. Wikipedia: 1935 Ryder Cup
    36. Golf Compendium playoff results