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Horton Smith

United States · born , Springfield, Missouri, USA · died

2major championships

Summary

  • First major 1934 The Masters
  • Last major 1936 The Masters
  • Ryder Cup 5 Cups · 3-0-1 · 3.5 points (87.5%)

Wins

  1. 1934 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 284 (-4) · by 1 stroke from Craig Wood
  2. 1936 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 285 (-3) · by 1 stroke from Harry Cooper

Near misses

  1. 1930 The Open Royal Liverpool Golf Club · finished T4 · 296
  2. 1937 The Open Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship Course) · finished 10 · 299

Ryder Cup

5 Cups, 4 matches: 3 won, 0 lost, 1 halved, 3.5 points. Foursomes 1-0-0, four-ball 0-0-0, singles 2-0-1.

  1. 1929 Moortown Golf Club USA · GB won 7–5 · 1-0-0, 1 point
  2. 1931 Scioto Country Club USA · USA won 9–3 · did not play
  3. 1933 Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club USA · GB won 6.5–5.5 · 1-0-0, 1 point
  4. 1935 Ridgewood Country Club USA · USA won 9–3 · 1-0-1, 1.5 points
  5. 1937 Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club USA · USA won 8–4 · did not play

Rivals

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Paul Runyan's rivals →

Moments

  1. 1934 Masters Horton Smith won the first edition, then officially named the Augusta National Invitation Tournament, by one stroke after holing a birdie putt of about 20 feet on the 17th hole (today's 8th).
  2. 1934 Masters Bobby Jones came out of competitive retirement to play and tied for 13th, ten strokes behind Smith.
  3. 1936 Masters Heavy rain pushed the start back to Friday and washed out Sunday, so the last two rounds were played on Monday.
  4. 1936 Masters Harry Cooper led after each of the first three rounds, but Horton Smith chipped in from about 50 feet for birdie at the 14th in the final round and won by one to become the first two-time champion.
  5. 1935 Ryder Cup Paul Runyan and Horton Smith beat Bill Cox and Ted Jarman 9 & 8 in foursomes.

Records and firsts

  1. 1934 Masters Wire-to-wire Masters winner: with ties · co-led after R1, solo lead from 36 holes
  2. 1934 Masters First Masters champion from: United States · first Masters champion
  3. 1929 Ryder Cup Youngest USA · 20y 339d

Results by championship

    Best day

    1934 Masters

    Augusta National Golf Club · 284 (-4) · by 1 stroke from Craig Wood

    Horton Smith won the first edition, then officially named the Augusta National Invitation Tournament, by one stroke after holing a birdie putt of about 20 feet on the 17th hole (today's 8th).

    Bobby Jones came out of competitive retirement to play and tied for 13th, ten strokes behind Smith.

    Record: with ties · co-led after R1, solo lead from 36 holes

    Record: United States · first Masters champion

    Chosen by rule: the major win our record tables single out. Year page: 1934.

    Career line, 1929–1937

    Masters
    1934 Masters: won1936 Masters: won
    The Open
    1930 The Open: finished T41937 The Open: finished 10
    Ryder Cup
    1929 Ryder Cup (USA): 1-0-01931 Ryder Cup (USA): did not play1933 Ryder Cup (USA): 1-0-01935 Ryder Cup (USA): 1-0-11937 Ryder Cup (USA): did not play
    19301932193419361938

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

    • Major win
    • Top 10
    • Ryder Cup, USA

    Horton Smith was born on May 22, 1908, in Springfield, Missouri, USA. Smith won 2 major championships: 2 Masters (1934, 1936). Smith played in 5 Ryder Cups for USA (1929, 1931 (did not play), 1933, 1935, 1937 (did not play)), winning 3, losing 0 and halving 1 of 4 matches for 3.5 points.

    See Horton Smith in our rooms: The Masters, 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. 1934 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 284 (-4) · by 1 stroke from Craig Wood
    2. 1936 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 285 (-3) · by 1 stroke from Harry Cooper

    Near misses

    Top-10 finishes are listed for The Open, the one championship with a full top 10 every year.

    1. 1930 The Open Royal Liverpool Golf Club · finished T4 · 296
    2. 1937 The Open Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship Course) · finished 10 · 299

    Ryder Cup

    Smith played 5 Ryder Cups for USA: 4 matches, 3 won, 0 lost, 1 halved, 3.5 points (87.5% of those available). By format: foursomes 1-0-0, four-ball 0-0-0, singles 2-0-1 (won-lost-halved).

    1. 1929 Moortown Golf Club USA · GB won 7–5 · 1-0-0, 1 point
    2. 1931 Scioto Country Club USA · USA won 9–3 · did not play
    3. 1933 Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club USA · GB won 6.5–5.5 · 1-0-0, 1 point
    4. 1935 Ridgewood Country Club USA · USA won 9–3 · 1-0-1, 1.5 points
    5. 1937 Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club USA · USA won 8–4 · did not play

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

    PGA Championship match play

    Every recorded match in our bracket file, 1916–1957: 26 won, 17 lost.

    1. 1928 Round of 32 beat Billy Burke 2 & 1
    2. 1928 Round of 16 beat Willie Macfarlane 1 up
    3. 1928 Quarterfinal beat Perry Del Vecchio 2 up
    4. 1928 Semifinal lost to Al Espinosa 6 & 5
    5. 1929 Round of 32 lost to Craig Wood won on 37th hole
    6. 1930 Round of 32 beat Billy Burke 2 & 1
    7. 1930 Round of 16 beat Laurie Ayton 5 & 4
    8. 1930 Quarterfinal lost to Joe Kirkwood 1 up
    9. 1931 Round of 32 beat Walter Bemish 7 & 6
    10. 1931 Round of 16 beat Willie Macfarlane 6 & 5
    11. 1931 Quarterfinal lost to Gene Sarazen 5 & 4
    12. 1932 Round of 32 lost to Reggie Myles won on 37th hole
    13. 1933 Round of 32 lost to Clarence Clark 6 & 5
    14. 1935 Round of 64 beat Henry Picard 1 up
    15. 1935 Round of 32 beat Ray Mangrum 1 up
    16. 1935 Round of 16 beat Denny Shute 2 & 1
    17. 1935 Quarterfinal lost to Al Watrous 1 up
    18. 1936 Round of 64 beat Jack Forrester 1 up
    19. 1936 Round of 32 beat Jack Patroni 6 & 5
    20. 1936 Round of 16 beat Willie Goggin 2 & 1
    21. 1936 Quarterfinal lost to Denny Shute 3 & 2
    22. 1937 Round of 64 beat Harry Nettlebladt 3 & 2
    23. 1937 Round of 32 beat Al Watrous won on 19th hole
    24. 1937 Round of 16 lost to Henry Picard 4 & 3
    25. 1938 Round of 64 beat Mike DeMassey 2 & 1
    26. 1938 Round of 32 beat Leo Diegel 2 & 1
    27. 1938 Round of 16 beat Billy Burke 3 & 2
    28. 1938 Quarterfinal lost to Paul Runyan 4 & 3
    29. 1939 Round of 64 beat Eddie Schultz 5 & 4
    30. 1939 Round of 32 beat Ray Mangrum 3 & 2
    31. 1939 Round of 16 beat Clarence Doser 4 & 2
    32. 1939 Quarterfinal lost to Dutch Harrison 4 & 3
    33. 1940 Round of 64 lost to Al Brosch 3 & 2
    34. 1941 Round of 64 beat Paul Runyan 1 up
    35. 1941 Round of 32 beat Ralph Stonehouse 3 & 2
    36. 1941 Round of 16 lost to Ben Hogan 3 & 2
    37. 1948 Round of 64 lost to Jimmy Demaret won on 20th hole
    38. 1949 Round of 64 beat Herman Keiser 6 & 4
    39. 1949 Round of 32 lost to Al Brosch 5 & 4
    40. 1952 Round of 64 lost to Mel Carpenter 2 & 1
    41. 1954 Round of 64 beat James Scott 5 & 4
    42. 1954 Round of 32 beat Jack Isaacs 3 & 2
    43. 1954 Round of 16 lost to Shelley Mayfield 3 & 2

    Records and firsts

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

    1. 1934 Masters Wire-to-wire Masters winner: with ties · co-led after R1, solo lead from 36 holes
    2. 1934 Masters First Masters champion from: United States · first Masters champion
    3. 1929 Ryder Cup Youngest USA · 20y 339d

    Sources

    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: horton smith golfer
    2. golfcompendium.com: masters winners
    3. golfcompendium.com: us open winners
    4. golfcompendium.com: british open winners
    5. golfcompendium.com: pga championship winners
    6. golfcompendium.com: pga tour career wins
    7. Wikipedia: Masters Tournament
    8. pga.com: list masters champions
    9. WP: List of American Ryder Cup golfers
    10. golfcompendium.com: 1934 masters tournament
    11. Wikipedia: 1934 Masters Tournament
    12. golf.com: masters purse masters winners payouts alltime
    13. todays-golfer.com: how the masters prize money has changed over the years
    14. pgatour.com: what is the cut at the masters tournament augusta national (archived copy; the original link no longer works)
    15. todays-golfer.com: cut rules
    16. golfcompendium.com: 1957 masters
    17. golfcompendium.com: 1936 masters tournament
    18. Wikipedia: 1936 Masters Tournament
    19. liveabout.com: what are the yardages at augusta national during the masters 1564592
    20. R&A 1930
    21. R&A 1937
    22. PGA of America 2013 media guide, p. 103
    23. Golf Compendium 1928
    24. Golf Compendium 1930
    25. Golf Compendium 1931
    26. Golf Compendium 1935
    27. Golf Compendium 1936
    28. Golf Compendium 1937
    29. Golf Compendium 1938
    30. Golf Compendium 1939
    31. Golf Compendium 1941
    32. Golf Compendium 1954
    33. GC: 1929 ryder cup
    34. Wikipedia: 1929 Ryder Cup
    35. GC: 1931 ryder cup
    36. Wikipedia: 1931 Ryder Cup
    37. GC: 1933 ryder cup
    38. Wikipedia: 1933 Ryder Cup
    39. GC: 1935 ryder cup
    40. Wikipedia: 1935 Ryder Cup
    41. GC: 1937 ryder cup
    42. Wikipedia: 1937 Ryder Cup
    43. Wikipedia: List of Ryder Cup records