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Year in Review

1940 in golf

Weeks

Seven championships in our record: five majors (three men’s, two women’s) and two amateur championships.

1940, printed the way a newspaper of the day would print it: a halftone.

The year, week by week

Each dot is a championship at the week it finished. Click a dot for its front page, or a week to see it on the world.

This week

    Every championship of 1940 in our record, in full

    The majors

    3 Men’s majors

    1. Men's major

      Masters

      Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia

      2 of 5 researched

      Winner

      Jimmy Demaret

      280Total
      −8To par
      4 strokesMargin

      Runner-up: Lloyd Mangrum

      The golfer

      b. 1910-05-24, Houston, Texas, USA; United States; age 29 at the win (year page); 1st major (card's count)

      Jimmy Demaret’s player card · Source

      Top 10

      Not yet researched

      What’s in the bag

      No bag on file yet

      From the papers

      No clipping yet

    2. Men's major

      PGA Championship

      Hershey Country Club, Hershey

      2 of 5 researched

      Winner

      Byron Nelson

      1 up (36-hole final)Final

      Runner-up: Sam Snead

      To par and margin not yet researched.

      The golfer

      b. 1912-02-04, Waxahachie, Texas, USA; United States; age 28 at the win (year page); 3rd major (card's count)

      Byron Nelson’s player card · Source

      Top 10

      Not yet researched

      What’s in the bag

      No bag on file yet

      From the papers

      No clipping yet

    3. Men's major

      U.S. Open

      Canterbury G.C., Cleveland

      2 of 5 researched

      Winner

      Lawson Little

      287Total
      −1To par
      playoff: 18 holes, 70–73Margin
      PlayoffDecided

      Runner-up: Gene Sarazen

      The golfer

      b. 1910-06-23, Newport, Rhode Island, USA; USA; 1st major (card's count)

      Lawson Little’s player card · Source

      Top 10

      Not yet researched

      What’s in the bag

      No bag on file yet

      From the papers

      No clipping yet

    2 Women’s majors

    1. Women's major

      Titleholders Championship

      Augusta Country Club, Augusta

      2 of 5 researched

      Winner

      Helen Hicks

      336Total
      +36To par
      1 strokeMargin

      Runner-up: Helen Dettweiler

      The golfer

      b. 1911, Cedarhurst, New York, United States; United States; age 28 at the win (year page); 2nd major (card's count)

      Helen Hicks’s player card · Source

      Top 10

      Not yet researched

      What’s in the bag

      No bag on file yet

      From the papers

      No clipping yet

    2. Women's major

      Women's Western Open

      Blue Mound Golf & Country Club, Wauwatosa

      2 of 5 researched

      Winner

      Babe Zaharias

      5 & 4Final

      Runner-up: Lucile Robinson Mann

      To par and margin not yet researched.

      The golfer

      b. 1911-06-26, Port Arthur, Texas, United States; United States; age 29 at the win (year page); 1st major (card's count)

      Babe Zaharias’s player card · Source

      Top 10

      Not yet researched

      What’s in the bag

      No bag on file yet

      From the papers

      No clipping yet

    The amateurs

    1 Men’s amateur

    1. Men's amateur championship

      U.S. Amateur

      Winged Foot Golf Club (West Course), Mamaroneck

      2 of 5 researched

      Winner

      Dick Chapman

      11 & 9Final

      Runner-up: Duff McCullough

      To par and margin not yet researched.

      The golfer

      b. 1911-03-23, Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.; United States; age 29 at the win (year page)

      Dick Chapman’s player card · Source

      Top 10

      Not yet researched

      What’s in the bag

      No bag on file yet

      From the papers

      No clipping yet

    1 Women’s amateur

    1. Women's amateur championship

      U.S. Women's Amateur

      Del Monte G. & C.C., Pebble Beach

      2 of 5 researched

      Winner

      Betty Jameson

      6 & 5Final

      Runner-up: Jane S. Cothran

      To par and margin not yet researched.

      The golfer

      b. 1919-05-09, Norman, Oklahoma, United States; United States; age 21 at the win (year page)

      Betty Jameson’s player card · Source

      Top 10

      Not yet researched

      What’s in the bag

      No bag on file yet

      From the papers

      No clipping yet

    Year in Review

    1940 in golf: the year in review

    Seven championships in our record: five majors (three men’s, two women’s) and two amateur championships.

    To be written The synopsis of 1940: 150 to 250 words on the season’s story, its turning points and why it mattered, written from sourced research.

    The men’s majors

    • Masters: Jimmy Demaret, Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia
    • PGA Championship: Byron Nelson, Hershey Country Club, Hershey
    • U.S. Open: Lawson Little, Canterbury G.C., Cleveland

    To be written How each was won: the leader after 54 holes, the decisive shot, the runner-up, the weather.

    The women’s majors

    • Titleholders Championship: Helen Hicks, Augusta Country Club, Augusta
    • Women's Western Open: Babe Zaharias, Blue Mound Golf & Country Club, Wauwatosa

    To be written How each was won, and where the women’s game stood in 1940.

    The amateur championships

    • U.S. Amateur: Dick Chapman, Winged Foot Golf Club (West Course), Mamaroneck
    • U.S. Women's Amateur: Betty Jameson, Del Monte G. & C.C., Pebble Beach

    To be written The amateur season: champions, finals, and who went on to turn professional.

    Around the tours

    7 tour events are laid out week by week for 1940.

    To be written Money lists, players of the year, rookies and the shape of each tour’s season, from the tours’ own records.

    Players of the year

    To be written Who defined 1940: their wins, their near misses, and what the year meant for their career.

    Firsts, records and farewells

    To be written First-time major winners, scoring records, youngest and oldest champions, last appearances, events played for the first or last time.

    The game in 1940

    To be written Equipment, rules and course changes, prize money, television and the business of golf that year.

    Questions about 1940 in golf

    Who won the 1940 Masters?
    Jimmy Demaret won the 1940 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia.
    Who won the 1940 PGA Championship?
    Byron Nelson won the 1940 PGA Championship at Hershey Country Club, Hershey.
    Who won the 1940 Titleholders Championship?
    Helen Hicks won the 1940 Titleholders Championship at Augusta Country Club, Augusta.
    Who won the 1940 U.S. Amateur?
    Dick Chapman won the 1940 U.S. Amateur at Winged Foot Golf Club (West Course), Mamaroneck.
    Who won the 1940 U.S. Open?
    Lawson Little won the 1940 U.S. Open at Canterbury G.C., Cleveland.
    Who won the 1940 U.S. Women's Amateur?
    Betty Jameson won the 1940 U.S. Women's Amateur at Del Monte G. & C.C., Pebble Beach.
    Who won the 1940 Women's Western Open?
    Babe Zaharias won the 1940 Women's Western Open at Blue Mound Golf & Country Club, Wauwatosa.
    How many majors were played in 1940?
    Five in our record: three men’s and two women’s.

    Every count above is from Golf Network News’s record; the parts marked “To be written” are filled only from sourced research.

    How this page works

    Every championship here comes from Golf Network News's own record: the rooms for the majors, the women's majors, the amateur championships and the team cups. A part that says it is not yet researched is exactly that. We fill it from sourced material, never with a guess.

    The picture at the top is drawn in code for each year. It is printed the way golf was printed that year: wood engravings before 1900, newsprint halftones to 1945, hand-tinted plates to 1969, colour film to 1999, and digital light since. The names engraved in the numerals are that year's champions.

    Every view has its own address: the year, the tours, the event and a traced champion are kept in the link, so you can share exactly what you see.