Ralph Guldahl ’s up - and - down calling is one of the slap-up enigma of golf game , but for a few years in the late 1930s he was the proficient player in the plot . The 6'3 '' Texan is one of only six players to win back - to - back U.S. Opens , take the title in 1937 and 1938 .
He was second in the Masters both of those geezerhood , winning it in 1939 . And he win the Western Open , then one of the game ’s giving events , in 1936 , 1937 , and 1938 . Then his game suddenly vanished – for the second time .
Guldahl first issue in 1932 when he won the Arizona Open at age 20 . He nearly gain the 1933 U.S. Open , miss a four - foot putting on the 72nd hole to finish one stroke behind Johnny Goodman .
Then he went into a falloff and quit the Tour in foiling in 1935 . After changing his grasp and expend long hours practicing , Guldahl returned in 1936 and launch the Tour in marking fair .
Guldahl beatSam Sneadby two strokes at Oakland Hills in 1937 to take his first U.S. Open form of address . He double birdie the eighth hole and birdied the 9th , then learned he could perplex Snead with a 37 on the back .
" If I ca n’t fiddle this last nine in 37 strokes , " he said , " I ’m a idler and do n’t merit to win the Open . " Guldahl blast a 36 on the back to polish off with a 69 and set a new U.S. Open 72 - hole record of 281 .
The next year , at Cherry Hills , Guldahl also closed with a 69 to succeed by six stroke . At the Masters in 1939 , Guldahl beat out Snead by one stroke with another concluding - round 69 .
Guldahl won a couple tournament in 1940 , but the next class he struggled greatly . He take motion mental picture of his swing and equate them with his swing when he won the Masters , but he could n’t encounter the fatal flaw .
All he sleep together was that the winning touch had vanished . His ebullience for the game gone , Guldahl left the Tour in 1942 and , except for brief periods , never return .
