An Original Master : Paul Runyan Was at Augusta National for the First Tournament, and Has Seen It Grow Into Something Special

Paul Runyan doesn’t need to go to Augusta National to feel as if he’s at the Masters anymore.

His palatial home, in the San Rafael section of Pasadena, sits among two acres of pines and multicolored azaleas, the trademark flowering bush of Augusta. It could be nestling alongside a fairway of the Masters course. Only the dogwoods are missing.

Runyan, 88, played in the first Masters in 1934--it was called the Augusta Invitational then--and tied for third with Billy Burke at 286, two shots behind winner Horton Smith and one behind Craig Wood.

“I thought I might win until I took a [double-bogey] seven on No. 13. It was No. 4 then, before they flip-flopped the nines,” Runyan recalled. “The tournament was no big deal then. We didn’t think of it as any better than anyplace else. No one could possibly have imagined it would become so important.

“The thing I remember most about ’34 was the aura of Bobby Jones. The Augusta members held a Calcutta pool before the tournament and Bobby, who was rusty because he hadn’t played much in four years, sold for nearly $14,000. I was one of favorites among the pros and I went for $1,800. I think Horton went for even less. Bobby finished about 10 shots back of Smith, but everyone was in awe of him.”

Despite being one of the smallest golfers on the tour, Runyan won 28 tournaments, including two PGA Championships, and is a member of the PGA Hall of Fame.

He was the hottest golfer on tour between 1933 and 1935. When the first Masters was held in March 1934, he was coming off a year in which he won nine tournaments.

In 1934, he won six tournaments and the first of his two PGAs by beating his tutor, Wood, 1-up on the 38th hole. (The PGA was a match-play event until 1958.) Runyan was the tour’s leading money winner with $6,767 after finishing 12 times in the top three.

The purse for the first Augusta Invitational was $5,000.

“That first year, playing in Augusta was more of a status thing,” Runyan said. “It was an invitational with a lot of Bobby Jones’ friends mixed in with a few of the top professionals. Nowadays, it’s money they’re after as much as the green jacket.”

Prize money for this week’s Masters is $2.5 million, $450,000 to the winner.

“What made the Masters in those early years was the popularity of Jones and the tenacity of [tournament chairman] Cliff Roberts. Later, what made it grow was that it was played every year on the same course, so the officials were given a chance to improve on their mistakes of the previous years. By doing so, it evolved into the best-run tournament in the world--better than the U.S. Open, the British Open or the PGA, which all move around.

“Another reason for its mystique is that the number of spectators is limited [estimates are 30,000-35,000]. They could sell that many more, probably, but it would ruin the tournament.”

Runyan played in the first nine Masters--the name became official in the fourth year--before World War II and in three after the war.

“I’d have played more, but they changed the rules and because I never won, I became ineligible after 1948,” he said.

He finished fourth in 1939 behind Ralph Guldahl and third in 1942, two shots behind Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan, who tied at 280. Nelson won the playoff.

“I think the [1937] tournament did a lot for the Masters’ back-nine reputation as being catastrophic,” Runyan said. “That was the year Guldahl and Nelson were even on the final day when they came to the [par-three] 12th and [par-five] 13th.” Nelson went 2-3, picked up six strokes on Guldahl in two holes and won by two strokes over Guldahl.

In the 1938 PGA finals, at Shawnee-on-Delaware, Pa., Runyan won his famous match against Sam Snead, 8 and 7, the most lopsided final in tournament history before it became a stroke-play event. Runyan played 196 holes in 24 under par.

“I’d trade one of my PGA wins for one Masters,” he said, “but if I could have won only one major, I would rather have won the [U.S.] Open. It’s always been first in my mind, way ahead of the Masters because it has such a stronger field. In most years, the entry in the Masters wasn’t as strong as the Greensboro Open the week before.”

Like Lee Trevino, Runyan sees great beauty at Augusta National, but not a great golf course.

“I don’t think the Masters course belongs in the first 50 in the world, but every year Golf Digest puts it in the first 10,” he said. “That’s ridiculous. There’s no question that when you play at Augusta in April, the beauty of the course is about as close to heaven as you’ll ever get.

“But if you’re talking about a great golf course, no. There’s no rough, so even if the pros hit the ball deep in the trees, they will always have a good lie, and these days they can maneuver the ball back in play with no trouble at all.

“The Masters is nowhere near as tough--or as fair--as Pinehurst No. 2, or any number of other great courses. I think it gets its ranking because it’s a popularity contest. Everyone wants to play it, but that doesn’t mean it’s a great course.”

Runyan plays golf regularly, usually at the Annandale Golf Club in Pasadena, about a mile from his home. He was head professional there in the late ‘40s and was given a life membership.

“On a good day, I’ll hit a small bucket [of practice balls] to warm up, play 18 holes and, on a day when I don’t play, I’ll hit balls for two or three hours,” he said.

He’ll be 89 July 12 but still shoots in the mid-70s on the 6,418-yard par-70 Annandale course that director of golf Pat Rielly calls “the toughest short course in Southern California.”

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Masters at a Glance

* WHEN: Thursday through Sunday

* WHERE: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Ga.

* DEFENDING CHAMPION: Nick Faldo

* TV: Thursday: 1 p.m., USA; highlights, 11:35 p.m., Channel 2; Friday: 1 p.m., USA; highlights, 11:35 p.m., Channel 2; Saturday: 12:30 p.m., Channel 2; Sunday: 1 p.m., Channel 2.