Happy Masters week to those who celebrate.

A few things before we get to The Masters main course I have cooked up.

• If you’re looking for some fun competition this golf season, I am hosting two events with Jordan over at Fn3P. We’re calling it the Half Swing Series. The first event is at Butter Brook on May 30. Grab a partner or sign up as a single, and we’ll partner you up! Details and sign up here.

• In last week’s newsletters, I wrote about Bobby Jones and Franklin Park (Tuesday) and about attending the Masters in 2018 (Friday).

• I tossed in links to some Masters reading and viewing at the bottom of this newsletter, but I’ll plug my Masters preview with Paul Burke. We’ve done this for the last ten years…, but we have yet to pick a winner over the decade. Listen here for who not to put your money on this week.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy golf’s first major! We’ll be back on Friday.

1938 Masters champion Henry Picard

Henry Picard, the 1938 Masters champion, grew up in Plymouth, Massachusetts. He lived a life that is, literally and figuratively, a hundred years removed from what a two-time major champion would live today.

He also won 26 times on the PGA Tour. For context, Justin Thomas has two major championships and 15 PGA Tour wins.

When he won the 1938 Masters and 1939 PGA Championship, he was head pro at Hershey CC. Incredible stuff. Hershey CC matched every dollar that Picard won on the PGA Tour. The “Hershey Hurricane” won the money title in 1939 with six wins.

Picard was a stellar player growing up. He learned the game as many did—as a caddie at Plymouth CC. In 1925, as a 19-year-old, he turned pro and headed south to Charleston, S.C., where he worked as an assistant pro at CC of Charleston for nine years. He moved to Hershey CC in 1934 and remained there until 1941. When Picard left Hershey for Twin Hill G&CC, he tapped a guy named Ben Hogan to replace him in Hershey.

That was five years before Hogan would win his first major - the 1946 PGA Championship. Eight more majors would follow. Hogan’s first book, Hogan’s Power Golf was dedicated to Picard. That opportunity helped Hogan stay on his feet, even as a somewhat successful touring pro.

While Picard was at Twin Hill in Oklahoma City, he taught Jack Grout, who would go on to teach Jack Nicklaus. With two majors to his name, Picard rubbed shoulders with and impacted two of the greatest golfers of all time.

Not bad for a kid from Plymouth.

The 1938 Masters win was during the tournament's infancy—it was in its fifth edition. Byron Nelson, Gene Sarazen, and Horton Smith were the other champions to that point. “The shot heard ‘round the world” from Gene Sarzen, an albatross on the 15th hole, happened in 1935, which might have been the moment that made The Masters a bit more than a small blimp on the sporting radar.

The players were battling for a $5,000 purse, that’s probably just a portion of the bill at the champions dinner that Jon Rahm will host tonight. The winner received $1,500.

A good chunk of money back then, but not enough to keep Picard from returning to Hershey CC.

Picard was a regular at the Champions Dinner at Augusta National and was in attendance for the first in 1952, which Ben Hogan organized as a “Stag Dinner.” This Golf Digest article is a lovely look at the tradition.

When Picard won his second major, the PGA Championship in 1939, he was an underdog in the final. The PGA at the time was a match-play event, and Sam Snead was waiting for Picard in the final. However, Picard made it to the final based on some serious sportsmanship in the semi-final.

During the lunch break of the 36-hole semi-final, a caddie accidentally put a spare club into Picard’s bag. It wasn’t even Picard’s. It gave him 15, one too many. On the 23rd hole, Picard noticed the infraction and told his opponent Dick Metz that he could do whatever he wanted.

“Forget it,” Metz responded. Metz could have swung the match, as it was a tight one. Picard ended up winning the match, Metz ignoring the accidental infraction was quite the sliding door moment.

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Henry McLemore of the Kirksville Daily Express wrote, “he (Picard) was never a great match play player, so don’t be surprised if Byron wins the P.G.A. title along about the 30th hole this afternoon.”

Not so fast, Mr. McLemore.

Instead, Picard won the 36th hole to force extra holes and beat Byron Nelson in 37 holes to capture his second and final major championship.

World War II impacted the Plymouth native; he stayed at Twin Hill and worked at the McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Company. Then he returned to South Carolina to run his farm. He couldn’t give up golf completely, and after WWII, he won the Miami Open for his final professional win. Then Canterbury GC came calling and offered him the head professional job.

The tradition of the green jacket did not exist when Picard won the Masters. That didn’t come about until 1949. Picard received his green jacket along with all the winners from 1934-1948.

The Picard Cup, held at Canterbury GC, is a coveted two-man invitational every summer. It’s where Picard’s green jacket is on display following his 19 years of service as the club’s head pro from 1945-1964. He’d spend his winter in South Carolina and head up to Canterbury GC for the golf season, and then Seminole came calling; Picard then split his time between Seminiole and Canterbury until 1976 when he retired.

Not too shabby.

Picard’s love of the game prevailed in retirement; he’d give lessons and play a little golf during retirement. He passed away in 1997 at 90 years old in Charleston. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame posthumously, which is a shame given his deep ties and success in professional golf for his entire life.

As the 88th Masters kicks off this week, it’s always so easy to forget that it started as a simple affair in 1934 and that a professional from Plymouth took home the version of this world-famous event.

Some Masters reading and viewing to get you ready for Thursday:

• I’m enjoying The Making of the Masters on the Golfer’s Journal Podcast.

• Trevor Immelman was on the Fried Egg Golf Podcast with Andy Johnson. Just a really good conversation about The Masters. Listen here.

• Brendan Quinn wrote a feature on Immelman for The Athletic

• Justin Ray did a massive Q&A last night on Twitter. Went deep on some Masters stats and trends. Give him a follow and dive into the numbers.

• The Lost Green Jackets of The Masters by Joel Beall is a great read about close calls.

• It’s pretty staggering how good Brooks Koepka is in the majors. He’s interesting when he starts talking about other people, but he’s so boring when people try to peel back the layers.