1936 Masters Tournament

Press Badge

        While the Masters Tournament (then formally called The Augusta National Invitation Tournament) received a fair amount of press coverage at the very beginning due to the tournament’s association with the beloved Bobby Jones, most golf historians credit Gene Sarazen’s double eagle in the final round of the 1935 Masters with putting the tournament “on the map.” Press coverage of the tournament increased the following year at the 1936 Masters. Presented here is one of those Press Badges used at the 1936 tournament, which was won by Horton Smith. Quite amazingly, we even know the identity of the journalist who was issued this badge back in 1936 - as the original name card is still intact inside the badge. This exact badge belonged Purser Hewitt, the famed editor of Mississippi's Clarion-Ledger. We presume that Hewitt's presence at the tournament was largely a result of the increased interest due to Gene Sarazen’s miraculous shot a year earlier.

        This is likely one of the only only 1936 Masters Press Badges that you will ever see, as only a couple examples are known to exist. In fact Augusta National itself does not even have one in their archives. We previously sold a lesser grade 1936 Masters Press Badge back in our inaugural auction in 2006 for $5,944.

        This original badge from Horton Smiths victory at the 1936 Masters Tournament is in remarkable shape and measures a nice 2 1/4" in diameter with a 1 1/2" x 3 1/4" Press ribbon waving proudly at the bottom.