Died: April 30, 1997
Nickname: "Pick" to his friends, "the Hershey Hurricane" to sportswriters.
26
2
• The Masters: 1938
• PGA Championship: 1939
• Member, World Golf Hall of Fame
• PGA Tour money leader, 1939
• Member, U.S. Ryder Cup team, 1935, 1937
• Member, PGA of America Hall of Fame
• Henry Picard: "I had my day. Don't kid yourself. I knew who could beat me, but once in a while I beat them."
• Beth Daniel: "He symbolized what I wanted to be. He taught me a lot about the game."
When Henry Picard won The Masters in 1938, his other job was head professional at Hershey Country Club in Hershey, Pa. He quit and recommended his replacement: Ben Hogan.
Henry Picard was a quiet but highly respected pro - both as a touring pro and later as a teaching professional - who won a pair of majors and 26 tournaments total, most of them in the 1930s.
Picard learned the game while caddying at Plymouth Country Club in his hometown. He was only 17 when he left Plymouth to become a professional. A couple years later he became the head pro at the Country Club of Charleston, the first of numerous club professional jobs he would hold in his life.
His first victory on the PGA Tour was in 1932. Starting in 1935 and continuing through 1939, Picard won at least twice each year, including co-leading the Tour in wins in 1935 (5) and 1936 (3), and leading in 1939 with eight.
Picard was known for his generosity to other players, and Sam Snead credited Picard with convincing him to turn pro. Picard also offered to bankroll Ben Hogan when Hogan was struggling, then got Hogan into the field at the first tournament Hogan would win. He also helped Hogan eliminate his hook, and Hogan dedicated his book "Ben Hogan's Power Golf," to Picard.
When Picard won the 1938 Masters, he left his job at the Hershey Country Club and got Hogan hired as his replacement.
In 1939, Picard won another major, the PGA Championship. He birdied the 36th hole of the championship match with Byron Nelson to square it, then birdied the first extra hole to win it.
Picard's final victory was in 1945, although he continued playing The Masters until 1970. After his touring career ended, Picard continued working as a club professional and became a highly sought after teaching pro.
It was at his last such position, back at the Country Club of Charleston in the early 1970s, when he tutored future LPGA Hall of Famer Beth Daniel.
Picard retired in 1973, although he kept playing into his late 80s. He died at age 90 in 1997, and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2006.
