Three Masters tournaments were canceled due to World War II: the events scheduled for 1943, 1944 and 1945. The tournament resumed in 1946, when Cary Middlecoff won at Augusta National.
The 1942 Masters, won by Byron Nelson, was the last edition before the interruption. Augusta National then closed during the war, and the club’s grounds were used for wartime activities, including raising cattle and turkeys. The course also supported nearby Camp Gordon, where soldiers trained and prisoners of war later helped restore parts of the property.
The three-year gap is sometimes mistaken for four canceled tournaments because the United States remained on a wartime footing into 1946. However, the 1946 Masters was played normally, so the official interruption covers exactly three calendar years. The Masters has been held annually since its return, apart from that World War II suspension.