1937 U.S. Open (golf)

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1937 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJune 10–12, 1937
LocationBirmingham, Michigan
Course(s)Oakland Hills Country Club,
South Course
Organized byUSGA
Tour(s)PGA Tour
FormatStroke play − 72 holes
Statistics
Par72[1]
Length7,037 yards (6,435 m)[2][3]
Field166 players, 65 after cut
Cut152 (+8)
Prize fund$5,000
Winner's share$1,000
Champion
United States Ralph Guldahl
281 (−7)
← 1936
1938 →
Oakland Hills Country Club is located in the United States
Oakland Hills Country Club
Oakland Hills Country Club
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Location in the United States
Oakland Hills CC is located in Michigan
Oakland Hills CC
Oakland
Hills CC
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Location in Michigan

The 1937 U.S. Open was the 41st U.S. Open, held June 10–12 at the South Course of Oakland Hills Country Club in Birmingham, Michigan, a suburb northwest of Detroit. Ralph Guldahl won the first of his two consecutive U.S. Opens,[4][5][6] two strokes ahead of runner-up Sam Snead, making his U.S. Open debut.[7]

Snead opened with a 69 to share the lead with Denny Shute.[7][8] Through 54 holes, Snead and Guldahl trailed Ed Dudley by a stroke. During the final round on Saturday afternoon, Dudley shot a 76 and fell out of contention, while Snead birdied the last to finish with a 71 and a 283 total. Guldahl, playing well behind Snead, holed a 65-foot (20 m) putt for eagle at 8, then a birdie from 25 feet (8 m) at 9. After bogeys at 10 and 11, he rallied with birdies on the next two holes. He then went even on his last five holes to finish with a 69 and a 281 total, two better than Snead and a stroke better than the previous tournament record, set the previous year by Tony Manero.[5][9]

Two years earlier, Guldahl had become so frustrated with the game that he quit to become a carpenter. After deciding to return to the game, he went through a period of dominance throughout the late-1930s. He won the Western Open, then considered on-par with the major championships, three years in a row; was runner-up in the Masters Tournament in 1937 and 1938 before winning in 1939; and successfully defended this U.S. Open title in 1938. For Snead, age 25, this tournament was just the beginning of a hard-luck career in the U.S. Open; he finished runner-up four times at the only major he never won.

Guldahl won the title with 19 clubs in his bag.[10] The USGA rule (4-4) regarding a maximum of 14 clubs went into effect the following January.[11][12]

Set at 7,037 yards (6,435 m),[2] Oakland Hills was the first U.S. Open venue to surpass 7,000 yards (6,400 m); its average elevation is approximately 800 feet (245 m) above sea level.

The South Course previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1924, also at par 72, and it returned at par 70 in 1951, 1961, 1985, and 1996. It also later hosted the PGA Championship in 1972, 1979, and 2008. The second par-5 holes on each nine (#8, #18) were played at par-4.

Course layout[]

See also: Oakland Hills Country Club

South Course

Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Yards 443 512 200 447 449 351 416 491 215 3,514 448 413 555 142 450 405 380 198 537 3,523 7,037
Par 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 5 3 36 4 4 5 3 4 4 4 3 5 36 72

Source:[3]

Length of the course for previous major:

Past champions in the field[]

Made the cut[]

Player Country Year(s) won R1 R2 R3 R4 Total To par Finish
Johnny Goodman (a)  United States 1933 70 73 72 75 290 +2 8
Gene Sarazen  United States 1922, 1932 78 69 71 74 292 +4 T10
Billy Burke  United States 1931 75 73 71 75 294 +6 T16
Sam Parks, Jr.  United States 1935 74 74 72 74 294 +6 T16
Johnny Farrell  United States 1928 74 75 75 76 300 +12 T40
Tony Manero  United States 1936 76 73 77 74 300 +12 T40
Willie Macfarlane  Scotland 1925 73 78 75 76 302 +14 T47
Olin Dutra  United States 1934 76 76 77 75 304 +16 T55

Source:[5][13][14][15]

Missed the cut[]

Player Country Year won R1 R2 Total To par
Tommy Armour  Scotland
 United States		 1927 77 78 157 +13

Source:[14][15]

Round summaries[]

First round[]

Thursday, June 10, 1937

Place Player Country Score To par
T1 Denny Shute  United States 69 −3
Sam Snead  United States
T3 Ed Dudley  United States 70 −2
Johnny Goodman (a)  United States
Bill Holt (a)  United States
Frank Strafaci (a)  United States
Frank Walsh  United States
T8 Ralph Guldahl  United States 71 −1
Fred Morrison  United States
Henry Picard  United States
Mike Turnesa  United States

Source:[8]

Second round[]

Friday, June 11, 1937

Place Player Country Score To par
T1 Ed Dudley  United States 70-70=140 −4
Ralph Guldahl  United States 71-69=140
Frank Walsh  United States 70-70=140
Jimmy Thomson  Scotland 74-66=140
T5 Harry Cooper  England
 United States		 72-70=142 −2
Pat Sawyer  United States 72-70=142
Frank Strafaci (a)  United States 70-72=142
Sam Snead  United States 69-73=142
T9 Vic Ghezzi  United States 72-71=143 −1
Johnny Goodman (a)  United States 70-73=143

Source:[14][15]

Third round[]

Saturday, June 12, 1937 (morning)

Place Player Country Score To par
1 Ed Dudley  United States 70-70-71=211 −5
T2 Ralph Guldahl  United States 71-69-72=212 −4
Sam Snead  United States 69-73-70=212
4 Bobby Cruickshank  Scotland 73-73-67=213 −3
T5 Harry Cooper  England
 United States		 72-70-73=215 −1
Al Brosch  United States 74-73-68=215
Johnny Goodman (a)  United States 70-73-72=215
8 Pat Sawyer  United States 72-70-75=217 +1
T9 Henry Picard  United States 71-75-72=218 +2
Gene Sarazen  United States 78-69-71=218
Frank Walsh  United States 70-70-78=218

Source:[5][13]

Final round[]

Saturday, June 12, 1937 (afternoon)

Place Player Country Score To par Money ($)
1 Ralph Guldahl  United States 71-69-72-69=281 −7 1,000
2 Sam Snead  United States 69-73-70-71=283 −5 800
3 Bobby Cruickshank  Scotland 73-73-67-72=285 −3 700
4 Harry Cooper  England
 United States		 72-70-73-71=286 −2 600
5 Ed Dudley  United States 70-70-71-76=287 −1 450
6 Al Brosch  United States 74-73-68-73=288 E 375
7 Clarence Clark  United States 72-75-73-69=289 +1 275
8 Johnny Goodman (a)  United States 70-73-72-75=290 +2 0
9 Frank Strafaci (a)  United States 70-72-77-72=291 +3
T10 Charles Kocsis (a)  United States 72-73-76-71=292 +4
Henry Picard  United States 71-75-72-74=292 175
Gene Sarazen  United States 78-69-71-74=292
Denny Shute  United States 69-76-75-72=292

Source:[5][13]
(a) = amateur

Scorecard[]

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 5 3 4 4 5 3 4 4 4 5 4
United States Guldahl −4 −4 −4 −4 −5 −4 −4 −6 −7 −6 −5 −6 −7 −7 −7 −7 −7 −7
United States Snead −3 −4 −4 −4 −3 −3 −3 −4 −4 −4 −5 −5 −4 −4 −5 −5 −4 −5
Scotland Cruickshank −3 −4 −4 −4 −3 −3 −3 −4 −4 −4 −3 −4 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3
EnglandUnited States Cooper −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 E E E E −1 E −1 −1 −1 E E −1 −2
United States Dudley −4 −4 −5 −4 −4 −5 −6 −5 −5 −3 −2 −2 −3 −2 −1 E −1 −1
United States Brosch E E E E E E E E E E E E E +1 +1 +1 +1 E
United States Clark +3 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +3 +3 +3 +3 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +1
United States Goodman E E E E E E E −1 −1 E −1 −1 −1 E E +2 +2 +2

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Eagle Birdie Bogey Double bogey Triple bogey+

Source:[16]

References[]

  1. ^ "Long course awaits National Open field". Milwaukee Journal. United Press. June 7, 1937. p. 3, part 2.
  2. ^ a b Bartlett, Charles (June 10, 1937). "167 golfers start shooting for National Open title today". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 23.
  3. ^ a b "Shot by shot story of how Guldahl plast last 18". Chicago Sunday Tribune. June 13, 1937. p. 3, sec. 2.
  4. ^ Gould, Alan (June 13, 1937). "Guldahl's 281 wins National Open". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. p. D1.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Every strokes a problem with championship at stake". Chicago Sunday Tribune. June 13, 1937. p. 1, sec. 2.
  6. ^ McLemore, Henry (June 13, 1937). "Guldahl's record 281 eins U.S. Open title". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. p. 1, sports.
  7. ^ a b "Snead and Shute shoot subpar 69's to take lead in Open". Palm Beach Post. Florida. Associated Press. June 11, 1937. p. 8.
  8. ^ a b Bartlett, Charles (June 11, 1937). "Snead and Shute lead open golf with record 69". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 29.
  9. ^ Sixty, Billy (June 13, 1937). "Ralph Guldahl wins Open title with record 281". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1, sports.
  10. ^ "Uses 19 clubs". Milwaukee Journal. June 13, 1937. p. 1, sports.
  11. ^ "Golfers limited to 14 clubs in competition". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). United Press. January 1, 1937. p. 14.
  12. ^ "Tournament golfers limited to 14 clubs". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). Associated Press. January 1, 1937. p. 7.
  13. ^ a b c "How they scored in National Open". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. June 13, 1937. p. 18.
  14. ^ a b c "National Open golf scores". Chicago Daily Tribune. June 12, 1937. p. 21.
  15. ^ a b c "Second day's U.S. Open scores". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). June 12, 1937. p. 13.
  16. ^ "National Open cards". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. June 13, 1937. p. 3, sports.

External links[]

Coordinates: 42°32′38″N 83°16′37″W / 42.544°N 83.277°W / 42.544; -83.277

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