1953 U.S. Open (golf)

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1953 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJune 11–13, 1953
LocationOakmont, Pennsylvania
Course(s)Oakmont Country Club
Organized byUSGA
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par72
Length6,916 yards (6,324 m)[1]
Field157 players, 60 after cut
Cut153 (+9)
Prize fund$20,400[2]
Winner's share$5,000
Champion
United States Ben Hogan
283 (–5)
← 1952
1954 →
Oakmont  is located in the United States
Oakmont 
Oakmont 
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Location in the United States
 Oakmont is located in Pennsylvania
 Oakmont
 Oakmont
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Location in Pennsylvania

The 1953 U.S. Open was the 53rd U.S. Open, held June 11–13 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, a suburb northeast of Pittsburgh. Ben Hogan won a record-tying fourth U.S. Open title, six strokes ahead of runner-up Sam Snead.

Overview[]

Although a three-time champion, Hogan was required to participate with the rest of the field in 36-hole qualifying on Tuesday and Wednesday, immediately preceding the championship. The only exemption at the time was for the defending champion, Julius Boros.[3] The field for the qualifier was 300, with one round at Oakmont and another at the Pittsburgh Field Club, host of the PGA Championship in 1937.[4]

After qualifying, Hogan shot a tournament-low 67 (–5) in the first round on Thursday and an even-par 72 on Friday to hold a two-stroke lead over Snead and George Fazio.[5] Snead's third-round 72 on Saturday morning left him just a shot back of Hogan heading into the final round in the afternoon. With nine holes to go in the final round, Snead trailed by just one shot. Hogan made three birdies on Oakmont's back nine, including a 25-foot (8 m) birdie putt at 13 on his way to a 71 and a 283 total, six shots clear of Snead, who shot a final round 76.[6][1] Hogan's first-round 67 and Snead's second-round 69 were the only sub-70 rounds by any players for the entire tournament.[7] Hogan's win at Oakmont was his fourth U.S. Open title, equaling the record of Willie Anderson and Bobby Jones (Jack Nicklaus would win his fourth U.S. Open in 1980). The four wins came in the last five U.S. Opens in which Hogan had entered; he missed the 1949 edition following his near-fatal automobile accident.

Two future champions made their U.S. Open debuts in 1953 as amateurs: Arnold Palmer, 23, of nearby Latrobe and Ken Venturi, 22, of San Francisco. Both missed the cut; Venturi (78-76=154) by one stroke, Palmer (84-78=162) by nine.[8]

Hogan in 1953[]

Already the Masters champion, Hogan followed up his U.S. Open win with another at the British Open at Carnoustie a few weeks later. He became the first to win three professional majors in a single season, a feat matched only by Tiger Woods in 2000. Through 2018, Hogan remains the only golfer in history to win the Masters, U.S. Open, and British Open in the same calendar year. His margins of victory in the 1953 majors were five, six, and four strokes, respectively.

In 1953, the final two majors were in conflict on the schedule. The match-play PGA Championship was a seven-day event, held July 1–7 near Detroit; the British Open in Scotland was played July 8–10, with a mandatory 36-hole qualifier on July 6–7.[9][10]

Course layout[]

Main article: Oakmont Country Club
Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Yards 493 355 428 544 384 183 387 253 480 3,507 470 372 598 161 362 458 234 292 462 3,409 6,916
Par 5 4 4 5 4 3 4 3 5 37 4 4 5 3 4 4 3 4 4 35 72

Source:[11]

Lengths of the course for previous major championships:

The first hole became a par 4 for majors in 1962.

Past champions in the field[]

Made the cut[]

Player Country Year(s) won R1 R2 R3 R4 Total To par Finish
Ben Hogan  United States 1948, 1950, 1951 67 72 73 71 283 –5 1
Lloyd Mangrum  United States 1946 73 70 74 75 292 +4 3
Julius Boros  United States 1952 75 72 76 76 299 +11 T17
Lawson Little  United States 1940 78 75 79 75 307 +19 T45
Cary Middlecoff  United States 1949 76 73 WD

Missed the cut[]

Player Country Year(s) won R1 R2 Total To par
Lew Worsham  United States 1947 78 78 156 +12
Gene Sarazen  United States 1922, 1932 82 79 161 +17

Source:[8]

Round summaries[]

First round[]

Thursday, June 11, 1953

Place Player Country Score To par
1 Ben Hogan  United States 67 –5
T2 Walter Burkemo  United States 70 –2
George Fazio  United States
Frank Souchak (a)  United States
T5 Jimmy Demaret  United States 71 –1
 United States
T7 Lou Barbaro  United States 72 E
Jerry Barber  United States
Jay Hebert  United States
Sam Snead  United States

Source:[12]

Second round[]

Friday, June 12, 1953

Place Player Country Score To par
1 Ben Hogan  United States 67-72=139 –5
T2 George Fazio  United States 70-71=141 –3
Sam Snead  United States 72-69=141
4 Lloyd Mangrum  United States 73-70=143 –1
5 Jay Hebert  United States 72-72=144 E
6 Dick Metz  United States 75-70=145 +1
T7 Al Mengert  United States 75-71=146 +2
Frank Souchak (a)  United States 70-76=146
T9 Jerry Barber  United States 72-75=147 +3
Julius Boros  United States 75-72=147
Jimmy Demaret  United States 71-76=147
Fred Haas  United States 74-73=147
Marty Furgol  United States 73-74=147
Ted Kroll  United States 76-71=147

Source:[8]

Third round[]

Saturday, June 13, 1953 (morning)

Place Player Country Score To par
1 Ben Hogan  United States 67-72-73=212 –4
2 Sam Snead  United States 72-69-72=213 –3
T3 Jimmy Demaret  United States 71-76-71=218 +2
George Fazio  United States 70-71-77=218
Jay Hebert  United States 72-72-74=218
T6 Fred Haas  United States 74-73-72=219 +3
Dick Metz  United States 75-70-74=219
T8 Jack Burke Jr.  United States 76-73-72=221 +5
Ted Kroll  United States 76-71-74=221
T10 Dutch Harrison  United States 77-75-70=222 +6
Bobby Locke South Africa South Africa 78-70-74=222
Frank Souchak (a)  United States 70-76-76=222

Final round[]

Saturday, June 13, 1953 (afternoon)

Place Player Country Score To par Money ($)
1 Ben Hogan  United States 67-72-73-71=283 –5 5,000
2 Sam Snead  United States 72-69-72-76=289 +1 3,000
3 Lloyd Mangrum  United States 73-70-74-75=292 +4 1,500
T4 Pete Cooper  United States 78-75-71-70=294 +6 816
Jimmy Demaret  United States 71-76-71-76=294
George Fazio  United States 70-71-77-76=294
T7 Ted Kroll  United States 76-71-74-74=295 +7 450
Dick Metz  United States 75-70-74-76=295
T9 Marty Furgol  United States 73-74-76-73=296 +8 325
Jay Hebert  United States 72-72-74-78=296
Frank Souchak (a)  United States 70-76-76-74=296 0
(a) denotes amateur

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Hogan wins 4th U.S. Open". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. June 14, 1953. p. 1-sports.
  2. ^ "U.S. Open history: 1953". USGA. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
  3. ^ "National Open qualifying scores". Youngstown Vindicator. Associated Press. June 11, 1953. p. 43.
  4. ^ "'53 National Open at Oakmont will be revised sharply". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. June 13, 1952. p. 23.
  5. ^ "Hogan slips to 72 but still leads Open by two strokes". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. June 13, 1953. p. 2-sports.
  6. ^ Fraley, Oscar (June 14, 1953). "Steel nerved Hogan wins Open". Victoria Advocate. Texas. United Press. p. 12A.
  7. ^ "1953 U.S. Open: Recap and Scores for the 1953 U.S. Open Golf Tournament". About.com Golf. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  8. ^ a b c "National Open Golf Scores". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. June 13, 1953. p. 7.
  9. ^ "Bobby Locke has 32-33-65 in qualifying for British Open". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. July 7, 1953. p. 17.
  10. ^ "Burkemo wins P.G.A. - Locke paces British qualifiers". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. July 8, 1953. p. 21.
  11. ^ "Oakmont, the champ, the man to beat". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida. NEA. June 10, 1953. p. 9.
  12. ^ "National Open Golf Scores". Youngstown Vindicator. ohio. Associated Press. June 12, 1953. p. 35.

External links[]

Coordinates: 40°31′34″N 79°49′37″W / 40.526°N 79.827°W / 40.526; -79.827

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