The 1902 U.S. Open was the eighth U.S. Open, held October 10–11 at Garden City Golf Club in Garden City, New York, on Long Island, east of New York City.[1] Laurie Auchterlonie established a new 72-hole U.S. Open scoring record to win his only major title, six strokes ahead of Stewart Gardner and amateur Walter Travis.[2][3][4]

1902 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesOctober 10–11, 1902
LocationGarden City, New York
Course(s)Garden City Golf Club
Organized byUSGA
FormatStroke play − 72 holes
Statistics
Field83
Cutnone
Winner's share$200
Champion
Scotland Laurie Auchterlonie
307
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1903 →
Garden City Golf Club is located in the United States
Garden City Golf Club
Garden City Golf Club
Garden City Golf Club  is located in New York
Garden City Golf Club 
Garden City Golf Club 

Auchterlonie posted rounds of 78-78-74-77 and became the first in U.S. Open history to card four sub-80 rounds. His 307 total was six shots better than the previous championship record, set by Harry Vardon in 1900.[4]

Clear skies greeted the field on Friday for the first two rounds.[5] The weather worsened on Saturday, with cloudy skies in the morning and a pouring rain in the afternoon. The adverse playing conditions didn't seem to affect the scoring; in fact many players played well in the final round in the rain. John Shippen, playing out of Marine Field Club in New York, became the first American-born player to finish in the money in a U.S. Open.[6]

The improvement in scores were in large part due to the introduction of the Haskell golf ball, which soon replaced the gutta-percha ball as the prominent golf ball in use.

Round summaries

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First round

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Friday, October 10, 1902 (morning)

Place Player Score
1   Jack Campbell 77
2   Laurie Auchterlonie 78
T3   Willie Anderson 79
  Arthur Griffiths
  Jack Park
  Alex Smith
  Harry Turpie
T8   David Brown 80
  Donald Ross
  Charles Thorn

Source:[3][5]

Second round

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Friday, October 10, 1902 (afternoon)

Place Player Score
1   Laurie Auchterlonie 78-78=156
2   Stewart Gardner 82-76=158
3   Alex Ross 80-83=160
T4   Willie Anderson 79-82=161
  Willie Smith 82-79=161
6   Charles Thorn 80-82=162
7   Donald Ross 80-83=163
T8   David Hunter[7] 83-81=164
  John Shippen 83-81=164
  Walter Travis (a) 82-82=164
  Harry Turpie 79-85=164

Source:[3][5]

Third round

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Saturday, October 11, 1902 (morning)

Place Player Score
1   Laurie Auchterlonie 78-78-74=230
2   Stewart Gardner 82-76-77=235
3   Willie Anderson 79-82-76=237
T4   John Shippen 83-81-75=239
  Walter Travis (a) 82-82-75=239
T6   Donald Ross 80-83-78=241
  Willie Smith 82-79-80=241
T8   Jack Campbell 77-87-79=243
  Charles Thorn 80-82-80=242
  Harry Turpie 79-85-78=242

Source:[2][3]

Final round

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Saturday, October 11, 1902 (afternoon)

Place Player Score Money ($)
1   Laurie Auchterlonie 78-78-74-77=307 200
T2   Stewart Gardner 82-76-77-78=313 150
  Walter Travis (a) 82-82-75-74=313 0
4   Willie Smith 82-79-80-75=316 125
T5   Willie Anderson 79-82-76-81=318 90
  John Shippen 83-81-75-79=318
7   Charles Thorn 80-82-80-77=319 70
8   Harry Turpie 79-85-78-78=320 50
9   Donald Ross 80-83-78-81=322 40
10   Alex Ross 83-77-84-79=323 30

Source:[2][3]

Amateurs: Travis (313), Murphy (341), Watson (345), Livingston (348), Seeley (353),
                 Lockwood (356), Macdonald (357), Croker (360).

References

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  1. ^ "Pros to tee off today". Chicago Daily Tribune. October 10, 1902. p. 7.
  2. ^ a b c "Auchterlonie is Open champion". Chicago Sunday Tribune. October 12, 1902. p. 1, sec. 2.
  3. ^ a b c d e Brenner, Morgan G. (2009). The Majors of Golf: Complete Results of The Open, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters, 1860-2008. pp. 204–5. ISBN 9780786453955. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Auchterlonie Wins Open Championship at Garden City – Travis Ties for Second Place". The Fitchburg Sentinel. Fitchburg, Massachusetts. October 13, 1902. p. 1.
  5. ^ a b c "Best score by Glen View pro". Chicago Daily Tribune. October 11, 1902. p. 6.
  6. ^ "Open Golf Champion". The Saint Paul Globe. Minnesota. October 12, 1902. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  7. ^ "Antique Golf Clubs from Scotland: Clubmakers".
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40°43′34″N 73°38′35″W / 40.726°N 73.643°W / 40.726; -73.643