The 1911 U.S. Open was the 17th U.S. Open, held June 23–26 at Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago. Nineteen-year-old John McDermott became the first American-born champion by defeating Mike Brady and George Simpson in an 18-hole playoff.[1]

1911 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJune 23–26, 1911
LocationWheaton, Illinois
Course(s)Chicago Golf Club
Organized byUSGA
FormatStroke play − 72 holes
Statistics
Par76
Length6,606 yards (6,041 m)[1][2]
Field72, 60 after cut
Cut168 (+16)
Winner's share$300
Champion
United States John McDermott
307 (+3), playoff
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Chicago  Golf Club is located in the United States
Chicago  Golf Club
Chicago 
Golf Club
Chicago  Golf Club is located in Illinois
Chicago  Golf Club
Chicago 
Golf Club

Two past champions, Alec Ross and Fred McLeod, shared the 36-hole lead on Friday evening at 149 (−3), with McDermott, Brady, and Simpson four shots back at 153, in a five-way tie for fourth.[2]

Ross struggled on a rainy Saturday with 81-82 for 312 (+8) and fell into a tie for ninth. McLeod had a three-stroke lead after 54 holes, but finished with 83 for 308. Simpson posted 79-75 for 307, while Brady tied Simpson with a final round 75. McDermott made a birdie on the final hole for 79 to join Simpson and Brady, forcing a three-way playoff.[3] Sunday was an idle day.[4]

In the playoff on Monday afternoon,[4] McDermott led Brady by four after the turn, with Simpson one more back.[1] Brady then played the next four holes in one-under par while McDermott made three consecutive bogeys, evening up the contest with four holes remaining. McDermott took the lead at the 15th after Brady missed a four-footer (1.2 m) for par, then sealed the championship with an approach to the par-5 18th that settled ten feet (3 m) from the hole. He two-putted for birdie and 80, two strokes ahead of Brady and five clear of Simpson at 85.[1]

At 19, McDermott became the youngest U.S. Open champion, a mark that still stands, and was also its first American-born champion. He successfully defended his title the following year, but by 1914 he began suffering from mental illness and his career was essentially over at age 23.

The Open Championship in England was held June 26−30 at Sandwich.

This was the first U.S. Open since the death of four-time champion Willie Anderson (1901, 1903, 1904, 1905); he had played in the previous fourteen editions and died the previous October at age 31.

Course

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Hole Yards Par    Hole Yards Par
1 468 5 10 241 4
2 358 4 11 510 5
3 337 4 12 330 4
4 418 4 13 519 5
5 334 4 14 300 4
6 568 5 15 364 4
7 310 4 16 318 4
8 315 4 17 348 4
9 141 3 18 427 5
Out 3,249 37 In 3,357 39
Source:[1] Total 6,606 76

Round summaries

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First round

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Friday, June 23, 1911 (morning)

Place Player Score To par
T1   Herbert Barker 75 −1
  Alec Ross
T3   Mike Brady 76 E
  George Sargent
  George Simpson
T6   Fred McLeod 77 +1
  Tom McNamara
  Harry Turple
T9   James Donaldson 78 +2
  Otto Hackbarth
  Albert Seckel (a)
  Alex Smith

Source:[2]

Second round

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Friday, June 23, 1911 (afternoon)

Place Player Score To par
T1   Fred McLeod 77-72=149 −3
  Alec Ross 74-75=149
3   Otto Hackbarth 78-74=152 E
T4   Mike Brady 76-77=153 +1
  John McDermott 81-72=153
  George Sargent 76-77=153
  George Simpson 76-77=153
  Harry Turpie 77-76=153
T9   Gilbert Nicholls 76-78=154 +2
  Alex Smith 78-76=154

Source:[2]

Third round

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Saturday, June 24, 1911 (morning)

Place Player Score To par
1   Fred McLeod 77-72-76=225 −3
T2   John McDermott 81-72-75=228 E
  Gilbert Nicholls 76-78-74=228
T4   Alex Campbell 81-77-72=230 +2
  Jock Hutchison 80-77-73=230
  Alec Ross 74-75-81=230
T7   Mike Brady 76-77-79=232 +4
  George Simpson 76-77-79=232
T9   Herbert Barker 75-81-77=233 +5
  Peter Robertson 79-76-78=233

Source:[3]

Final round

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Saturday, June 24, 1911 (afternoon)

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
T1   John McDermott 81-72-75-79=307 +3 Playoff
  Mike Brady 76-77-79-75=307
  George Simpson 76-77-79-75=307
4   Fred McLeod 77-72-76-83=308 +4 80
T5   Jock Hutchison 80-77-73-79=309 +5 65
  Gilbert Nicholls 76-78-74-81=309
T7   Herbert Barker 75-81-77-78=311 +7 45
  George Sargent 76-77-84-74=311
T9   Peter Robertson 79-76-78-79=312 +8 25
  Alec Ross 74-75-81-82=312

Source:[3]

Amateurs: Seckel (+9), Sawyer (+15), Phelps (+16), Gardner (+17), Egan (+17), Watson (+17),
                 Ames (+22), Sellers (+31), Devol (+37).

Playoff

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Monday, June 26, 1911

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1   John McDermott 39-41=80 +4 300
2   Mike Brady 43-39=82 +6 150
3   George Simpson 44-41=85 +9 100

Source:[1]

Scorecard

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Hole   1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9    10   11   12   13   14   15  16 17 18
Par 5 4 4 4 4 5 4 4 3 4 5 4 5 4 4 4 4 5
  McDermott +1 +1 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +3 +4 +4 +5 +5 +5 +5 +4
  Brady −1 +1 +2 +2 +3 +4 +5 +5 +6 +5 +5 +4 +5 +5 +6 +6 +6 +6
  Simpson E +1 +3 +4 +5 +6 +6 +6 +7 +8 +7 +7 +8 +8 +9 +10 +10 +10

Source:[1]

Birdie Bogey Double bogey

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Davis, J.G. (June 27, 1911). "M'Dermott wins Open golf title". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 12.
  2. ^ a b c d Davis, J.G. (June 24, 1911). "Ross and M'Leod lead for honors". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 15.
  3. ^ a b c Davis, J.G. (June 25, 1911). "Triple tie for Open golf title". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
  4. ^ a b Davis, J.G. (June 26, 1911). "Play for title on links today". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 12.
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41°50′56″N 88°06′54″W / 41.849°N 88.115°W / 41.849; -88.115