The 1924 U.S. Open was the 28th U.S. Open, held June 5–6 at Oakland Hills Country Club in Birmingham, Michigan, a suburb northwest of Detroit. Cyril Walker, a relatively unknown Englishman, won his only major title at the South Course, three strokes ahead of runner-up Bobby Jones, the defending champion.[3][4]

1924 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJune 5–6, 1924
LocationBirmingham, Michigan
Course(s)Oakland Hills Country Club
South Course
Organized byUSGA
FormatStroke play − 72 holes
Statistics
Par72
Length6,874 yards (6,286 m)[1][2]
Field84
Cutnone
Winner's share$500
Champion
England Cyril Walker
297 (+9)
← 1923
1925 →
Oakland Hills Country Club is located in the United States
Oakland Hills Country Club
Oakland Hills Country Club
Oakland Hills Country Club is located in Michigan
Oakland Hills Country Club
Oakland Hills Country Club

After the first two rounds of play on Thursday, Jones shared the lead with Bill Mehlhorn, with Walker a shot back.[1] Walker shot a third consecutive 74 in the third round to tie Jones after 54 holes, with Mehlhorn one back. Jones and Mehlhorn, playing ahead of Walker in the final round, both played poorly, each carding 78. Leading by three on the 15th, Walker made bogey but then responded with a birdie on 16. He parred the final two holes to secure the championship.

This was the high point of Walker's golf career. He never won another significant title, and it was his only top ten finish in the U.S. Open; his next best finish in a major was the semifinals of the PGA Championship in 1921. A heavy drinker, Walker wound up working as a caddy and a dishwasher; unable to afford a room, he died in a New Jersey jail cell of pneumonia in 1948 at age 56.[5][6][7]

This was the first of nine major championships held at the South Course through 2017; six U.S. Opens and three PGA Championships.

Course layout

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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 436 490 198 418 407 353 384 450 237 3,403 450 403 552 142 461 412 384 191 476 3,471 6,874
Par 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 4 3 35 4 4 5 3 5 4 4 3 5 37 72

Source:[1]

Round summaries

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First round

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Thursday, June 5, 1924 (morning)

Place Player Score To par
1   Bill Mehlhorn 72 E
T2   Eddie Loos 73 +1
  Dave Robertson
T4   Bobby Jones (a) 74 +2
  Gene Sarazen
  Herbert Lagerblade
  Cyril Walker
T8   Mike Brady 75 +3
  Johnny Golden
  Walter Hagen
  Willie Ogg

Source:[1]

Second round

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Thursday, June 5, 1924 (afternoon)

Place Player Score To par
T1   Bobby Jones (a) 74-73=147 +3
  Bill Mehlhorn 72-75=147
3   Cyril Walker 74-74=148 +4
T4   Bobby Cruickshank 77-72=149 +5
  Dave Robertson 73-76=149
T6   Walter Hagen 75-75=150 +6
  Macdonald Smith[8] 78-72=150
8   Abe Espinosa 80-71=151 +7
T9   Mike Brady 75-77=152 +8
  Tom Kerrigan 75-77=152

Source:[1]

Third round

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Friday, June 6, 1924 (morning)

Place Player Score To par
T1   Bobby Jones (a) 74-73-75=222 +6
  Cyril Walker 74-74-74=222
3   Bill Mehlhorn 72-75-76=223 +7
4   Bobby Cruickshank 77-72-76=225 +9
T5   Walter Hagen 75-75-76=226 +10
  Dave Robertson 73-76-77=226
7   Macdonald Smith 78-72-77=227 +11
T8   Abe Espinosa 80-71-77=228 +12
  Tommy Armour 77-76-75=228
T10   Peter O'Hara 76-79-74=229 +13
  Mike Brady 75-77-77=229
  Eddie Loos 73-81-75=229

Source:[4]

Final round

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Friday, June 6, 1924 (afternoon)

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1   Cyril Walker 74-74-74-75=297 +9 500
2   Bobby Jones (a) 74-73-75-78=300 +12 0
3   Bill Mehlhorn 72-75-76-78=301 +13 300
T4   Bobby Cruickshank 77-72-76-78=303 +15 150
  Walter Hagen 75-75-76-77=303
  Macdonald Smith 78-72-77-76=303
T7   Abe Espinosa 80-71-77-77=305 +17 85
  Peter O'Hara 76-79-74-76=305
9   Mike Brady 75-77-77-77=306 +18 75
T10   Chick Evans (a) 77-77-76-77=307 +19 0
  Eddie Loos 73-81-75-78=307 63
  Dave Robertson 73-76-77-81=307

Source:[4]

Amateurs: Jones (+12), Evans (+19), Guilford (+29), Sweet (+55).

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Davis, Joe (June 6, 1924). "Jones, Mehlhorn low with 147 in National Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 25.
  2. ^ "Jones divides National Open lead". Miami News. Associated Press. June 6, 1924. p. 8.
  3. ^ "Cyril Walker wrests National Open golf title from Jones". Miami News. Associated Press. June 7, 1924. p. 8.
  4. ^ a b c Davis, Joe (June 7, 1924). "Walker wins National Open, Jones second". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 13.
  5. ^ "Cyril Walker dies; beat Bobby Jones". Toledo Blade. Ohio. United Press. August 7, 1948. p. 10.
  6. ^ "Cyril Walker a pocket-sized Ben Hogan of his golfing day". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. August 23, 1948. p. 8.
  7. ^ Carroll, Dick (July 2, 1955). "The tragedy of Cyril Walker". Montreal Gazette. p. 8.
  8. ^ According to his naturalization certificate (available at Ancestry.com) Smith became a U.S. citizen in 1923
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42°32′38″N 83°16′37″W / 42.544°N 83.277°W / 42.544; -83.277