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1937 U.S. Open (golf)

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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]

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

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

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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:

Round summaries

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First round

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Thursday, June 10, 1937

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

Source:[8]

Second round

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Friday, June 11, 1937

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

Source:[13][14]

Third round

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Saturday, June 12, 1937 (morning)

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

Source:[5][15]

Final round

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Saturday, June 12, 1937 (afternoon)

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

Source:[5][15]
(a) = amateur

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 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 5 3 4 4 5 3 4 4 4 5 4
  Guldahl −4 −4 −4 −4 −5 −4 −4 −6 −7 −6 −5 −6 −7 −7 −7 −7 −7 −7
  Snead −3 −4 −4 −4 −3 −3 −3 −4 −4 −4 −5 −5 −4 −4 −5 −5 −4 −5
  Cruickshank −3 −4 −4 −4 −3 −3 −3 −4 −4 −4 −3 −4 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3
   Cooper −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 E E E E −1 E −1 −1 −1 E E −1 −2
  Dudley −4 −4 −5 −4 −4 −5 −6 −5 −5 −3 −2 −2 −3 −2 −1 E −1 −1
  Brosch E E E E E E E E E E E E E +1 +1 +1 +1 E
  Clark +3 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +3 +3 +3 +3 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +1
  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

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  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 "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. ^ "National Open golf scores". Chicago Daily Tribune. June 12, 1937. p. 21.
  14. ^ "Second day's U.S. Open scores". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). June 12, 1937. p. 13.
  15. ^ a b "How they scored in National Open". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. June 13, 1937. p. 18.
  16. ^ "National Open cards". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. June 13, 1937. p. 3, sports.
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42°32′38″N 83°16′37″W / 42.544°N 83.277°W / 42.544; -83.277

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