1937 U.S. Open (golf)

1937 U.S. Open
Tournament information
Dates June 10–12, 1937
Location Birmingham, Michigan
Course(s) Oakland Hills Country Club,
South Course
Organized by USGA
Tour(s) PGA Tour
Format Stroke play − 72 holes
Statistics
Par 72[1]
Length 7,037 yards (6,435 m)[2][3]
Field 166 players, 65 after cut
Cut 152 (+8)
Prize fund $5,000
Winner's share $1,000
Champion
United States Ralph Guldahl
281 (−7)
Oakland Hills Country Club
Location in the United States
Oakland
Hills CC
Location in Michigan

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]

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

South Course

Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards4435122004474493514164912153,5144484135551424504053801985373,5237,037
Par453444453364453444353672

Source:[3]

Length of the course for previous major:

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

PlayerCountryYear(s) wonR1R2R3R4TotalTo parFinish
Johnny Goodman (a) United States193370737275290+28
Gene Sarazen United States1922, 193278697174292+4T10
Billy Burke United States193175737175294+6T16
Sam Parks, Jr. United States193574747274294+6T16
Johnny Farrell United States192874757576300+12T40
Tony Manero United States193676737774300+12T40
Willie Macfarlane Scotland192573787576302+14T47
Olin Dutra United States193476767775304+16T55

Source:[5][13][14][15]

Missed the cut

PlayerCountryYear wonR1R2TotalTo par
Tommy Armour Scotland
 United States		19277778157+13

Source:[14][15]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 10, 1937

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Denny Shute United States69−3
Sam Snead United States
T3Ed Dudley United States70−2
Johnny Goodman (a) United States
Bill Holt (a) United States
Frank Strafaci (a) United States
Frank Walsh United States
T8Ralph Guldahl United States71−1
Fred Morrison United States
Henry Picard United States
Mike Turnesa United States

Source:[8]

Second round

Friday, June 11, 1937

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Ed Dudley United States70-70=140−4
Ralph Guldahl United States71-69=140
Frank Walsh United States70-70=140
Jimmy Thomson Scotland74-66=140
T5Harry Cooper England
 United States		72-70=142−2
Pat Sawyer United States72-70=142
Frank Strafaci (a) United States70-72=142
Sam Snead United States69-73=142
T9Vic Ghezzi United States72-71=143−1
Johnny Goodman (a) United States70-73=143

Source:[14][15]

Third round

Saturday, June 12, 1937 (morning)

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Ed Dudley United States70-70-71=211−5
T2Ralph Guldahl United States71-69-72=212−4
Sam Snead United States69-73-70=212
4Bobby Cruickshank Scotland73-73-67=213−3
T5Harry Cooper England
 United States		72-70-73=215−1
Al Brosch United States74-73-68=215
Johnny Goodman (a) United States70-73-72=215
8Pat Sawyer United States72-70-75=217+1
T9Henry Picard United States71-75-72=218+2
Gene Sarazen United States78-69-71=218
Frank Walsh United States70-70-78=218

Source:[5][13]

Final round

Saturday, June 12, 1937 (afternoon)

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney ($)
1Ralph Guldahl United States71-69-72-69=281−71,000
2Sam Snead United States69-73-70-71=283−5800
3Bobby Cruickshank Scotland73-73-67-72=285−3700
4Harry Cooper England
 United States		72-70-73-71=286−2600
5Ed Dudley United States70-70-71-76=287−1450
6Al Brosch United States74-73-68-73=288E375
7Clarence Clark United States72-75-73-69=289+1275
8Johnny Goodman (a) United States70-73-72-75=290+20
9Frank Strafaci (a) United States70-72-77-72=291+3
T10Charles Kocsis (a) United States72-73-76-71=292+4
Henry Picard United States71-75-72-74=292175
Gene Sarazen United States78-69-71-74=292
Denny Shute United States69-76-75-72=292

Source:[5][13]
(a) = amateur

Scorecard

Hole 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 101112131415161718
Par453444453445344454
United States Guldahl−4−4−4−4−5−4−4−6−7−6−5−6−7−7−7−7−7−7
United States Snead−3−4−4−4−3−3−3−4−4−4−5−5−4−4−5−5−4−5
Scotland Cruickshank−3−4−4−4−3−3−3−4−4−4−3−4−3−3−3−3−3−3
EnglandUnited States Cooper−1−1−1−1−1EEEE−1E−1−1−1EE−1−2
United States Dudley−4−4−5−4−4−5−6−5−5−3−2−2−3−2−1E−1−1
United States BroschEEEEEEEEEEEEE+1+1+1+1E
United States Clark+3+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+3+3+3+3+2+2+2+2+2+1
United States GoodmanEEEEEEE−1−1E−1−1−1EE+2+2+2

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Eagle Birdie Bogey Double bogey Triple bogey+

Source:[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Long course awaits National Open field". Milwaukee Journal. United Press. June 7, 1937. p. 3, part 2.
  2. 1 2 Bartlett, Charles (June 10, 1937). "167 golfers start shooting for National Open title today". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 23.
  3. 1 2 "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. 1 2 3 4 5 "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. 1 2 "Snead and Shute shoot subpar 69's to take lead in Open". Palm Beach Post. Florida. Associated Press. June 11, 1937. p. 8.
  8. 1 2 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. 1 2 3 "How they scored in National Open". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. June 13, 1937. p. 18.
  14. 1 2 3 "National Open golf scores". Chicago Daily Tribune. June 12, 1937. p. 21.
  15. 1 2 3 "Second day's U.S. Open scores". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). June 12, 1937. p. 13.
  16. ↑ "National Open cards". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. June 13, 1937. p. 3, sports.

Coordinates: 42°32′38″N 83°16′37″W / 42.544°N 83.277°W / 42.544; -83.277

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