1899 U.S. Open (golf)

The 1899 U.S. Open was the fifth U.S. Open, held September 14–15 at Baltimore Country Club in Baltimore, Maryland.[1] Willie Smith won his only major title, a record eleven strokes ahead of three runners-up.[2][3]

1899 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	September 14–15, 1899
Location	Baltimore, Maryland
Course(s)	Baltimore Country Club
Organized by	USGA
Format	Stroke play − 72 holes
Statistics
Field	72
Prize fund	$750
Winner's share	$150
Champion
Willie Smith
315

Baltimore 

Location in the United States

Baltimore CC

Location in Maryland

On Thursday, Smith and future four-time champion Willie Anderson co-led with 77 in the morning and Anderson took the lead in the afternoon at 158, with Smith a stroke back.[4] In the third round on Friday morning, Anderson's 85 allowed Smith to take a four-stroke lead over Alex Campbell, and his 77 in the afternoon distanced him from the field; Campbell ballooned to 94 and fell to twelfth.

Playing out of Midlothian Country Club in Chicago,[2] Smith was the only player to record three sub-80 rounds, and did not score higher than a seven on any hole in the championship. Val Fitzjohn, George Low, and Bert Way tied for second, eleven strokes behind.[3][5] Smith's margin of victory was the largest in the U.S. Open for 101 years, until Tiger Woods won by fifteen shots in 2000. Smith's brother Alex, a future two-time champion, finished seventh.

Smith won a gold medal and was given custody of the Championship Cup for a year.[6]

Past champions in the field

Player	Country	Year won	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	Finish
James Foulis	Scotland	1896	94	84	55	80	346	T20
Fred Herd	Scotland	1898	85	86	93	86	350	T25
Horace Rawlins	England	1895	81	85	98	86	350	T25

Source:[5]

Did not play: Joe Lloyd (1897)

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, September 14, 1899 (morning)

Place	Player	Country	Score
1	Willie Anderson	Scotland	77
	Willie Smith	Scotland
3	Bert Way	England	80
T4	Henry Gullane	Scotland	81
	Horace Rawlins	England
T6	George Low	Scotland	82
	Alexander Patrick	Scotland
	Writ Thompson	Scotland
T9	Alex Campbell	Scotland	83
	David Foulis	Scotland
	Arthur Smith

Source:[4][5]

Second round

Thursday, September 14, 1899 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Country	Score
1	Willie Anderson	Scotland	77-81=158
2	Willie Smith	Scotland	77-82=159
3	George Low	Scotland	82-79=161
T4	Alex Campbell	Scotland	83-80=163
	Alex Smith	Scotland	82-81=163
T6	Val Fitzjohn	Scotland	85-80=165
	Alexander Patrick		82-83=165
	Bert Way	England	80-85=165
9	Horace Rawlins	England	81-85=166
10	Henry Gullane	Scotland	81-86=167

Source:[4][5]

Third round

Friday, September 15, 1899 (morning)

Place	Player	Country	Score
1	Willie Smith	Scotland	77-82-79=238
2	Alex Campbell	Scotland	83-80-79=242
T3	Willie Anderson	Scotland	77-81-85=243
	Jack Park	Scotland	88-80-75=243
5	Val Fitzjohn	Scotland	85-80-79=244
T6	Alex Smith	Scotland	82-81-82=245
	Bert Way	England	80-85-80=245
T8	Henry Gullane	Scotland	81-86-80=247
	Peter Walker	Scotland	84-86-77=247
10	George Low	Scotland	82-79-89=250

Source:[2][5]

Final round

Friday, September 15, 1899 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Country	Score	Money ($)
1	Willie Smith	Scotland	77-82-79-77=315	150
T2	Val Fitzjohn	Scotland	85-80-79-82=326	125
	George Low	Scotland	82-79-89-76=326
	Bert Way	England	80-85-80-81=326
5	Willie Anderson	Scotland	77-81-85-84=327	80
6	Jack Park	Scotland	88-80-75-85=328	70
7	Alex Smith	Scotland	82-81-82-85=330	50
8	Henry Gullane	Scotland	81-86-80-84=331	25
T9	Laurie Auchterlonie	Scotland	86-87-82-78=333	0
	Peter Walker	Scotland	84-86-77-86=333

Source:[2][5]

References

1. "Open tourney on today". Chicago Daily Tribune. September 14, 1899. p. 7.
2. Murphy, James Shields (September 16, 1899). "Smith is the champion". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 6.
3. "New Golf Champion of the United States". The San Francisco Call. September 16, 1899. p. 9. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
4. Murphy, James Shields (September 15, 1899). "Anderson in the lead". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 8.
5. 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". p. 202. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
6. "The Golf Championship". North Adams Transcript. Massachusetts. 16 September 1899.

External links

• 1899 U.S. Open
• USGA Championship Database