1902 U.S. Open (golf)

The 1902 U.S. Open was the eighth U.S. Open, held October 10–11 at Garden City Golf Club in Garden City, New York, on Long Island, east of New York City.[1] Laurie Auchterlonie established a new 72-hole U.S. Open scoring record to win his only major title, six strokes ahead of Stewart Gardner and amateur Walter Travis.[2][3][4]

1902 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	October 10–11, 1902
Location	Garden City, New York
Course(s)	Garden City Golf Club
Organized by	USGA
Format	Stroke play − 72 holes
Statistics
Field	83
Cut	none
Winner's share	$200
Champion
Laurie Auchterlonie
307

Garden City Golf Club

Location in the United States

Garden City Golf Club 

Location in New York

Auchterlonie posted rounds of 78-78-74-77 and became the first in U.S. Open history to card four sub-80 rounds. His 307 total was six shots better than the previous championship record, set by Harry Vardon in 1900.[4]

Clear skies greeted the field on Friday for the first two rounds.[5] The weather worsened on Saturday, with cloudy skies in the morning and a pouring rain in the afternoon. The adverse playing conditions didn't seen to affect the scoring; in fact many players played well in the final round in the rain. John Shippen, playing out of Marine Field Club in New York, became the first American-born player to finish in the money in a U.S. Open.[6]

The improvement in scores were in large part due to the introduction of the Haskell golf ball, which soon replaced the gutta-percha ball as the prominent golf ball in use.

Past champions in the field

Player	Country	Year won	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	Finish
Willie Smith	Scotland	1899	82	79	80	75	316	4
Willie Anderson	Scotland	1901	79	82	76	81	318	T5
Horace Rawlins	England	1895	89	83	79	79	330	T16
James Foulis	Scotland	1896	81	88	82	81	332	T20
Fred Herd	Scotland	1898	82	79	83	89	333	24

Source:[2][3]

Did not play: Harry Vardon (1900), Joe Lloyd (1897).

Round summaries

First round

Friday, October 10, 1902 (morning)

Place	Player	Country	Score
1	Jack Campbell	Scotland	77
2	Laurie Auchterlonie	Scotland	78
T3	Willie Anderson	Scotland	79
	Arthur Griffiths [7]	Wales
	Jack Park	Scotland
	Alex Smith	Scotland
	Harry Turpie	Scotland
T8	David Brown	Scotland	80
	Donald Ross	Scotland
	Charles Thorn	Scotland

Source:[3][5]

Second round

Friday, October 10, 1902 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Country	Score
1	Laurie Auchterlonie	Scotland	78-78=156
2	Stewart Gardner	Scotland	82-76=158
3	Alex Ross	Scotland	80-83=160
T4	Willie Anderson	Scotland	79-82=161
	Willie Smith	Scotland	82-79=161
6	Charles Thorn	Scotland	80-82=162
7	Donald Ross	Scotland	80-83=163
T8	David Hunter [8]	Scotland	83-81=164
	John Shippen	United States	83-81=164
	Walter Travis (a)	United States	82-82=164
	Harry Turpie	Scotland	79-85=164

Source:[3][5]

Third round

Saturday, October 11, 1902 (morning)

Place	Player	Country	Score
1	Laurie Auchterlonie	Scotland	78-78-74=230
2	Stewart Gardner	Scotland	82-76-77=235
3	Willie Anderson	Scotland	79-82-76=237
T4	John Shippen	United States	83-81-75=239
	Walter Travis (a)	United States	82-82-75=239
T6	Donald Ross	Scotland	80-83-78=241
	Willie Smith	Scotland	82-79-80=241
T8	Jack Campbell	Scotland	77-87-79=243
	Charles Thorn	Scotland	80-82-80=242
	Harry Turpie	Scotland	79-85-78=242

Source:[2][3]

Final round

Saturday, October 11, 1902 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Country	Score	Money ($)
1	Laurie Auchterlonie	Scotland	78-78-74-77=307	200
T2	Stewart Gardner	Scotland	82-76-77-78=313	150
	Walter Travis (a)	United States	82-82-75-74=313	0
4	Willie Smith	Scotland	82-79-80-75=316	125
T5	Willie Anderson	Scotland	79-82-76-81=318	90
	John Shippen	United States	83-81-75-79=318
7	Charles Thorn	Scotland	80-82-80-77=319	70
8	Harry Turpie	Scotland	79-85-78-78=320	50
9	Donald Ross	Scotland	80-83-78-81=322	40
10	Alex Ross	Scotland	83-77-84-79=323	30

Source:[2][3]

Amateurs: Travis (313), Murphy (341), Watson (345), Livingston (348), Seeley (353),
                 Lockwood (356), Macdonald (357), Croker (360).

References

1. "Pros to tee off today". Chicago Daily Tribune. October 10, 1902. p. 7.
2. "Auchterlonie is Open champion". Chicago Sunday Tribune. October 12, 1902. p. 1, sec. 2.
3. 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". pp. 204–5. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
4. "Auchterlonie Wins Open Championship at Garden City – Travis Ties for Second Place". The Fitchburg Sentinel. Fitchburg, Massachusetts. October 13, 1902. p. 1.
5. "Best score by Glen View pro". Chicago Daily Tribune. October 11, 1902. p. 6.
6. "Open Golf Champion". The Saint Paul Globe. Minnesota. October 12, 1902. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
7. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/144483278
8. https://www.antiquegolfscotland.com/antiquegolf/maker.php3?makerid=1137

External links

• 1902 U.S. Open
• USGA Championship Database