1947 U.S. Open (golf)
The 1947 U.S. Open was the 47th U.S. Open, held June 12–15 at St. Louis Country Club in Ladue, Missouri, a suburb west of St. Louis. Lew Worsham denied Sam Snead his elusive U.S. Open title by prevailing in an 18-hole playoff. For Snead, it was his second of four career runner-up finishes at the Open.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | June 12–15, 1947 |
| Location | Ladue, Missouri |
| Course(s) | St. Louis Country Club |
| Organized by | USGA |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 6,532 yards (5,973 m)[1] |
| Field | 146 players, 75 after cut |
| Cut | 151 (+9) |
| Prize fund | $10,000[2] |
| Winner's share | $2,500 |
| Champion | |
.svg.png){kind=small} | |
| 282 (−2), playoff | |
In the third round, amateur Jim McHale Jr. tied the tournament record with a 65, and he established a new nine-hole record with a 30 on the front nine.[3] That mark was equaled fifteen times before it was broken in 1995 by Neal Lancaster, who carded a 29 on the back nine in the final round.[4]
Worsham's win marked the 17th consecutive victory in a major championship for an American-born golfer. This remains the longest stretch ever for American golfers. A significant reason this occurred is because the British Open, which is usually won by international golfers, was cancelled for most of the 1940s due to World War II.
The purse was $10,000 with a winner's share of $2,000 and $1,500 for the runner-up.[2] In addition, both playoff participants received a $500 bonus.[5]
Course layout
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yards | 395 | 233 | 187 | 421 | 545 | 325 | 150 | 347 | 537 | 3,140 | 349 | 399 | 180 | 576 | 416 | 500 | 188 | 365 | 419 | 3,392 | 6,532 |
| Par | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 35 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 71 |
Source:[1]
Past champions in the field
Made the cut
| Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lloyd Mangrum | | 1946 | 77 | 72 | 69 | 75 | 293 | +9 | T23 |
| Billy Burke | | 1931 | 74 | 75 | 71 | 74 | 294 | +10 | T27 |
| Lawson Little | | 1940 | 72 | 69 | 76 | 71 | 296 | +12 | T23 |
| Gene Sarazen | | 1922, 1932 | 72 | 75 | 74 | 79 | 300 | +16 | T39 |
| Ralph Guldahl | | 1937, 1938 | 74 | 77 | 76 | 77 | 304 | +20 | T55 |
| Tony Manero | | 1936 | 74 | 75 | WD |
Source:[3]
Missed the cut
| Player | Country | Year won | R1 | R2 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy Armour |  | 1927 | 78 | 78 | 156 | +14 |
| Sam Parks, Jr. | | 1935 | 78 | 83 | 161 | +19 |
Source:[6]
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, June 12, 1947
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Chick Harbert | | 67 | −4 |
| Henry Ransom | | |||
| Harry Todd | | |||
| 4 | Bobby Locke | .svg.png){kind=small} | 68 | −3 |
| T5 | Leland Gibson | | 69 | −2 |
| Otto Greiner | | |||
| Dick Metz | | |||
| Bud Ward (a) | | |||
| T9 | Ed Furgol | | 70 | −1 |
| Ben Hogan | | |||
| Al Smith | | |||
| Horton Smith | | |||
| Lew Worsham | |
Source:[7]
Second round
Friday, June 13, 1947
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Chick Harbert | | 67-72=139 | −3 |
| Dick Metz | | 69-70=139 | ||
| 3 | Lew Worsham | | 70-70=140 | −2 |
| T4 | Jim Ferrier | .svg.png){kind=small} | 71-70=141 | −1 |
| Henry Ransom | | 67-74=141 | ||
| Bud Ward (a) | | 69-72=141 | ||
| T7 | Bobby Locke | | 68-74=142 | E |
| Johnny Palmer | | 72-70=142 | ||
| Sam Snead | | 72-70=142 | ||
| Harry Todd | | 67-75=142 |
Source:[6]
Third round
Saturday, June 14, 1947 (morning)
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lew Worsham | | 70-70-71=211 | −2 |
| T2 | Bobby Locke | | 68-74-70=212 | −1 |
| Sam Snead | | 72-70-70=212 | ||
| T4 | Ed Oliver | | 73-70-71=214 | +1 |
| Bud Ward (a) | | 69-72-73=214 | ||
| T6 | Jim Ferrier | | 71-70-74=215 | +2 |
| Ben Hogan | | 70-75-70=215 | ||
| Joe Kirkwood, Sr. | | 72-73-70=215 | ||
| 9 | Sammy Byrd | | 72-74-70=216 | +3 |
| T10 | Ed Furgol | | 70-75-72=217 | +4 |
| Dick Metz | | 69-70-78=217 | ||
| Johnny Palmer | | 72-70-75=217 | ||
| Paul Runyan | | 71-74-72=217 |
Source:[3]
Final round
Saturday, June 14, 1947
Worsham began the final round with a stroke lead over Snead and Bobby Locke. A front-nine 33 kept him in the lead, but after three bogeys on the back he had to settle for a 71 and a 282 total. Snead overcame two early bogeys with birdies at 5, 6, and 15. After a bogey at 17, Snead needed a birdie on the 72nd hole to tie Worsham and force a playoff the next day. His approach shot left him 18 feet (5.5 m) away, which he rolled in for final-round 70. Locke shot 73 to finish three strokes back, in a tie for third place.[8]
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Lew Worsham | | 70-70-71-71=282 | −2 | Playoff |
| Sam Snead | | 72-70-70-70=282 | |||
| T3 | Bobby Locke | | 68-74-70-73=285 | +1 | 900 |
| Ed Oliver | | 73-70-71-71=285 | |||
| 5 | Bud Ward (a) | | 69-72-73-73=287 | +3 | 0 |
| T6 | Jim Ferrier | | 71-70-74-74=289 | +5 | 400 |
| Vic Ghezzi | | 74-73-73-69=289 | |||
| Leland Gibson | | 69-76-73-71=289 | |||
| Ben Hogan | | 70-75-70-74=289 | |||
| Johnny Palmer | | 72-70-75-72=289 | |||
| Paul Runyan | | 71-74-72-72=289 |
Source:[3]
- (a) denotes amateur
Playoff
Sunday, June 15, 1947
In the 18-hole playoff on Sunday morning, Snead led Worsham by two strokes with just three holes remaining. Worsham birdied the par-3 16th with a 28-foot (8.5 m) putt and Snead bogeyed 17 after he missed the fairway and overshot the green from the rough. The match was all-even at the tee of the 90th hole, a par-4 of 419 yards (383 m). Both put lengthy drives in the fairway, and Snead's approach shot stopped pin-high and 15 feet (5 m) left of the hole. Worsham was long and lay 40 feet (12 m) feet past the cup on the apron of the green. His downhill chip hit the hole without dropping, and ended up 29 inches (74 cm) away, leaving Snead his birdie putt for the win. Snead left it well short and as he prepared to hole out in continuation, Worsham called for an official to determine who was further away. With a tape measure, it was determined that it remained Snead's turn, who was visibly flustered with the unnecessary interruption and delay. Snead missed the 30.5-inch (77 cm) putt. Worsham then rolled in his par-saving putt for a 69 and the title, which averted an additional 18-hole playoff in the afternoon.[5][9][10]
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lew Worsham | | 69 | −2 | 2,500 |
| 2 | Sam Snead | | 70 | −1 | 2,000 |
- Prize money includes $500 playoff bonus for each.[5]
References
- Liska, Jerry (June 16, 1947). "Worsham captures national open title". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. p. 7.
- "U.S. Open history: 1947". USGA. Archived from the original on July 6, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
- Bartlett, Charles (June 15, 1947). "Worsham, Snead play-off open tie today". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, part 2.
- O'Connell, Jim (June 19, 1995). "Lancaster grabs record". Herald-Journal. Spartanburg, South Carolina. Associated Press. p. D4.
- "Lew Worsham wins U.S. Open golf: beats Snead by one shot in playoff". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 16, 1947. p. 14.
- Bartlett, Charles (June 14, 1947). "Harbert ties Metz for lead in National Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 19.
- "National Open golf results". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 13, 1947. p. 18.
- Mockler, Stan (June 15, 1947). "Sammy Snead, Lew Worsham end in dead heat for golfdom's top prize". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. United Press. p. 22.
- McGeorge, Dick (June 16, 1947). "Worsham outsmarts Snead and wins national open". Toledo Blade. Ohio. p. 34.
- "Worsham wins U.S. Open as Sam Snead misses short putt on last hole". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. June 16, 1947. p. 8.