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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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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.

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. 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.

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. In addition, both playoff participants received a $500 bonus.

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:

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 12, 1947

Place Player Score To par
T1 United States Chick Harbert 67 −4
United States Henry Ransom
United States Harry Todd
4 South Africa Bobby Locke 68 −3
T5 United States Leland Gibson 69 −2
United States Otto Greiner
United States Dick Metz
United States Bud Ward (a)
T9 United States Ed Furgol 70 −1
United States Ben Hogan
United States Al Smith
United States Horton Smith
United States Lew Worsham

Source:

Second round

Friday, June 13, 1947

Place Player Score To par
T1 United States Chick Harbert 67-72=139 −3
United States Dick Metz 69-70=139
3 United States Lew Worsham 70-70=140 −2
T4 United States Jim Ferrier 71-70=141 −1
United States Henry Ransom 67-74=141
United States Bud Ward (a) 69-72=141
T7 South Africa Bobby Locke 68-74=142 E
United States Johnny Palmer 72-70=142
United States Sam Snead 72-70=142
United States Harry Todd 67-75=142

Source:

Third round

Saturday, June 14, 1947 (morning)

Place Player Score To par
1 United States Lew Worsham 70-70-71=211 −2
T2 South Africa Bobby Locke 68-74-70=212 −1
United States Sam Snead 72-70-70=212
T4 United States Ed Oliver 73-70-71=214 +1
United States Bud Ward (a) 69-72-73=214
T6 United States Jim Ferrier 71-70-74=215 +2
United States Ben Hogan 70-75-70=215
Australia Joe Kirkwood, Sr. 72-73-70=215
9 United States Sammy Byrd 72-74-70=216 +3
T10 United States Ed Furgol 70-75-72=217 +4
United States Dick Metz 69-70-78=217
United States Johnny Palmer 72-70-75=217
United States Paul Runyan 71-74-72=217

Source:

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.

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
T1 United States Lew Worsham 70-70-71-71=282 −2 Playoff
United States Sam Snead 72-70-70-70=282
T3 South Africa Bobby Locke 68-74-70-73=285 +1 900
United States Ed Oliver 73-70-71-71=285
5 United States Bud Ward (a) 69-72-73-73=287 +3 0
T6 United States Jim Ferrier 71-70-74-74=289 +5 400
United States Vic Ghezzi 74-73-73-69=289
United States Leland Gibson 69-76-73-71=289
United States Ben Hogan 70-75-70-74=289
United States Johnny Palmer 72-70-75-72=289
United States Paul Runyan 71-74-72-72=289

Source:

(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.

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1 United States Lew Worsham 69 −2 2,500
2 United States Sam Snead 70 −1 2,000
  • Prize money includes $500 playoff bonus for each.

Scorecard

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 4 3 3 4 5 4 3 4 5 4 4 3 5 4 5 3 4 4
United States Worsham E E E E E E E +1 E −1 −1 −2 −2 −2 −1 −2 −2 −2
United States Snead −1 −1 −1 −1 −2 E E −1 −1 −2 −2 −2 −3 −3 −3 −3 −2 −1
Birdie Bogey Double bogey

Source:

References

  1. ^ Liska, Jerry (June 16, 1947). "Worsham captures national open title". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. p. 7.
  2. ^ "U.S. Open history: 1947". USGA. Archived from the original on July 6, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
  3. ^ Bartlett, Charles (June 15, 1947). "Worsham, Snead play-off open tie today". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, part 2.
  4. ^ O'Connell, Jim (June 19, 1995). "Lancaster grabs record". Herald-Journal. Spartanburg, South Carolina. Associated Press. p. D4.
  5. ^ "Lew Worsham wins U.S. Open golf: beats Snead by one shot in playoff". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 16, 1947. p. 14.
  6. ^ "National Open golf results". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 13, 1947. p. 18.
  7. ^ Bartlett, Charles (June 14, 1947). "Harbert ties Metz for lead in National Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 19.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ McGeorge, Dick (June 16, 1947). "Worsham outsmarts Snead and wins national open". Toledo Blade. Ohio. p. 34.
  10. ^ "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.

38°39′N 90°23′W / 38.65°N 90.38°W / 38.65; -90.38