1926 U.S. Open (golf)
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | July 8–10, 1926 |
| Location | Columbus, Ohio |
| Course(s) | Scioto Country Club |
| Organized by | USGA |
| Format | Stroke play − 72 holes |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72[1] |
| Length | 6,736 yards (6,159 m)[2] |
| Field | 148 players,[3] 63 after cut |
| Cut | 159 (+15) |
| Prize fund | $2,000 |
| Winner's share | $500 Awarded to runner-up |
| Champion | |
 Bobby Jones (a) | |
| 293 (+5) | |
The 1926 U.S. Open was the 30th U.S. Open, held July 8–10 at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. Noted amateur Bobby Jones, winner of the British Open two weeks earlier, won the second of his four U.S. Opens, one stroke ahead of runner-up Joe Turnesa.[4][5]
After rounds of 70-79-71, Jones was three strokes behind third round leader Turnesa, who unraveled on the last nine on Saturday afternoon, with five bogeys in six holes. He managed to birdie the final hole for a 77 and 294 total for solo second (and the winner's share of the purse). Jones got off to a slow start, with bogeys at three of his first five holes, then birdied the 7th and ran off a streak of nine consecutive fours. Needing a par on the par-5 18th to tie (and force a playoff round), Jones hit a 310-yard (283 m) tee shot, then followed with an approach to the green, leaving 15 feet (4.5 m) for eagle. Two-putting for birdie, Jones carded a one-over 73 to best Turnesa by a stroke.[5] Bill Mehlhorn opened with 68 on Thursday,[6][7] and led after both of the first two rounds,[8][9] but was ten over par on Saturday and was four strokes back, in a four-way tie for third.[4]
Jones became the first player to win the U.S. Open and British Open in the same year, and he won both again four years later in 1930, during his grand slam year. Later double Open winners were Gene Sarazen (1932), Ben Hogan (1953), Lee Trevino (1971), Tom Watson (1982), and Tiger Woods (2000). While Turnesa never won a major, he did finish second twice and his brother Jim won the PGA Championship in 1952. Another brother, Willie, won the U.S. Amateur twice and the British Amateur once. In total, eight Turnesa brothers played on the PGA Tour.
This was also the first year since 1919 that the tournament was extended to three days, because of the number of entries and the size of the gallery. The first two rounds were now played over two days, Thursday and Friday, with a 36-hole cut. The final two rounds continued to be played on one day, Saturday. This format continued through 1964, except for the following year in 1927, when it was held Tuesday through Thursday (with a Friday playoff). The final round in 1959 was on Sunday due to weather delays.
Scioto was only ten years old at the time, and its club pro was George Sargent, the 1909 champion,[10] who did not compete. It later hosted the Ryder Cup in 1931 and the PGA Championship in 1950. Scioto is also noteworthy as the club where Jack Nicklaus learned to play as a youth in the 1950s, under the tutelage of Jack Grout.
Round summaries
[edit]First round
[edit]Thursday, July 8, 1926
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill Mehlhorn |
68 | −4 |
| T2 | Bobby Jones (a) |
70 | −2 |
| John Junor
| |||
| T4 | Al Espinosa |
71 | −1 |
| Joe Turnesa
| |||
| T6 | J.G. Collins |
72 | E |
| Pat Doyle
| |||
| Leo Diegel
| |||
 Willie Macfarlane
| |||
| Dan Williams
|
Second round
[edit]Friday, July 9, 1926
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill Mehlhorn |
68-75=143 | −1 |
| 2 | Joe Turnesa |
71-74=145 | +1 |
| 3 | Dan Williams |
72-74=146 | +2 |
| T4 | Leo Diegel |
72-76=148 | +4 |
| George McLean |
74-74=148 | ||
| T6 | Jack Forrester |
76-73=149 | +5 |
| Bobby Jones (a) |
70-79=149 | ||
| T8 | Al Espinosa |
71-79=150 | +6 |
| Chick Evans (a) |
75-75=150 | ||
| Walter Hagen |
73-77=150 | ||
| John Junor |
70-80=150 | ||
| Willie Klein |
76-74=150 |
Third round
[edit]Saturday, July 10, 1926 (morning)
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe Turnesa |
71-74-72=217 | +1 |
| 2 | Bill Mehlhorn |
68-75-76=219 | +3 |
| 3 | Bobby Jones (a) |
70-79-71=220 | +4 |
| 4 | Willie Hunter |
75-77-69=221 | +5 |
| 5 | Leo Diegel |
72-76-75=223 | +7 |
| T6 | Johnny Farrell |
76-79-69=224 | +8 |
| Walter Hagen |
73-77-74=224 | ||
| 8 | Willie Klein |
76-74-75=225 | +9 |
| T9 | Tommy Armour |
76-76-74=226 | +10 |
| Macdonald Smith |
82-76-68=226 | ||
| Dan Williams |
72-74-80=226 |
Final round
[edit]Saturday, July 10, 1926 (afternoon)
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bobby Jones (a) |
70-79-71-73=293 | +5 | 0 |
| 2 | Joe Turnesa |
71-74-72-77=294 | +6 | 500 |
| T3 | Leo Diegel |
72-76-75-74=297 | +9 | 188 |
| Johnny Farrell |
76-79-69-73=297 | |||
| Bill Mehlhorn |
68-75-76-78=297 | |||
| Gene Sarazen |
78-77-72-70=297 | |||
| 7 | Walter Hagen |
73-77-74-74=298 | +10 | 90 |
| 8 | Willie Hunter |
75-77-69-79=300 | +12 | 80 |
| T9 | Tommy Armour |
76-76-74-75=301 | +13 | 68 |
| Willie Klein |
76-74-75-76=301 | |||
| Macdonald Smith |
82-76-68-75=301 | |||
| Dan Williams |
72-74-80-75=301 |
Amateurs: Jones (+5), Evans (+14), Johnston (+21), MacDonald (+22), Shute (+28), Westland (+28).
Scorecard
[edit]Final round
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| Jones |
+5 | +5 | +6 | +6 | +7 | +7 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +5 | +5 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +5 |
| Turnesa |
+2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +3 | +3 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +5 | +6 | +7 | +6 |
| Melhorn |
+3 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +7 | +9 | +8 | +8 | +8 | +9 | +9 | +9 |
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
| Eagle | Birdie | Bogey | Double bogey | Triple bogey+ |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Bobby Jones wins National Open golf title". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). July 10, 1926. p. 1C.
- ^ "National golf championships open in Columbus". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. July 8, 1926. p. 8, section 1.
- ^ a b c d Krum, Morrow (July 8, 1926). "148 tee off for Open golf title today". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 17.
- ^ a b Pegler, Westbrook (July 11, 1926). "Jones' victory comes after 18 hole duel". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, part 2.
- ^ a b Sixty, Billy (July 11, 1926). "Jones wins National Open title by one stroke". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1-sports.
- ^ a b Krum, Morrow (July 9, 1926). "Melhorn's record 168 tops golf Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 23.
- ^ a b "Mehlhorn leads for Open title; Junor and Jones tied for second". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. July 9, 1926. p. 15.
- ^ a b Krum, Morrow (July 10, 1926). "Mehlhorn holds golf lead with 143". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 13.
- ^ a b "Bill Mehlhorn retains his lead in National Open golf tourney". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. July 10, 1926. p. 16.
- ^ "Scioto Golf Course". Eugene Guard. (Oregon). (course drawing). July 7, 1926. p. 8.