1937 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJune 10–12, 1937
LocationBirmingham, Michigan
Course(s)Oakland Hills Country Club,
South Course
Organized byUSGA
Tour(s)PGA Tour
FormatStroke play − 72 holes
Statistics
Par72[1]
Length7,037 yards (6,435 m)[2][3]
Field166 players, 65 after cut
Cut152 (+8)
Prize fund$5,000
Winner's share$1,000
Champion
United States Ralph Guldahl
281 (−7)
Oakland Hills Country Club is located in the United States
Oakland Hills Country Club
Oakland Hills Country Club
Location in the United States
OaklandHills CC is located in Michigan
OaklandHills CC
Oakland
Hills CC
Location in Michigan

The 1937 U.S. Open was the 41st U.S. Open, held June 10–12 at the South Course of Oakland Hills Country Club in Birmingham, Michigan, a suburb northwest of Detroit. Ralph Guldahl won the first of his two consecutive U.S. Opens,[4][5][6] two strokes ahead of runner-up Sam Snead, making his U.S. Open debut.[7]

Snead opened with a 69 to share the lead with Denny Shute.[7][8] Through 54 holes, Snead and Guldahl trailed Ed Dudley by a stroke. During the final round on Saturday afternoon, Dudley shot a 76 and fell out of contention, while Snead birdied the last to finish with a 71 and a 283 total. Guldahl, playing well behind Snead, holed a 65-foot (20 m) putt for eagle at 8, then a birdie from 25 feet (8 m) at 9. After bogeys at 10 and 11, he rallied with birdies on the next two holes. He then went even on his last five holes to finish with a 69 and a 281 total, two better than Snead and a stroke better than the previous tournament record, set the previous year by Tony Manero.[5][9]

Two years earlier, Guldahl had become so frustrated with the game that he quit to become a carpenter. After deciding to return to the game, he went through a period of dominance throughout the late-1930s. He won the Western Open, then considered on-par with the major championships, three years in a row; was runner-up in the Masters Tournament in 1937 and 1938 before winning in 1939; and successfully defended this U.S. Open title in 1938. For Snead, age 25, this tournament was just the beginning of a hard-luck career in the U.S. Open; he finished runner-up four times at the only major he never won.

Guldahl won the title with 19 clubs in his bag.[10] The USGA rule (4-4) regarding a maximum of 14 clubs went into effect the following January.[11][12]

Set at 7,037 yards (6,435 m),[2] Oakland Hills was the first U.S. Open venue to surpass 7,000 yards (6,400 m); its average elevation is approximately 800 feet (245 m) above sea level.

The South Course previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1924, also at par 72, and it returned at par 70 in 1951, 1961, 1985, and 1996. It also later hosted the PGA Championship in 1972, 1979, and 2008. The second par-5 holes on each nine (#8, #18) were played at par-4.

Course layout

South Course

Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards4435122004474493514164912153,5144484135551424504053801985373,5237,037
Par453444453364453444353672

Source:[3]

Length of the course for previous major:

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 10, 1937

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
T1United States Denny Shute69−3
United States Sam Snead
T3United States Ed Dudley70−2
United States Johnny Goodman (a)
United States Bill Holt (a)
United States Frank Strafaci (a)
United States Frank Walsh
T8United States Ralph Guldahl71−1
United States Fred Morrison
United States Henry Picard
United States Mike Turnesa

Source:[8]

Second round

Friday, June 11, 1937

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
T1United States Ed Dudley70-70=140−4
United States Ralph Guldahl71-69=140
United States Frank Walsh70-70=140
Scotland Jimmy Thomson74-66=140
T5United States Harry Cooper72-70=142−2
United States Pat Sawyer72-70=142
United States Frank Strafaci (a)70-72=142
United States Sam Snead69-73=142
T9United States Vic Ghezzi72-71=143−1
United States Johnny Goodman (a)70-73=143

Source:[13][14]

Third round

Saturday, June 12, 1937 (morning)

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1United States Ed Dudley70-70-71=211−5
T2United States Ralph Guldahl71-69-72=212−4
United States Sam Snead69-73-70=212
4Scotland Bobby Cruickshank73-73-67=213−3
T5United States Harry Cooper72-70-73=215−1
United States Al Brosch74-73-68=215
United States Johnny Goodman (a)70-73-72=215
8United States Pat Sawyer72-70-75=217+1
T9United States Henry Picard71-75-72=218+2
United States Gene Sarazen78-69-71=218
United States Frank Walsh70-70-78=218

Source:[5][15]

Final round

Saturday, June 12, 1937 (afternoon)

PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)
1United States Ralph Guldahl71-69-72-69=281−71,000
2United States Sam Snead69-73-70-71=283−5800
3Scotland Bobby Cruickshank73-73-67-72=285−3700
4United States Harry Cooper72-70-73-71=286−2600
5United States Ed Dudley70-70-71-76=287−1450
6United States Al Brosch74-73-68-73=288E375
7United States Clarence Clark72-75-73-69=289+1275
8United States Johnny Goodman (a)70-73-72-75=290+20
9United States Frank Strafaci (a)70-72-77-72=291+3
T10United States Charles Kocsis (a)72-73-76-71=292+4
United States Henry Picard71-75-72-74=292175
United States Gene Sarazen78-69-71-74=292
United States Denny Shute69-76-75-72=292

Source:[5][15]
(a) = amateur

Scorecard

Hole 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 101112131415161718
Par453444453445344454
United States Guldahl−4−4−4−4−5−4−4−6−7−6−5−6−7−7−7−7−7−7
United States Snead−3−4−4−4−3−3−3−4−4−4−5−5−4−4−5−5−4−5
Scotland Cruickshank−3−4−4−4−3−3−3−4−4−4−3−4−3−3−3−3−3−3
EnglandUnited States Cooper−1−1−1−1−1EEEE−1E−1−1−1EE−1−2
United States Dudley−4−4−5−4−4−5−6−5−5−3−2−2−3−2−1E−1−1
United States BroschEEEEEEEEEEEEE+1+1+1+1E
United States Clark+3+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+3+3+3+3+2+2+2+2+2+1
United States GoodmanEEEEEEE−1−1E−1−1−1EE+2+2+2

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Eagle Birdie Bogey Double bogey Triple bogey+

Source:[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Long course awaits National Open field". Milwaukee Journal. United Press. June 7, 1937. p. 3, part 2.
  2. 1 2 Bartlett, Charles (June 10, 1937). "167 golfers start shooting for National Open title today". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 23.
  3. 1 2 "Shot by shot story of how Guldahl plast last 18". Chicago Sunday Tribune. June 13, 1937. p. 3, sec. 2.
  4. ↑ Gould, Alan (June 13, 1937). "Guldahl's 281 wins National Open". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. p. D1.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Every strokes a problem with championship at stake". Chicago Sunday Tribune. June 13, 1937. p. 1, sec. 2.
  6. ↑ McLemore, Henry (June 13, 1937). "Guldahl's record 281 eins U.S. Open title". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. p. 1, sports.
  7. 1 2 "Snead and Shute shoot subpar 69's to take lead in Open". Palm Beach Post. Florida. Associated Press. June 11, 1937. p. 8.
  8. 1 2 Bartlett, Charles (June 11, 1937). "Snead and Shute lead open golf with record 69". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 29.
  9. ↑ Sixty, Billy (June 13, 1937). "Ralph Guldahl wins Open title with record 281". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1, sports.
  10. ↑ "Uses 19 clubs". Milwaukee Journal. June 13, 1937. p. 1, sports.
  11. ↑ "Golfers limited to 14 clubs in competition". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). United Press. January 1, 1937. p. 14.
  12. ↑ "Tournament golfers limited to 14 clubs". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). Associated Press. January 1, 1937. p. 7.
  13. ↑ "National Open golf scores". Chicago Daily Tribune. June 12, 1937. p. 21.
  14. ↑ "Second day's U.S. Open scores". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). June 12, 1937. p. 13.
  15. 1 2 "How they scored in National Open". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. June 13, 1937. p. 18.
  16. ↑ "National Open cards". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. June 13, 1937. p. 3, sports.

42°32′38″N 83°16′37″W / 42.544°N 83.277°W / 42.544; -83.277

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