1935 U.S. Open (golf)

1935 U.S. Open
Tournament information
Dates June 6–8, 1935
Location Oakmont, Pennsylvania
Course(s) Oakmont Country Club
Organized by USGA
Tour(s) PGA Tour
Format Stroke play − 72 holes
Statistics
Par 72[1]
Length 6,981 yards (6,383 m)[2]
Field 159 players,[3] 66 after cut
Cut 161 (+17)
Prize fund $5,000[4]
Winner's share $1,000
Champion
United States Sam Parks, Jr.
299 (+11)
«1934
1936»
Oakmont 
Location in the United States
 Oakmont
Location in Pennsylvania

The 1935 U.S. Open was the 39th U.S. Open, held June 6–8 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, a suburb northeast of Pittsburgh. Sam Parks, Jr., a 25-year-old club pro at nearby South Hills Country Club with no prior tournament wins, prevailed by two strokes in difficult scoring conditions for his only major title.[5] The purse was $5,000 and the winner's share was $1,000.[4][6]

Jimmy Thomson owned the 36-hole lead after consecutive rounds of 73, despite severe weather that caused scores to soar. Sam Parks trailed by four, but in the third round he recorded a 60-foot (18 m) chip-in for eagle to tie Thomson, who shot a 77. The weather only got worse during the final round, and Thomson could do no better than a 78. Parks, however, shot a 76 for a two-stroke victory. Walter Hagen briefly led during the final round, but four consecutive bogeys knocked him back to third. It would be the last time that Hagen would contend in a major championship. Scoring conditions were so difficult that no player in contention broke 75 and 73 was the lowest score of the round.[7]

Parks was certainly helped by his preparation for the tournament. Every day for a month he would stop at Oakmont to play a practice round before returning to his own club. This practice paid off particularly on Oakmont's notoriously difficult greens, where he three-putted just twice in 72 holes. His winning score of 299 was the highest since 1927, also at Oakmont, and he was the only player to break 300.

The field of 159 included six entrants from Japan and one from South Africa; the rest from 31 states and the District of Columbia.[3] For the first time, a Japanese player made the cut at the Open. Kanekichi Nakamura was part of a tour of the U.S. by Japanese golfers and finished in 58th. Chris Brinke captured low-amateur honors, finishing in 32nd.

Oakmont had previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1927, the PGA Championship in 1922, and the U.S. Amateur in 1919 and 1925.

The Stimpmeter was inspired at this Open. Edward Stimpson, Sr., the Massachusetts amateur champion and a former Harvard golf team captain.[8] He was a spectator at Oakmont in 1935 and witnessed a putt by Gene Sarazen roll off a green. Stimpson devised a simple device and method to accurately measure the speed of greens.[9][10]

Course layout

Main article: Oakmont Country Club
Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards4823634285363861873952534773,5074613956211643494752343024733,4746,981
Par544543435374453443443572

Source:[2][11]

Lengths of the course for previous major championships:

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Player Country Year(s) won R1 R2 R3 R4 Total To par Finish
Walter Hagen  United States 1914, 1919 77 76 73 76 302 +14 3
Gene Sarazen  United States 1922, 1932 75 74 78 79 306 +18 T6
Olin Dutra  United States 1934 77 76 78 77 308 +20 T12
Billy Burke  United States 1931 77 84 75 79 315 +27 T32
Johnny Goodman (a)  United States 1933 77 78 83 78 316 +28 T36
Willie Macfarlane  Scotland 1925 77 81 78 84 320 +32 T47
Johnny Farrell  United States 1928 77 79 84 82 322 +34 T52

Source:[12][13]

Missed the cut

Player Country Year won R1 R2 Total To par
Tommy Armour  Scotland
 United States 		1927 74 WD

Source:[12]

Final leaderboard

Saturday, June 8, 1935

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney ($)
1 Sam Parks, Jr.  United States 77-73-73-76=299 +11 1,000
2 Jimmy Thomson  Scotland
 United States 		73-73-77-78=301 +13 750
3 Walter Hagen  United States 77-76-73-76=302 +14 650
T4 Ray Mangrum  United States 76-76-72-79=303 +15 500
Denny Shute  United States 78-73-76-76=303
T6 Alvin Krueger  United States 71-77-78-80=306 +18 218
Henry Picard  United States 79-78-70-79=306
Gene Sarazen  United States 75-74-78-79=306
Horton Smith  United States 73-79-79-75=306
T10 Dick Metz  United States 77-76-76-78=307 +19 95
Paul Runyan  United States 76-77-79-75=307

Source:[4][6]

References

  1. ↑ Bell, Jack (June 7, 1935). "Tricky Oakmont links baffles golfers in Open". Miami News. p. 12.
  2. 1 2 "Oakmont course par and yardage". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 6, 1935. p. 18.
  3. 1 2 Taggart, Bert P. (June 6, 1935). "Open field set to tee off at Oakmont today". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 1.
  4. 1 2 3 "Here's how prize money was dealt in National Open". Chicago Sunday Tribune. June 9, 1935. p. 7, part 2.
  5. ↑ Rice, Grantland (June 9, 1935). "Unknown Sam Parks wins National Open tourney". Miami News. p. 10.
  6. 1 2 "$5,000 in prizes to Open winners". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 10, 1935. p. 17.
  7. ↑ "Parks, 26-year-old Pittsburgher, new U.S. Open champion". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. June 10, 1935. p. 15.
  8. ↑ "E. S. Stimpson '27 elected to lead Crimson golf team". Harvard Crimson. Cambridge, Massachusetts. November 28, 1925. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  9. ↑ Dvorchak, Robert (June 13, 2007). "Reading the greens". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. E-6.
  10. ↑ "Edward S. Stimpson". New York Times. UPI. March 28, 1985. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Sarazen first choice as Open begins today". Chicago Daily Tribune. June 6, 1935. p. 19.
  12. 1 2 "National Open scores". Chicago Daily Tribune. June 8, 1935. p. 23.
  13. ↑ "National Open scores". Chicago Sunday Tribune. June 9, 1935. p. 7, part 2.

External links

Coordinates: 40°31′34″N 79°49′37″W / 40.526°N 79.827°W / 40.526; -79.827

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/20/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.