The 1947 U.S. Open was the 47th
U.S. Open, held June 12–15 at
St. Louis Country Club
St. Louis Country Club (SLCC) is a country club located in Ladue, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. It is recognized by the United States Golf Association (USGA) as one of the first 100 Clubs in America.
Club history
Founded in 1892 as a polo cl ...
in
Ladue, Missouri
Ladue is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in St. Louis County, Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 8,989.
Ladue has the highest median household income of any city in Missouri with a population over 1,000.
Geo ...
, a suburb west of
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
.
Lew Worsham
Lewis Elmer Worsham, Jr. (October 5, 1917 – October 19, 1990) was an American professional golfer, the U.S. Open champion
Life and career
Worsham was born on October 5, 1917, in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. He grew up in Long Island, Vi ...
denied
Sam Snead
Samuel Jackson Snead (pronounced English_phonology">sni:d.html" ;"title="English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d">English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an ...
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
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
by
Neal Lancaster
Grady Neal Lancaster (born September 13, 1962) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour and the PGA Tour Champions.
Lancaster was born, raised and makes his home in Smithfield, North Carolina. He turne ...
, 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
Source:
Round summaries
First round
''Thursday, June 12, 1947''
Source:
Second round
''Friday, June 13, 1947''
Source:
Third round
''Saturday, June 14, 1947 (morning)''
Source:[
]
Final round
''Saturday, June 14, 1947''
Worsham began the final round with a stroke lead over Snead and Bobby Locke
Arthur D'Arcy "Bobby" Locke (20 November 1917 – 9 March 1987) was a South African professional golfer. He is generally regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time. He won The Open Championship four times and 15 PGA Tour events in total ...
. 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 away, which he rolled in for final-round 70. Locke shot 73 to finish three strokes back, in a tie for third place.[
:(a) denotes ]amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
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 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 . Both put lengthy drives in the fairway, and Snead's approach shot stopped pin-high and left of the hole. Worsham was long and lay feet past the cup on the apron of the green. His downhill chip hit the hole without dropping, and ended up 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 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.[
]
Scorecard
:
Source:[
]
References
External links
USGA Championship Database
{{coord, 38.65, -90.38, type:event, display=title
U.S. Open (golf)
Golf tournaments in Missouri
U.S. Open
U.S. Open
U.S. Open
U.S. Open