1925 U.S. Open (golf)
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The 1925 U.S. Open was the 29th U.S. Open, held June 3–5 at
Worcester Country Club Worcester Country Club is a private country club and golf course in Worcester, Massachusetts. The course hosted the first Ryder Cup in 1927, and was the site of the 1925 U.S. Open, which was won by Willie Macfarlane. Worcester also hosted the 1 ...
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Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
. Scottish pro Willie Macfarlane won the 36-hole playoff by one stroke on the final hole to secure his only major championship and deny Bobby Jones his second Open, which he won the following year. This was the last year that the first two rounds of the U.S. Open were played on the same day.
Francis Ouimet Francis DeSales Ouimet () (May 8, 1893 – September 2, 1967) was an American amateur golfer who is frequently referred to as the "father of amateur golf" in the United States. He won the U.S. Open in 1913 and was the first non-Briton elected ...
, the
1913 Events January * January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not venture for the rest of the ...
champion, held the lead after the first round on Wednesday morning. Macfarlane tied
Leo Diegel Leo Harvey Diegel (April 20, 1899 – May 5, 1951) was an American professional golfer of the 1920s and early 1930s. He captured consecutive PGA Championships, played on the first four Ryder Cup teams, and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fa ...
for the second round lead after a 67 that established a new tournament record. Macfarlane carded a 72 in the third round that gave him a one-stroke lead over Johnny Farrell. Macfarlane, however, struggled in the final round on Thursday afternoon on his way to a 78 and 291 total. That was still good enough to tie Jones, who shot 74 after a 70 in the morning. Farrell and Ouimet (who was playing in his final Open), shot 78 and 76, respectively, to finish a shot out of the playoff. The 18-hole playoff on Friday morning ended in a tie, with both Macfarlane and Jones at 75. In the era before sudden-death, another full round was required to break the tie, and it was held that afternoon. Jones took a four-stroke lead after nine, but Macfarlane managed to tie after recording birdies at 10 and 13, while Jones bogeyed 13. The match was still all square heading to the 18th tee. Macfarlane found the green on his approach while Jones hit into a bunker. After Jones failed to get up-and-down, Macfarlane two-putted for the title. Macfarlane was the first Scot to win the Open in fifteen years, since
Alex Smith Alexander Douglas Smith (born May 7, 1984) is an American former quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He played college football at Utah, where he received first-team All-American honors and won the 2 ...
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1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...
. During the first round, Jones was getting set to hit an
iron Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...
shot out of the rough on the 11th hole when he felt his club move the ball ever so slightly. No one else seemed to have seen this movement, but Jones called a penalty on himself. After officials were unable to confirm that the ball had actually moved, they allowed Jones to make his own ruling on whether or not he should be penalized. Jones said he was certain the ball had moved and penalized himself. The decision cost him the title, but forever added to Jones's legacy. Spectators praised him for his sportsmanship, but he would have none of it. He flatly replied, "You might as well praise me for not robbing a bank." Because there were so many players with a chance on the final nine of regulation and both playoff rounds were drama-filled, William D. Richardson of ''
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'' called it "easily the greatest Open Championship of them all."Barrett, David. ''Golf Courses of the U.S. Open''. New York, New York: Abrams, 2007.


Round summaries


First round

''Wednesday, June 3, 1925 (morning)'' Source:


Second round

''Wednesday, June 3, 1925 (afternoon)'' Source:


Third round

''Thursday, June 4, 1925 (morning)'' Source:


Final round

''Thursday, June 4, 1925 (afternoon)'' Source:


Playoff

''Friday, June 5, 1925'' Source: ''2nd playoff – (afternoon)'' Source:


References


External links


USGA Championship Database
{{coord, 42.324, -71.78, type:event, display=title U.S. Open U.S. Open
U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open national championship of golf in the United States. It is the third of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA ...
Golf in Massachusetts Sports competitions in Worcester, Massachusetts
U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open national championship of golf in the United States. It is the third of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA ...
U.S. Open (golf)