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1927 U.S. Open (golf)

Coordinates: 40°31′34″N 79°49′37″W / 40.526°N 79.827°W / 40.526; -79.827
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1927 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJune 14–17, 1927
LocationOakmont, Pennsylvania
Course(s)Oakmont Country Club
Organized byUSGA
FormatStroke play − 72 holes
Statistics
Par72[1]
Length6,965 yards (6,369 m)[2][3]
Field148 players,[3] 62 after cut
Cut163 (+19)
Prize fund$2,000
Winner's share$500
Champion
Scotland United States Tommy Armour
301 (+13), playoff
← 1926
1928 →
Oakmont  is located in the United States
Oakmont 
Oakmont 

The 1927 U.S. Open was the 31st U.S. Open, held June 14–17 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, a suburb northeast of Pittsburgh. Tommy Armour defeated Harry Cooper in an 18-hole playoff to win the first of his three major titles.

The surprise second round leader was amateur Jimmy Johnston,[4][5] who won the U.S. Amateur two years later in 1929. In the third round on Thursday morning, he suffered two double bogeys on the front-nine, carded an 87 (+15), and finished in 19th place. Gene Sarazen, Walter Hagen, Bill Mehlhorn, and Emmet French were all in contention in the final round, but only French managed to break 40 on the back nine. Tommy Armour shot a final round 76 and 301 total, while Harry Cooper shot 77. Armour needed a 10-foot (3 m) putt for birdie on the par-4 18th to tie Cooper and force a playoff.[2][6] Neither player managed to break par during any round in the tournament.[7][8]

Both players were tied after nine holes of the Friday playoff, even though they only halved one hole. Cooper then took a two-shot lead, but an Armour birdie at 13 and a Cooper bogey at 15 brought the match to all square. On the 16th, Cooper found a bunker off the tee and recorded a double bogey, while Armour made par to gain a two-stroke advantage did not relinquish. Armour finished with a 76 to Cooper's 79.[1][9]

Armour's winning score of 301 was the highest since 1919, and the last time the winning score exceeded 300 strokes. Only one round under 70 was recorded, Al Espinosa's 69 in the final round. After Armour, no foreign-born player won the U.S. Open for another 38 years, until Gary Player in 1965. England's Ted Ray, the 1920 champion, played in his first Open since his win; it would also be his last. The 12th hole at Oakmont measured 621 yards (568 m), the longest in U.S. Open history until 1955.

While Armour won two more majors, Cooper never won one. His 31 PGA Tour victories are the most by a player without a major win, and he is often cited as the "best player to never win a major."

Defending champion Bobby Jones and Eddie Jones shared low-amateur honors and tied for eleventh. It was the only time in his eleven U.S. Open appearances that Bobby Jones finished outside the top ten.

This was the first U.S. Open held at Oakmont, which hosted its ninth in 2016. It has also hosted three PGA Championships; the first in 1922 was a match play event won by Gene Sarazen.

This was the last U.S. Open to commence on Tuesday; the following year the first round was scheduled for Thursday.

Round summaries

[edit]

First round

[edit]

Tuesday, June 14, 1927

Place Player Score To par
T1 United States Harry Hampton 73 +1
United States Jimmy Johnston (a)
T3 United States Harry Cooper 74 +2
United States Gene Sarazen
T5 United States Emmet French 75 +3
United States Bill Mehlhorn
United States Larry Nabboltz
T8 United States Bobby Jones (a) 76 +4
Jersey Ted Ray
T10 United States Bobby Cruickshank 77 +5
United States Walter Hagen
United States P.O. Hart
United States Bob MacDonald

Source:[10]

Second round

[edit]

Wednesday, June 15, 1927

Place Player Score To par
1 United States Jimmy Johnston (a) 73-74=147 +3
2 United States Gene Sarazen 74-74=148 +4
3 United States Tommy Armour 78-71=149 +5
T4 United States Harry Cooper 74-76=150 +6
United States Walter Hagen 77-73=150
6 United States Harry Hampton 73-78=151 +7
T7 United States Fred Baroni 80-72=152 +8
United States Leo Diegel 78-74=152
United States Bill Mehlhorn 75-77=152
T10 United States Jim Barnes 78-75=153 +9
England Archie Compston 79-74=153
United States Bobby Jones (a) 76-77=153
United States Eddie Loos 78-75=153

Source:[5]

Third round

[edit]

Thursday, June 16, 1927 (morning)

Place Player Score To par
1 United States Harry Cooper 74-76-74=224 +8
2 United States Tommy Armour 78-71-76=225 +9
3 United States Walter Hagen 77-73-76=226 +10
4 United States Gene Sarazen 74-74-80=228 +12
5 England Archie Compston 79-74-76=229 +13
T6 United States Bobby Cruickshank 77-78-76=231 +15
United States Emmet French 75-79-77=231
United States Harry Hampton 73-78-80=231
T9 United States Leo Diegel 78-74-80=232 +16
United States Johnny Farrell 81-73-78=232
United States Eddie Loos 78-75-79=232
United States Bill Mehlhorn 75-77-80=232

Source:[6]

Final round

[edit]

Thursday, June 16, 1927 (afternoon)

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
T1 United States Tommy Armour 78-71-76-76=301 +13 Playoff
United States Harry Cooper 74-76-74-77=301
3 United States Gene Sarazen 74-74-80-74=302 +14 200
4 United States Emmet French 75-79-77-73=304 +16 150
5 United States Bill Mehlhorn 75-77-80-73=305 +17 100
6 United States Walter Hagen 77-73-76-81=307 +19 90
T7 England Archie Compston 79-74-76-79=308 +20 73
United States Johnny Farrell 81-73-78-76=308
United States Johnny Golden 83-77-75-73=308
United States Harry Hampton 73-78-80-77=308

Source:[5][6]

Playoff

[edit]

Friday, June 17, 1927

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1 United States Tommy Armour 39-37=76 +4 500
2 United States Harry Cooper 39-40=79 +7 300

Source:[1]

Scorecard

[edit]
Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 5 4 4 5 4 3 4 3 5 4 4 5 3 4 4 3 4 4
ScotlandUnited States Armour −1 −1 E E +1 +1 +2 +2 +2 +3 +4 +4 +4 +5 +5 +5 +4 +4
EnglandUnited States Cooper E E E +1 +1 +2 +2 +3 +2 +2 +2 +2 +3 +4 +5 +7 +6 +7
Eagle Birdie Bogey Double bogey Triple bogey+

Source:[1][9]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Gould, Alan (June 18, 1927). "Tommy Armour Open Champ". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. p. 1-part.
  2. ^ a b Shefter, David (February 28, 2007). "Getting their due: Jones, Parks, Hogan tasted victory at Oakmont". USGA. Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Rohm, Harland (June 14, 1927). "148 golfers to start play in U.S. Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 25.
  4. ^ Brown, Warren (June 16, 1927). "Johnston on top in Open golf tourney". Milwaukee Sentinel. Universal Service. p. 1, part 2.
  5. ^ a b c Rohm, Harland (June 16, 1927). "Johnston leads U.S. Open play with 147 total". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 15.
  6. ^ a b c Rohm, Harland (June 17, 1927). "Armour ties Cooper for National Open title". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 17.
  7. ^ "Cooper and Armour play off today for U.S. golf laurels". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. June 17, 1927. p. 17.
  8. ^ Gould, Alan J. (June 17, 1927). "Two pros contest for title today". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. p. 11.
  9. ^ a b Rohm, Harland (June 18, 1927). "Armour wins National Open golf championship". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 19.
  10. ^ Rohm, Harland (June 15, 1927). "Hampton, Johnston tie for National Open lead". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 23.
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40°31′34″N 79°49′37″W / 40.526°N 79.827°W / 40.526; -79.827