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1926 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	July 8–10, 1926
Location	Columbus, Ohio
Course(s)	Scioto Country Club
Organized by	USGA
Format	Stroke play − 72 holes
Statistics
Par	72
Length	6,736 yards (6,159 m)
Field	148 players, 63 after cut
Cut	159 (+15)
Prize fund	$2,000
Winner's share	$500 Awarded to runner-up
Champion
Bobby Jones (a)
293 (+5)
← 19251927 →

The 1926 U.S. Open was the 30th U.S. Open, held July 8–10 at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. Noted amateur Bobby Jones, winner of the British Open two weeks earlier, won the second of his four U.S. Opens, one stroke ahead of runner-up Joe Turnesa.

After rounds of 70-79-71, Jones was three strokes behind third round leader Turnesa, who unraveled on the last nine on Saturday afternoon, with five bogeys in six holes. He managed to birdie the final hole for a 77 and 294 total for solo second (and the winner's share of the purse). Jones got off to a slow start, with bogeys at three of his first five holes, then birdied the 7th and ran off a streak of nine consecutive fours. Needing a par on the par-5 18th to tie (and force a playoff round), Jones hit a 310-yard (283 m) tee shot, then followed with an approach to the green, leaving 15 feet (4.5 m) for eagle. Two-putting for birdie, Jones carded a one-over 73 to best Turnesa by a stroke. Bill Mehlhorn opened with 68 on Thursday, and led after both of the first two rounds, but was ten over par on Saturday and was four strokes back, in a four-way tie for third.

Jones became the first player to win the U.S. Open and British Open in the same year, and he won both again four years later in 1930, during his grand slam year. Later double Open winners were Gene Sarazen (1932), Ben Hogan (1953), Lee Trevino (1971), Tom Watson (1982), and Tiger Woods (2000). While Turnesa never won a major, he did finish second twice and his brother Jim won the PGA Championship in 1952. Another brother, Willie, won the U.S. Amateur twice and the British Amateur once. In total, eight Turnesa brothers played on the PGA Tour.

This was also the first year since 1919 that the tournament was extended to three days, because of the number of entries and the size of the gallery. The first two rounds were now played over two days, Thursday and Friday, with a 36-hole cut. The final two rounds continued to be played on one day, Saturday. This format continued through 1964, except for the following year in 1927, when it was held Tuesday through Thursday (with a Friday playoff). The final round in 1959 was on Sunday due to weather delays.

Scioto was only ten years old at the time, and its club pro was George Sargent, the 1909 champion, who did not compete. It later hosted the Ryder Cup in 1931 and the PGA Championship in 1950. Scioto is also noteworthy as the club where Jack Nicklaus learned to play as a youth in the 1950s, under the tutelage of Jack Grout.

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, July 8, 1926

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Bill Mehlhorn	68	−4
T2	Bobby Jones (a)	70	−2
	John Junor
T4	Al Espinosa	71	−1
	Joe Turnesa
T6	J.G. Collins	72	E
	Pat Doyle
	Leo Diegel
	Willie Macfarlane
	Dan Williams

Source:

Second round

Friday, July 9, 1926

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Bill Mehlhorn	68-75=143	−1
2	Joe Turnesa	71-74=145	+1
3	Dan Williams	72-74=146	+2
T4	Leo Diegel	72-76=148	+4
	George McLean	74-74=148
T6	Jack Forrester	76-73=149	+5
	Bobby Jones (a)	70-79=149
T8	Al Espinosa	71-79=150	+6
	Chick Evans (a)	75-75=150
	Walter Hagen	73-77=150
	John Junor	70-80=150
	Willie Klein	76-74=150

Source:

Third round

Saturday, July 10, 1926 (morning)

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Joe Turnesa	71-74-72=217	+1
2	Bill Mehlhorn	68-75-76=219	+3
3	Bobby Jones (a)	70-79-71=220	+4
4	Willie Hunter	75-77-69=221	+5
5	Leo Diegel	72-76-75=223	+7
T6	Johnny Farrell	76-79-69=224	+8
	Walter Hagen	73-77-74=224
8	Willie Klein	76-74-75=225	+9
T9	Tommy Armour	76-76-74=226	+10
	Macdonald Smith	82-76-68=226
	Dan Williams	72-74-80=226

Source:

Final round

Saturday, July 10, 1926 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Bobby Jones (a)	70-79-71-73=293	+5	0
2	Joe Turnesa	71-74-72-77=294	+6	500
T3	Leo Diegel	72-76-75-74=297	+9	188
	Johnny Farrell	76-79-69-73=297
	Bill Mehlhorn	68-75-76-78=297
	Gene Sarazen	78-77-72-70=297
7	Walter Hagen	73-77-74-74=298	+10	90
8	Willie Hunter	75-77-69-79=300	+12	80
T9	Tommy Armour	76-76-74-75=301	+13	68
	Willie Klein	76-74-75-76=301
	Macdonald Smith	82-76-68-75=301
	Dan Williams	72-74-80-75=301

Source:

Amateurs: Jones (+5), Evans (+14), Johnston (+21), MacDonald (+22), Shute (+28), Westland (+28).

Scorecard

Final round

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	4	4	3	4	5	4	5	3	4	4	5	4	3	4	4	3	5
Jones	+5	+5	+6	+6	+7	+7	+6	+6	+6	+6	+6	+5	+5	+6	+6	+6	+6	+5
Turnesa	+2	+2	+3	+3	+4	+4	+3	+3	+2	+2	+2	+3	+4	+5	+5	+6	+7	+6
Melhorn	+3	+3	+4	+5	+6	+6	+6	+6	+6	+6	+7	+9	+8	+8	+8	+9	+9	+9

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Source:

References

1. ^ "Bobby Jones wins National Open golf title". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). July 10, 1926. p. 1C.
2. "National golf championships open in Columbus". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. July 8, 1926. p. 8, section 1.
3. ^ Krum, Morrow (July 8, 1926). "148 tee off for Open golf title today". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 17.
4. ^ Pegler, Westbrook (July 11, 1926). "Jones' victory comes after 18 hole duel". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, part 2.
5. ^ Sixty, Billy (July 11, 1926). "Jones wins National Open title by one stroke". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1-sports.
6. ^ Krum, Morrow (July 9, 1926). "Melhorn's record 168 tops golf Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 23.
7. ^ "Mehlhorn leads for Open title; Junor and Jones tied for second". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. July 9, 1926. p. 15.
8. ^ Krum, Morrow (July 10, 1926). "Mehlhorn holds golf lead with 143". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 13.
9. ^ "Bill Mehlhorn retains his lead in National Open golf tourney". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. July 10, 1926. p. 16.
10. "Scioto Golf Course". Eugene Guard. (Oregon). (course drawing). July 7, 1926. p. 8.

External links

• USGA Championship Database
• USOpen.com - 1926

40°00′07″N 83°04′30″W / 40.002°N 83.075°W / 40.002; -83.075

• U.S. Open (golf)
• Golf tournaments in Ohio
• Sports competitions in Columbus, Ohio
• 1926 in golf
• 1926 in American sports
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• July 1926 sports events