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1927 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	June 14–17, 1927
Location	Oakmont, Pennsylvania
Course(s)	Oakmont Country Club
Organized by	USGA
Format	Stroke play − 72 holes
Statistics
Par	72
Length	6,965 yards (6,369 m)
Field	148 players, 62 after cut
Cut	163 (+19)
Prize fund	$2,000
Winner's share	$500
Champion
Tommy Armour
301 (+13), playoff
← 19261928 →

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, 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. Neither player managed to break par during any round in the tournament.

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.

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

First round

Tuesday, June 14, 1927

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

Source:

Second round

Wednesday, June 15, 1927

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

Source:

Third round

Thursday, June 16, 1927 (morning)

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

Source:

Final round

Thursday, June 16, 1927 (afternoon)

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

Source:

Playoff

Friday, June 17, 1927

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

Source:

Scorecard

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
Armour	−1	−1	E	E	+1	+1	+2	+2	+2	+3	+4	+4	+4	+5	+5	+5	+4	+4
Cooper	E	E	E	+1	+1	+2	+2	+3	+2	+2	+2	+2	+3	+4	+5	+7	+6	+7

Source:

References

1. ^ Gould, Alan (June 18, 1927). "Tommy Armour Open Champ". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. p. 1-part.
2. ^ 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. ^ 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. ^ Rohm, Harland (June 16, 1927). "Johnston leads U.S. Open play with 147 total". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 15.
6. ^ 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. ^ 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.

External links

• USGA Championship Database
• USOpen.com - 1927

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

• U.S. Open (golf)
• Golf tournaments in Pennsylvania
• 1927 in golf
• 1927 in American sports
• 1927 in Pennsylvania
• June 1927 sports events