Misplaced Pages

1940 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	June 6–9, 1940
Location	Beachwood, Ohio
Course(s)	Canterbury Golf Club
Organized by	USGA
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	72
Length	6,894 yards (6,304 m)
Field	161 players, 66 after cut
Cut	153 (+9)
Winner's share	$1,000
Champion
Lawson Little
287 (−1), playoff
← 19391941 →

The 1940 U.S. Open was the 44th U.S. Open, June 6–9 at Canterbury Golf Club in Beachwood, Ohio, a suburb east of Cleveland. Lawson Little defeated Gene Sarazen in an 18-hole playoff to win his only professional major.

Little started the final round a stroke behind leader Frank Walsh and carded a 73 to finish at 287. Sarazen made two birdies on the back nine and did not make a bogey to also post 287 and force a playoff on Sunday.

After five holes in the playoff, Little had a four-stroke advantage and was ahead by three at the turn. Sarazen made birdie at 11 and 14 to close the gap to one stroke with four holes to play, but could draw no closer. Little birdied the next two holes and they halved the final two holes. Little won by three, 70 to 73, and became the fifth player to win both the U.S. Open and the U.S. Amateur.

Six players were disqualified after the final round for starting their round too early to avoid a coming storm. One of those players, Ed Oliver, actually tied Little and Sarazen, but his disqualification prevented his participation in the playoff. Walter Hagen, in his final U.S. Open, was also disqualified for showing up late for his third round. Under current rules, Hagen would be penalised two strokes if he arrived within a grace period. Also under current rules, officials, with access to weather radar, reserve the right to accelerate the start of the final round and change its procedure (groups of three starting at the first and tenth tees, or a shotgun start).

The top eight finishers in the tournament were all past or future major champions, and are members of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

This was the first of three majors at Canterbury. The U.S. Open returned six years later in 1946, won by Lloyd Mangrum in two playoff rounds. It was the first U.S. Open in five years, due to World War II. The PGA Championship was played at the course in 1973, won by Jack Nicklaus.

Course layout

Source:

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 6, 1940

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Sam Snead	67	−5
T2	Ed Oliver	69	−3
	Sam Parks, Jr.
	Horton Smith
T5	Al Huske	70	−2
	Vic Ghezzi
	Ben Hogan
T8	Bob Babbish (a)	71	−1
	Andy Gibson
	Duke Gibson
	Henry Kaiser
	Gene Sarazen

Source:

Second round

Friday, June 7, 1940

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Lawson Little	72-69=141	−3
	Horton Smith	69-72=141
	Sam Snead	67-74=141
4	Frank Walsh	73-69=142	−2
T5	Ben Hogan	70-73=143	−1
	Sam Parks, Jr.	69-74=213
T7	Leonard Dodson	72-72=144	E
	Vic Ghezzi	70-74=144
	Ralph Guldahl	73-71=144
	Dutch Harrison	74-70=144

Source:

Third round

Saturday, June 8, 1940 (morning)

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Frank Walsh	73-69-71=213	−3
T2	Lawson Little	72-69-73=214	−2
	Sam Snead	67-74-73=214
4	Gene Sarazen	71-74-70=215	−1
T5	Lloyd Mangrum	75-70-71=216	E
	Jug McSpaden	74-72-70=216
	Byron Nelson	72-74-70=216
T8	Ben Hogan	70-73-74=217	+1
	Henry Picard	73-73-71=217
	Craig Wood	72-73-72=217

Source:

Final round

Saturday, June 8, 1940 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
T1	Lawson Little	72-69-73-73=287	−1	Playoff
	Gene Sarazen	71-74-70-72=287
3	Horton Smith	69-72-78-69=288	E	700
4	Craig Wood	72-73-72-72=289	+1	600
T5	Ralph Guldahl	73-71-76-70=290	+2	325
	Ben Hogan	70-73-74-73=290
	Lloyd Mangrum	75-70-71-74=290
	Byron Nelson	72-74-70-74=290
9	Dick Metz	75-72-72-72=291	+3	175
T10	Ed Dudley	73-75-71-73=292	+4	137
	Frank Walsh	73-69-71-79=292

Source:

Playoff

Sunday, June 9, 1940

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Lawson Little	70	−2	1,000
2	Gene Sarazen	73	+1	800

Scorecard

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	4	3	4	4	5	3	4	5	4	3	4	5	4	4	5	3	4
Little	E	−1	−1	−1	−2	−2	−2	−2	−2	−2	−2	−1	−1	−1	−2	−3	−2	−2
Sarazen	+1	+1	+1	+1	+2	E	+1	+1	+1	+1	E	E	+1	E	E	E	+1	+1

Cumulative playoff scores, relative to par

Eagle

Birdie

Bogey

Source:

References

1. ^ Ferguson, Harry (June 10, 1940). "Lawson Little beats Gene Sarazen by three strokes in national open playoff". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). United Press. p. 10.
2. "U.S. Open history: 1940". USGA. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
3. ^ Bartlett, Charles (June 9, 1940). "Little defeats Sarazen for Open crown". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 21.
4. ^ Bartlett, Charles (June 9, 1940). "Sarazen's 287 ties Little for Open crown". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, sec. 2.
5. ^ McLemore, Henry (June 9, 1940). "Little and Sarazen tie for National Open golf title". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). United Press. p. D1.
6. Bartlett, Charles (June 7, 1940). "Snead's record 67 leads National Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 29.
7. Bartlett, Charles (June 8, 1940). "Little, Smith tie Snead in Open with 141". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 19.
8. "National Open tourney scores". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). (second round). June 8, 1940. p. 6.
9. "Little wins Open golf playoff, 70-73". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. June 10, 1940. p. 15.

External links

• USGA Championship Database

41°28′08″N 81°31′16″W / 41.469°N 81.521°W / 41.469; -81.521

• U.S. Open (golf)
• Golf tournaments in Ohio
• Events in Cuyahoga County, Ohio
• Beachwood, Ohio
• 1940 in golf
• 1940 in American sports
• 1940 in sports in Ohio
• June 1940 sports events