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1950 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	June 8–11, 1950
Location	Ardmore, Pennsylvania
Course(s)	Merion Golf Club, East Course
Organized by	USGA
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	70
Length	6,694 yards (6,121 m)
Field	150 players, 52 after cut
Cut	149 (+9)
Prize fund	$15,000
Winner's share	$4,000
Champion
Ben Hogan
287 (+7), playoff
← 19491951 →

The 1950 U.S. Open was the 50th U.S. Open, held June 8–11 at the East Course of Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia. In what became known as the "Miracle at Merion," 1948 champion Ben Hogan won the second of his four U.S. Open titles in an 18-hole playoff over 1946 champion Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio, just 16 months after being severely injured in an automobile accident. It was the fourth of Hogan's nine major titles.

Lee Mackey established a new tournament record by shooting a 64 in the first round, but followed that up with an 81 and finished in 25th place. His score of 64 was not bettered in any other major championship for 23 years, until Johnny Miller closed with a 63 at the U.S. Open in 1973 to win at Oakmont. Tommy Armour, three-time major champion and winner in 1927, played in his final major and missed the cut.

This was the second U.S. Open played at Merion's East Course, which previously hosted sixteen years earlier in 1934, won by Olin Dutra. Opened in 1912, the course was the site of the U.S. Amateur in 1916, 1924, and 1930; the first was the debut of Bobby Jones at age 14 (quarterfinalist) and the latter two he won. The 1930 victory was the fourth and final leg of his grand slam.

Hogan made his U.S. Open debut at Merion in 1934 at age 21. He shot 79 (+9) twice and missed the 36-hole cut by three strokes. He made his first cut at the U.S. Open in 1939 and did not miss another; his last was in 1967 at age 54.

Course

East Course

Source:

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 8, 1950

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Lee Mackey	64	−6
2	Al Brosch	67	−3
T3	Skip Alexander	68	−2
	Julius Boros
T5	Harold Williams	69	−1
	Henry Williams, Jr.
T7	Pat Abbott	71	+1
	John Barnum
	Al Besselink
	Jim Ferrier
	Claude Harmon
	Loddie Kempa
	Joe Kirkwood, Jr.
	Jack Mallon
	Cary Middlecoff
	Henry Picard
	Denny Shute

Source:

Scorecard

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

Source:

Second round

Friday, June 9, 1950

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Dutch Harrison	72-67=139	−1
T2	Julius Boros	68-72=140	E
	Johnny Bulla	74-66=140
	Jim Ferrier	71-69=140
5	Ben Hogan	72-69=141	+1
T6	Skip Alexander	68-74=142	+2
	Lloyd Mangrum	72-70=142
	Cary Middlecoff	71-71=142
	Henry Picard	71-71=142
	Skee Riegel	73-69=142
	Bob Toski	73-69=142

Source:

Third round

Saturday, June 10, 1950   (morning)

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Lloyd Mangrum	72-70-69=211	+1
2	Dutch Harrison	72-67-73=212	+2
T3	Ben Hogan	72-69-72=213	+3
	Cary Middlecoff	71-71-71=213
	Johnny Palmer	73-70-70=213
6	Jim Ferrier	71-69-74=214	+4
7	Henry Ransom	72-71-73=216	+6
T8	Julius Boros	68-72-77=217	+7
	George Fazio	73-72-72=217
	Bill Nary	73-70-74=217

Source:

Final round

Saturday, June 10, 1950   (afternoon)

Mangrum began the final round with a one-shot lead over Dutch Harrison and a two-stroke lead over Hogan, defending champion Cary Middlecoff, and Johnny Palmer. Fazio was the first to post 287 (+7) after an even-par 70. Mangrum struggled early in his round, carding six bogeys on the first seven holes and shot 76 (+6), which also left him at 287. Hogan had a chance to win the tournament in regulation but missed a short putt for par at 15 and then bogeyed the par-3 17th. In a three-way tie for the lead going to the difficult 18th, Hogan hit one of his most famous shots, a 1-iron approach to 40 feet (12 m). He two-putted for par to join Mangrum and Fazio in the Sunday playoff. Middlecoff and Palmer both shot 79 and fell to tenth place.

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
T1	Ben Hogan	72-69-72-74=287	+7	Playoff
	Lloyd Mangrum	72-70-69-76=287
	George Fazio	73-72-72-70=287
4	Dutch Harrison	72-67-73-76=288	+8	800
T5	Jim Ferrier	71-69-74-75=289	+9	500
	Joe Kirkwood, Jr.	71-74-74-70=289
	Henry Ransom	72-71-73-73=289
8	Bill Nary	73-70-74-73=290	+10	350
9	Julius Boros	68-72-77-74=291	+11	300
T10	Cary Middlecoff	71-71-71-79=292	+12	225
	Johnny Palmer	73-70-70-79=292

Source:

Scorecard

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	5	3	5	4	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	3	4
Hogan	+3	+3	+4	+4	+4	+4	+4	+4	+4	+4	+4	+5	+5	+5	+6	+6	+7	+7
Mangrum	+2	+3	+2	+3	+4	+5	+6	+6	+6	+6	+6	+6	+6	+6	+7	+7	+7	+7
Fazio	+7	+6	+7	+7	+7	+7	+8	+8	+8	+8	+8	+8	+7	+8	+7	+7	+7	+7
Harrison	+3	+2	+4	+5	+5	+5	+5	+6	+7	+7	+7	+8	+8	+8	+8	+8	+8	+8
Ferrier	+7	+6	+7	+7	+7	+7	+8	+8	+8	+8	+9	+9	+9	+9	+10	+9	+9	+9
Middlecoff	+3	+4	+4	+5	+7	+7	+7	+6	+6	+8	+8	+8	+8	+8	+9	+11	+12	+12
Palmer	+4	+4	+5	+5	+7	+8	+8	+8	+8	+8	+9	+10	+11	+11	+11	+11	+11	+12

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
Source:

Playoff

Sunday, June 11, 1950

The three players were within one stroke of each other as late as the 13th hole, with Hogan at even par and Fazio and Mangrum at one-over. Fazio bogeyed four of the last five holes to fall out of contention, while Hogan led Mangrum by a single stroke through 15. Mangrum's tee shot at 16 went into heavy rough but his third shot stopped 15 feet (4.6 m) from the hole. As he putted to save par, he picked up his ball to remove a bug that had landed on it, a violation of the rules (then rule 10, paragraph 2). Mangrum rolled it in, but was assessed a two-stroke penalty at the next tee; the double-bogey allowed Hogan to cruise to a four-stroke victory. Hogan had just one bogey, while Fazio had seven and Mangrum four, plus the double-bogey for the rules violation.

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Ben Hogan	69	−1	4,000
2	Lloyd Mangrum	73	+3	2,500
3	George Fazio	75	+5	1,000

Source:

• This was the final three-way playoff at the U.S. Open that determined a third-place finisher; at the next in 1963, non-winners tied for second.

Scorecard

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

Birdie

Bogey

Double bogey

Source:

References

1. ^ "Hogan shoots 69, one under, to win Open golf". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. June 12, 1950. p. 19.
2. "U.S. Open history: 1950". USGA. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
3. ^ Bartlett, Charles (June 12, 1950). "Hogan wins Open title on 69 in playoff". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, part 6.
4. Trostel, Michael (May 28, 2013). "Looking Back...1950 U.S. Open at Merion". USGA. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
5. "Defining Moment". Golf Digest. June 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
6. Bernstein, Ralph (June 9, 1950). "Harold Williams has good chance to win Open". Tuscaloosa News. Alabama. Associated Press. p. 11.
7. ^ "Lee Mackey, Jr., shoots 64 to lead National Open". Wilmington Morning Star. North Carolina. Associated Press. June 9, 1950. p. 12.
8. ^ Bartlett, Charles (June 9, 1950). "Record 64 by golf unknown leads Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, part 4.
9. ^ "Top U.S. Open scorers". Milwaukee Sentinel. June 11, 1950. p. 2-B.
10. Cavagnaro, Bob (June 9, 1934). "Bobby Cruickshank has three-stroke lead as 64 golfers battle for Open title". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. p. 6.
11. ^ "1950 U.S. Open news, cards, pairings, scores" (PDF). Trenham Golf History. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
12. Bartlett, Charles (June 10, 1950). "Harrison shoots 67; leads Open with 139". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, part 2.
13. "National Open tourney scores". Youngtown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. June 10, 1950. p. 7.
14. Balicki, Ron (September 11, 2009). "Remembering the 1-iron at Merion". Golfweek. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
15. Talbot, Gayle (June 11, 1950). "Hogan, Mangrum, Fazio tie; Ben's legs give out". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. p. 1-B.
16. ^ Bartlett, Charles (June 11, 1950). "Hogan limps into U.S. Open tie with 287". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, part 2.

External links

• USGA Championship Database
• USOpen.com – 1950
• Trenham Golf History – 1950 U.S. Open

40°00′04″N 75°18′43″W / 40.001°N 75.312°W / 40.001; -75.312

• U.S. Open (golf)
• Golf tournaments in Pennsylvania
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• June 1950 sports events in the United States