1951 U.S. Open (golf) - Misplaced Pages

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Golf tournament

1951 U.S. Open
Tournament information
Dates	June 14–16, 1951
Location	Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Course(s)	Oakland Hills Country Club South Course
Organized by	USGA
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	70
Length	6,927 yards (6,334 m)
Field	160 players, 55 after cut
Cut	152 (+12)
Winner's share	$4,000
Champion
Ben Hogan
287 (+7)
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Oakland Hills Country Clubclass=notpageimage| Location in the United States

Oakland Hills Country Clubclass=notpageimage| Location in Michigan

The 1951 U.S. Open was the 51st U.S. Open, held June 14–16 at the South Course of Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb northwest of Detroit. Ben Hogan won his second consecutive U.S. Open title, two strokes ahead of runner-up Clayton Heafner. Hogan missed the 1949 U.S. Open due to an automobile accident; this was his third title in his last three attempts.

The South Course, dubbed "The Monster," played exceptionally tough for the first three rounds. No player was able to break par the first two days, and Jimmy Demaret's 70 was the only score to equal par in Saturday morning's third round. Sam Snead owned the first round lead at 71 (+1), while Bobby Locke led after the second round at 144 (+4) and shared the lead with Demaret after the third at 218 (+8).

Two strokes back after a 71 in the third round on Saturday morning, Hogan played one of the finest rounds in U.S. Open history that afternoon. Even-par on the front nine, he birdied the 10th and 13th holes. After a bogey at 14, he responded with another birdie at 15. At the 72nd hole, Hogan hit his approach shot on the par-4 to 15 feet (5 m) and sank the birdie putt to post a 67 (−3), the lowest round of the week, one of two sub-par rounds for the round (and championship). His 287 (+7) was two ahead of Heafner, who shot 69, the only other round under 70. At the trophy presentation, Hogan uttered the famous quote: "I'm glad I brought this course—this monster—to its knees."

This was the first U.S. Open that was notably toughened up by the USGA with narrow fairways and deep rough, attributing to "The Monster" nickname. The course also underwent a redesign by Robert Trent Jones prior to the championship, modifying the original Donald Ross design.

The South Course previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1924 and 1937; the winning score in 1937 was 281, sixteen strokes less than in 1924. It later hosted in 1961, 1985, and 1996, and the PGA Championship in 1972, 1979, and 2008.

Since Hogan repeated as champion in 1951, only Curtis Strange (1988, 1989) and Brooks Koepka (2017, 2018) have won consecutive U.S. Open titles.

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 14, 1951

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Sam Snead	71	+1
T2	Al Besselink	72	+2
T2	Clayton Heafner	72	+2
T4	Sam Bernardi	73	+3
	Al Brosch
	Sammy Byrd
	Dutch Harrison
	Charles Klein
	Bobby Locke
	Johnny Palmer
	Smiley Quick
	Paul Runyan
	Denny Shute

Source:

Second round

Friday, June 15, 1951

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Bobby Locke	73-71=144	+4
2	Dave Douglas	75-70=145	+5
3	Bo Wininger (a)	75-71=146	+6
T4	Al Brosch	73-74=147	+7
	Clayton Heafner	72-75=147
	Charles Klein	73-74=147
	Paul Runyan	73-74=147
	Lew Worsham	76-71=147
T9	Julius Boros	74-74=148	+8
	Jimmy Demaret	74-74=148
	Fred Hawkins	76-72=148
	George Kinsman	75-73=148
	Henry Ransom	74-74=148
	Earl Stewart	74-74=148
	Craig Wood	76-72=148

Source:

Third round

Saturday, June 16, 1951 (morning)

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Jimmy Demaret	74-74-70=218	+8
T1	Bobby Locke	73-71-74=218	+8
T3	Julius Boros	74-74-71=219	+9
T3	Paul Runyan	73-74-72=219	+9
T5	Dave Douglas	75-70-75=220	+10
	Clayton Heafner	72-75-73=220
	Ben Hogan	76-73-71=220
8	Al Besselink	72-77-72=221	+11
T9	Johnny Revolta	78-72-72=222	+12
T9	Skee Riegel	75-76-71=222	+12

Source:

Final round

Saturday, June 16, 1951 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Ben Hogan	76-73-71-67=287	+7	4,000
2	Clayton Heafner	72-75-73-69=289	+9	2,000
3	Bobby Locke	73-71-74-73=291	+11	1,500
T4	Julius Boros	74-74-71-74=293	+13	700
T4	Lloyd Mangrum	75-74-74-70=293	+13	700
T6	Al Besselink	72-77-72-73=294	+14	387
	Dave Douglas	75-70-75-74=294
	Fred Hawkins	76-72-75-71=294
	Paul Runyan	73-74-72-75=294
T10	Al Brosch	73-74-76-72=295	+15	187
	Smiley Quick	73-76-74-72=295
	Skee Riegel	75-76-71-73=295
	Sam Snead	71-78-72-74=295

Source:

References

^ "Hogan fires 3-under 67 to win third Open crown". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. June 17, 1951. p. 1B.
"Mighty Hogan baffles par to cop Open". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. June 17, 1951. p. 14.
Owosso, Michigan (July 26, 1991). "Still a 'monster'". Argus-Press. Associated Press. p. 11.
^ Garrity, John (June 10, 1996). "Making the Monster". Sports Illustrated. p. G32.
"Nation Open golf scores". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. June 15, 1951. p. 22.
"National Open tourney scores". Youngtown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. June 16, 1951. p. 7.
^ "National Open tourney scores". Youngtown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. June 17, 1951. p. D-1.

External links

v t e 1951 Men's major golf championships
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