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1953 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	June 11–13, 1953
Location	Oakmont, Pennsylvania
Course(s)	Oakmont Country Club
Organized by	USGA
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	72
Length	6,916 yards (6,324 m)
Field	157 players, 60 after cut
Cut	153 (+9)
Prize fund	$20,400
Winner's share	$5,000
Champion
Ben Hogan
283 (−5)
← 19521954 →

The 1953 U.S. Open was the 53rd U.S. Open, held June 11–13 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, a suburb northeast of Pittsburgh. Ben Hogan won a record-tying fourth U.S. Open title, six strokes ahead of runner-up Sam Snead.

Overview

Although a three-time champion, Hogan was required to participate with the rest of the field in 36-hole qualifying on Tuesday and Wednesday, immediately preceding the championship. The only exemption at the time was for the defending champion, Julius Boros. The field for the qualifier was 300, with one round at Oakmont and another at the Pittsburgh Field Club, host of the PGA Championship in 1937.

After qualifying, Hogan shot a tournament-low 67 (−5) in the first round on Thursday and an even-par 72 on Friday to hold a two-stroke lead over Snead and George Fazio. Snead's third-round 72 on Saturday morning left him just a shot back of Hogan heading into the final round in the afternoon. With nine holes to go in the final round, Snead trailed by just one shot. Hogan made three birdies on Oakmont's back nine, including a 25-foot (8 m) birdie putt at 13 on his way to a 71 and a 283 total, six shots clear of Snead, who shot a final round 76. Hogan's first-round 67 and Snead's second-round 69 were the only sub-70 rounds by any players for the entire tournament. Hogan's win at Oakmont was his fourth U.S. Open title, equaling the record of Willie Anderson and Bobby Jones (Jack Nicklaus would win his fourth U.S. Open in 1980). The four wins came in the last five U.S. Opens in which Hogan had entered; he missed the 1949 edition following his near-fatal automobile accident.

Two future champions made their U.S. Open debuts in 1953 as amateurs: Arnold Palmer, 23, of nearby Latrobe and Ken Venturi, 22, of San Francisco. Both missed the cut; Venturi (78-76=154) by one stroke, Palmer (84-78=162) by nine.

Hogan in 1953

Already the Masters champion, Hogan followed up his U.S. Open win with another at the British Open at Carnoustie a few weeks later. He became the first to win three professional majors in a single season, a feat matched only by Tiger Woods in 2000. Through 2018, Hogan remains the only golfer in history to win the Masters, U.S. Open, and British Open in the same calendar year. His margins of victory in the 1953 majors were five, six, and four strokes, respectively.

In 1953, the final two majors were in conflict on the schedule. The match-play PGA Championship was a seven-day event, held July 1–7 near Detroit; the British Open in Scotland was played July 8–10, with a mandatory 36-hole qualifier on July 6–7.

Course layout

Source:

Lengths of the course for previous major championships:

The first hole became a par 4 for majors in 1962.

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 11, 1953

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Ben Hogan	67	−5
T2	Walter Burkemo	70	−2
	George Fazio
	Frank Souchak (a)
T5	Jimmy Demaret	71	−1
	Bill Ogden
T7	Lou Barbaro	72	E
	Jerry Barber
	Jay Hebert
	Sam Snead

Source:

Second round

Friday, June 12, 1953

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Ben Hogan	67-72=139	−5
T2	George Fazio	70-71=141	−3
	Sam Snead	72-69=141
4	Lloyd Mangrum	73-70=143	−1
5	Jay Hebert	72-72=144	E
6	Dick Metz	75-70=145	+1
T7	Al Mengert	75-71=146	+2
	Frank Souchak (a)	70-76=146
T9	Jerry Barber	72-75=147	+3
	Julius Boros	75-72=147
	Jimmy Demaret	71-76=147
	Fred Haas	74-73=147
	Marty Furgol	73-74=147
	Ted Kroll	76-71=147

Source:

Third round

Saturday, June 13, 1953 (morning)

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Ben Hogan	67-72-73=212	−4
2	Sam Snead	72-69-72=213	−3
T3	Jimmy Demaret	71-76-71=218	+2
	George Fazio	70-71-77=218
	Jay Hebert	72-72-74=218
T6	Fred Haas	74-73-72=219	+3
	Dick Metz	75-70-74=219
T8	Jack Burke Jr.	76-73-72=221	+5
	Ted Kroll	76-71-74=221
T10	Dutch Harrison	77-75-70=222	+6
	Bobby Locke	78-70-74=222
	Frank Souchak (a)	70-76-76=222

Final round

Saturday, June 13, 1953 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Ben Hogan	67-72-73-71=283	−5	5,000
2	Sam Snead	72-69-72-76=289	+1	3,000
3	Lloyd Mangrum	73-70-74-75=292	+4	1,500
T4	Pete Cooper	78-75-71-70=294	+6	816
	Jimmy Demaret	71-76-71-76=294
	George Fazio	70-71-77-76=294
T7	Ted Kroll	76-71-74-74=295	+7	450
	Dick Metz	75-70-74-76=295
T9	Marty Furgol	73-74-76-73=296	+8	325
	Jay Hebert	72-72-74-78=296
	Frank Souchak (a)	70-76-76-74=296		0

(a) denotes amateur

References

1. ^ "Hogan wins 4th U.S. Open". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. June 14, 1953. p. 1-sports.
2. "U.S. Open history: 1953". USGA. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
3. "National Open qualifying scores". Youngstown Vindicator. Associated Press. June 11, 1953. p. 43.
4. "'53 National Open at Oakmont will be revised sharply". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. June 13, 1952. p. 23.
5. "Hogan slips to 72 but still leads Open by two strokes". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. June 13, 1953. p. 2-sports.
6. Fraley, Oscar (June 14, 1953). "Steel nerved Hogan wins Open". Victoria Advocate. Texas. United Press. p. 12A.
7. "1953 U.S. Open: Recap and Scores for the 1953 U.S. Open Golf Tournament". About.com Golf. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
8. ^ "National Open Golf Scores". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. June 13, 1953. p. 7.
9. "Bobby Locke has 32-33-65 in qualifying for British Open". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. July 7, 1953. p. 17.
10. "Burkemo wins P.G.A. - Locke paces British qualifiers". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. July 8, 1953. p. 21.
11. "Oakmont, the champ, the man to beat". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida. NEA. June 10, 1953. p. 9.
12. "National Open Golf Scores". Youngstown Vindicator. ohio. Associated Press. June 12, 1953. p. 35.

External links

• GolfCompendium.com: 1953 U.S. Open
• USOpen.com - 1953

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
• 1953 in golf
• 1953 in American sports
• 1953 in sports in Pennsylvania
• June 1953 sports events in the United States