Misplaced Pages

1956 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	June 14–16, 1956
Location	Rochester, New York
Course(s)	Oak Hill Country Club East Course
Organized by	USGA
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	70
Length	6,902 yards (6,311 m)
Field	159 players, 51 after cut
Cut	149 (+9)
Prize fund	$24,000
Winner's share	$6,000
Champion
Cary Middlecoff
281 (+1)
← 19551957 →

The 1956 U.S. Open was the 56th U.S. Open, held June 14–16 at the East Course of Oak Hill Country Club near Rochester, New York. Cary Middlecoff won his second U.S. Open title, one stroke ahead of runners-up Julius Boros and Ben Hogan, both former champions.

Middlecoff began the final round with a two-stroke lead over Hogan, Ted Kroll, and Wes Ellis. After an erratic finish where he bogeyed 16 and 17, he carded a third consecutive round of even-par 70 to post a 281 (+1) total and waited. Hogan, pursuing his record fifth U.S. Open, had a chance to tie Middlecoff but missed a 4-foot (1.2 m) par putt on the 17th to finish one back. Boros also had a chance to catch Middlecoff, but missed a 15-foot (4.5 m) birdie on the last and also finished a stroke behind. The last contender on the course, Kroll led by a stroke after a birdie at the 14th hole, but immediately followed it with a bogey and triple bogey and finished four strokes back.

Reigning British Open champion Peter Thomson made a rare appearance in the United States and finished tied for fourth, his best finish at any other major. He was the 36-hole leader by a stroke over Hogan, but fell back after a four-over 39 on the back nine in the third round. Thomson won five British Opens, and his third consecutive (1954–56) came three weeks later at Royal Liverpool.

Several future champions made their mark at this U.S. Open. Arnold Palmer, 26, recorded the first of his thirteen top ten finishes at the U.S. Open, six strokes back in seventh place. Ken Venturi captured low-amateur honors in eighth place, two months after he lost a four-stroke lead at The Masters with an 80 in the final round. Billy Casper, 24, made his major championship debut and finished 14th.

Defending champion Jack Fleck, who upset Hogan in a Sunday playoff the year before at Olympic, shot 76-74 and missed the cut by a stroke. Jack Burke Jr., winner of the Masters two months earlier, also missed with a 152.

A record-setting 13,914 were in attendance for the final two rounds on Saturday.

This was the first of three U.S. Opens at the East Course at Oak Hill; Lee Trevino won in 1968 and Curtis Strange successfully defended in 1989. It also hosted the PGA Championship in 1980, 2003, and 2013, and the Ryder Cup in 1995.

Course layout

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 14, 1956

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Bob Rosburg	68	−2
2	Peter Thomson	70	E
T3	Errie Ball	71	+1
	Julius Boros
	Wes Ellis
	Doug Ford
	Ed Furgol
	Jay Hebert
	Cary Middlecoff
T10	Jerry Barber	72	+2
	Al Brosch
	Dave Douglas
	Fred Haas
	Dutch Harrison
	Ben Hogan
	Bill Hyndman (a)
	Ted Kroll
	Billy Maxwell
	Arnold Palmer
	Bud Taylor (a)

Source:

Second round

Friday, June 15, 1956

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Peter Thomson	70-69=139	−1
2	Ben Hogan	72-68=140	E
T3	Jerry Barber	72-69=141	+1
	Wes Ellis	71-70=141
	Ed Furgol	71-70=141
	Cary Middlecoff	71-70=141
T7	Julius Boros	71-71=142	+2
	Ted Kroll	72-70=142
	Arnold Palmer	72-70=142
T10	Fred Haas	72-71=143	+3
	Billy Maxwell	72-71=143
	Bud Taylor (a)	72-71=143

Source:

Amateurs: Taylor (+3), Ward (+7), Hyndman (+8), Patton (+8), Venturi (+8), Garrett (+9), Magee (+10), Ervasti (+11), Rodgers (+11), Simmons (+11), Dahlbender (+12), Holland (+12), Croonquist (+15), Shields (+16), Kuntz (+17), Moore Jr (+18), Aldrich (+19), Dixon (+20), Kelly (+23), Beman (+24), Myers (+25), Kleist (+27), Deal (+30), Watson (+34), Mandeville (+35), Brownell (WD).

Third round

Saturday, June 16, 1956 (morning)

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Cary Middlecoff	71-70-70=211	+1
T2	Wes Ellis	71-70-71=212	+2
	Ben Hogan	72-68-72=212
	Ted Kroll	72-70-70=212
5	Julius Boros	71-71-71=213	+3
T6	Ed Furgol	71-70-73=214	+4
	Arnold Palmer	72-70-72=214
	Peter Thomson	70-69-75=214
T9	Jerry Barber	72-69-74=215	+5
	Fred Haas	72-71-72=215

Source:

Final round

Saturday, June 16, 1956 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Cary Middlecoff	71-70-70-70=281	+1	6,000
T2	Julius Boros	71-71-71-69=282	+2	2,650
	Ben Hogan	72-68-72-70=282
T4	Ed Furgol	71-70-73-71=285	+5	1,033
	Ted Kroll	72-70-70-73=285
	Peter Thomson	70-69-75-71=285
7	Arnold Palmer	72-70-72-73=287	+7	600
8	Ken Venturi (a)	77-71-68-73=289	+9	0
T9	Jerry Barber	72-69-74-75=290	+10	416
	Wes Ellis	71-70-71-78=290
	Doug Ford	71-75-70-74=290

Source:

Amateurs: Venturi (+9), Patton (+12), Taylor (+18), Hyndman (+20), Ward (+25), Garrett (+29).

References

1. ^ "Middlecoff wins US Open with 281". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. June 17, 1956. p. 1-sports.
2. ^ Bartlett, Charles (June 17, 1956). "Middlecoff wins Open by stroke". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, sec. 2.
3. Drum, Bob (June 17, 1956). "Middlecorr edges Hogan, Boros for Open title". Pittsburgh Press. p. 1, sec. 4.
4. ^ Wind, Herbert Warren (June 25, 1956). "The Chase of the Doc at Oak Hill". Sports Illustrated. p. 6.
5. ^ Bartlett, Charles (June 16, 1956). "Thomson leads Hogan by stroke in Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
6. ^ "Peter Thomson shoots 139, leads Open". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 16, 1956. p. 11.
7. "US Open led by Middlecoff". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. June 16, 1956. p. 10.
8. Bartlett, Charles (June 15, 1956). "Rosburg scores 68 for lead in National Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, sec. 4.
9. ^ "Middlecoff edges Hogan, Boros to win US Open golf". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. June 18, 1956. p. 26.

External links

• USGA Championship Database
• USOpen.com – 1956

43°06′47″N 77°31′59″W / 43.113°N 77.533°W / 43.113; -77.533

• U.S. Open (golf)
• Golf tournaments in New York (state)
• Sports competitions in Rochester, New York
• 1956 in golf
• 1956 in American sports
• 1956 in sports in New York (state)
• June 1956 sports events in the United States