The 1919 US Open

The World War I outbreak caused one of the gaps in US Open history. (The second occurred during WWII.) In 1917 and 1918, no championships were held due to the war. Brae Burn Country Club in West Newton, Mass. hosted the 1919 US Open, as it was the club scheduled to hold the 1917 Open.

Due to the break, the USGA chose to discard qualifying rounds and let all 130 entrants compete. With this larger amount of players, the first two rounds were spread over two days.

The competition was intense, and it came down to two players fighting for the title. After 54 holes, the local favorite Mike Brady was five shots ahead of Walter Hagen. Brady had to crumble during the final round for Hagen to have a chance, and that is precisely what happened. After shooting 80 in his final round, Brady had to wait as Hagen finished his round. Hagen needed to post a one-over par or better in the final nine holes to catch Brady. At the 72nd hole, Hagen had a ten-footer to win the title, but watched as his ball stayed out. The 18-hole playoff round was to be held the following day.


Playoff between Hagen and Brady at Brae Burn Country Club
1919

Rumor had it that Hagen partied heavily the night before the playoff. He arrived at Brae Burn just in time for tee off, and fell behind Brady on the first hole. Brady's lead only lasted a short while as he hooked the second hole tee shot. Hagen won the playoff by one shot, making this his second US Open Victory (he won his first in 1914).

Scotsman Willie Chisholm managed to set a different kind of record at the 1919 Open. After being stuck in a rocky ravine on the Par 3 8th, it took him 18 shots and over 30 minutes to make it into the hole. His unfortunate record would stand until 1938, when Ray Ainsely scored a 19 at Cherry Hills.


US Open replica trophy in the Brandenburg Museum at Cinnabar Hills

US Open History - 1910

Alex Smith took on John McDermott and Macdonald Smith in an 18-hole playoff at the 1910 US Open, held at the St. Martin's Club at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in Chestnut Hill, Pa.

Philadelphia Cricket Club Clubhouse

Smith had scored a 67 during the practice round; however, this was under good playing conditions and his tournament round scores didn't come close to that. After 36 holes, he was ahead by two shots after posting a pair of 76s.

The third round started poorly for Smith, who shot 43 on the first nine. He rallied and with a 36 on the back nine, he was tied for third going into the final round.

Smith's younger brother, Macdonald Smith, posted the lowest final round score of 71, for a tournament total of 298. McDermott was among the first to finish with a 75, also for a 298 total. With bogeys on 13 and 14, Alex Smith put himself in jeopardy of missing out on the playoff, and he needed finish the remainder of the round at even par. He managed to par 15, 16, and 17, and had a chance to win the championship outright, especially with a short finishing hole. Smith's drive landed 18" away from the hole, but he missed the put, thus forcing a playoff round against his younger brother and McDermott.

Even after the disappointing finish of the 72-hole event, Alex Smith took home the trophy after shooting 71  in the playoff round, beating his younger brother by six and McDermott by four.


Willie Anderson and Alex Smith

Philadelphia Cricket Club was the first club where golf professionals were allowed into the club house. They were now, for the first time, given locker room privileges. The 1910 Open was also four-time champion Willie Anderson's last open, where he placed 11th.

The Beginning of the U.S. Open

U.S. Open

As we are getting closer and closer to the second major, we take a look back at the history of the U.S. Open. The 2013 U.S. Open will be held at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa.

Horace Rawlins

The United States Open Championship was first played on October 4, 1895, at Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island. Newport CC, a nine-hole course, held both the U.S. Amateur Championship and the U.S. Open this year.

The U.S. Open was 36-hole event played over one day. Eleven players entered the 1895 tournament, which was won by 21-year-old Horace Rawlins. Mr. Rawlins had arrived in the U.S. in January the same year from England, to take a position at the host club. The total price fund was $335, of which Rawlins received $150 and a gold medal for the first place. His club received custody of the trophy for one year.

For the first 15 years or so, the U.S. Open was dominated by British players. John J. McDermott became the first native-born American champion in 1911 and then again in 1912, and American players soon started to win regularly. The popularity of the tournament surged, and the tournament evolved to become one of the four majors.

Another surge in the popularity of the championship coincided with the amazing career of Georgia amateur Bob Jones. Jones won the Open four times (1923, 1926, 1929, 1930), and spectator tickets were sold for the first time in 1922. The distinct increase in entries caused the USGA to introduce sectional qualifying in 1924.

Bing Crosby's National Pro-Am

One of the photographs of Crosby in the Brandenburg Historical Golf Museum

With the AT&T National Pro-Am beginning this week, we will focus on the Crosby memorabilia of the Brandenburg Historical Golf Museum. Lee Brandenburg played in six Pro-Am events himself; four of which he was paired together with his friend Chip Beck. He eventually built a home on the 2nd fairway of Pebble Beach and hosted many parties during the numerous Bing Crosby tournaments over the years. Needless to say, Lee's connection to Pebble Beach and the Pro-Am event is very personal.

The first Crosby National Pro-Am was held in 1937 at Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club in Ranch Santa Fe, California. Sam Snead won the event after shooting 68, and took home a check for $500. (This year's winner will receive a check for $1,170,000, just to compare some numbers.) The tournament was held in Southern California until 1942 when to World War II caused a four-year break. Once the tournament resumed, it was held at three courses in Monterey: Pebble Beach Golf Links, Cypress Point Club, and Monterey Peninsula Country Club. Spyglass Hill replaced MPCC in 1967 as the third course, and in 1991, Cypress was dropped and replaced by Poppy Hills. After players complained mainly about the poor drainage at Poppy Hills, MPCC returned to the course rotation in 2010.

 

More about the unique Pro-Am playing format tomorrow.

 

 

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New Rocket Ballz 2 Fairway Metal ($249.95)

 

2013 Titleist Pro V1 Vignette

Check out the New Pro V1 & Pro V1x Commercial that was partially filmed at Cinnabar Hills Golf Club.  We were selected for the first time to participate as an official ball testing site and are very proud to be associated with Titleist on such an exclusive event.  There were only two courses chosen, one on each coast to participate in this event.  Thank you to everyone that was involved, including Cinnabar Hills personnel and ownership in the commercial.

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