1937 U.S. Open (golf)

The 1937 U.S. Open was the 41st U.S. Open, held June 10–12 at the South Course of Oakland Hills Country Club in Birmingham, Michigan, a suburb northwest of Detroit. Ralph Guldahl won the first of his two consecutive U.S. Opens,[4][5][6] two strokes ahead of runner-up Sam Snead, making his U.S. Open debut.[7]

1937 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	June 10–12, 1937
Location	Birmingham, Michigan
Course(s)	Oakland Hills Country Club, South Course
Organized by	USGA
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Format	Stroke play − 72 holes
Statistics
Par	72[1]
Length	7,037 yards (6,435 m)[2][3]
Field	166 players, 65 after cut
Cut	152 (+8)
Prize fund	$5,000
Winner's share	$1,000
Champion
Ralph Guldahl
281 (−7)

Oakland Hills Country Club

Location in the United States

Oakland
Hills CC

Location in Michigan

Snead opened with a 69 to share the lead with Denny Shute.[7][8] Through 54 holes, Snead and Guldahl trailed Ed Dudley by a stroke. During the final round on Saturday afternoon, Dudley shot a 76 and fell out of contention, while Snead birdied the last to finish with a 71 and a 283 total. Guldahl, playing well behind Snead, holed a 65-foot (20 m) putt for eagle at 8, then a birdie from 25 feet (8 m) at 9. After bogeys at 10 and 11, he rallied with birdies on the next two holes. He then went even on his last five holes to finish with a 69 and a 281 total, two better than Snead and a stroke better than the previous tournament record, set the previous year by Tony Manero.[5][9]

Two years earlier, Guldahl had become so frustrated with the game that he quit to become a carpenter. After deciding to return to the game, he went through a period of dominance throughout the late-1930s. He won the Western Open, then considered on-par with the major championships, three years in a row; was runner-up in the Masters Tournament in 1937 and 1938 before winning in 1939; and successfully defended this U.S. Open title in 1938. For Snead, age 25, this tournament was just the beginning of a hard-luck career in the U.S. Open; he finished runner-up four times at the only major he never won.

Guldahl won the title with 19 clubs in his bag.[10] The USGA rule (4-4) regarding a maximum of 14 clubs went into effect the following January.[11][12]

Set at 7,037 yards (6,435 m),[2] Oakland Hills was the first U.S. Open venue to surpass 7,000 yards (6,400 m); its average elevation is approximately 800 feet (245 m) above sea level.

The South Course previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1924, also at par 72, and it returned at par 70 in 1951, 1961, 1985, and 1996. It also later hosted the PGA Championship in 1972, 1979, and 2008. The second par-5 holes on each nine (#8, #18) were played at par-4.