1939 U.S. Open (golf)

The 1939 U.S. Open was the 43rd U.S. Open, held June 8–12 at Philadelphia Country Club in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia. Byron Nelson won after two playoff rounds to prevail against Craig Wood and Denny Shute to claim his only U.S. Open title,[2] and the second of his five major championships. It was the first playoff at the U.S. Open in eight years and the first three-way playoff since 1913.

1939 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJune 8–12, 1939
LocationGladwyne, Pennsylvania
Course(s)Philadelphia Country Club
Spring Mill Course[1]
Organized byUSGA
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par69[2]
Length6,786 yards (6,205 m)[1]
Field161 players, 65 after cut
Cut152 (+14)
Prize fund$5,000[3]
Winner's share$1,000
Champion
Byron Nelson
284 (+8), playoff
Philadelphia 
Country Club
Location in the United States

Sam Snead led after each of the first two rounds but his triple-bogey on the 72nd hole dropped him to fifth place, two strokes back. Two years earlier, he was runner-up in his first U.S. Open in 1937. Following World War II, Snead finished second three more times, but never won the title to complete a career grand slam.

In his fourth U.S. Open, Ben Hogan made his first 36-hole cut at the championship and finished in a tie for 62nd. He finished in a tie for fifth the following year; after the war he won four U.S. Opens and contended in numerous others. He made every subsequent cut he played in at the U.S. Open, the last in 1967 at age 54.

Past champions in the field

Made the cut
PlayerCountryYear(s) wonR1R2R3R4TotalTo parFinish
Ralph Guldahl United States1937, 193871737272288+12T7
Olin Dutra United States193470747078292+16T16
Tommy Armour Scotland
 United States		192770756980294+18T22
Sam Parks, Jr. United States193573737776299+23T38
Billy Burke United States193174747775300+24T42
Gene Sarazen United States1922, 193274727976301+25T47
Tony Manero United States193674767876304+28T56

Missed the cut
PlayerCountryYear wonR1R2TotalTo par
Johnny Goodman United States19337878156+18
Johnny Farrell United States19287779156+18

Source:[4]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 8, 1939

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo Par
1Sam Snead United States68–1
T2Lawson Little United States69E
Bud Ward (a) United States
Matt Kowal United States
T5Craig Wood United States70+1
Tommy Armour United States
Denny Shute United States
Olin Dutra United States
Lloyd Mangrum United States
Harold "Jug" McSpaden United States

Second round

Friday, June 9, 1939

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo Par
1Sam Snead United States68-71=139+1
2Horton Smith United States72-68=140+2
3Craig Wood United States70-71=141+3
T4Denny Shute United States70-72=142+4
Bud Ward (a) United States69-73=142
T6Frank Moore United States73-70=143+5
Johnny Bulla United States72-71=143
Harry Cooper United States71-72=143
Harold "Jug" McSpaden United States70-73=143
Lawson Little United States69-74=143

Source:[4][5]

Third round

Saturday, June 10, 1939 - (morning)

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo Par
1Johnny Bulla United States72-71-68=211+4
T2Sam Snead United States68-71-73=212+5
Craig Wood United States70-71-71=212
Denny Shute United States70-72-70=212
5Bud Ward (a) United States69-73-71=213+6
T6Tommy Armour United States70-75-69=214+7
John E. Rogers United States75-70-69=214
Olin Dutra United States70-74-70=214
9Horton Smith United States72-68-75=215+8
T10Byron Nelson United States72-73-71=216+9
Ralph Guldahl United States71-73-72=216
Henry Picard United States72-72-72=216

Source:[6]

Final round

Saturday, June 10, 1939 - (afternoon)

Nelson began the final round on Saturday afternoon five strokes back of leader Johnny Bulla and shot 68 to gain the clubhouse lead at 284. Wood birdied the 18th to also get to 284, while Shute also finished on that number after a bogey at 17. It appeared, however, that that number would not be enough. Snead stood on the par-5 18th needing only a par to win the championship. Snead believed he needed a birdie to win and played the hole aggressively. After finding two bunkers, he made a triple-bogey 8 and missed the playoff by two strokes.

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo ParMoney ($)
T1Byron Nelson United States72-73-71-68=284+8Playoff
Craig Wood United States70-71-71-72=284
Denny Shute United States70-72-70-72=284
4Bud Ward (a) United States69-73-71-72=285+90
5Sam Snead United States68-71-73-74=286+10600
6Johnny Bulla United States72-71-68-76=287+11450
T7Ralph Guldahl United States71-73-72-72=288+12325
Dick Metz United States76-72-71-69=288
T9Ky Laffoon United States76-70-73-70=289+13175
Harold McSpaden United States70-73-71-75=289
Paul Runyan United States76-70-71-72=289
(a) denotes amateur

Source:[7][8]

Playoff

Sunday, June 11, 1939
Monday, June 12, 1939

In the three-way 18-hole playoff on Sunday afternoon, Nelson and Wood each carded 68 (–1), while Shute shot a 76 (+7) and was eliminated. In the second 18-hole playoff on Monday morning, Nelson took control at the third hole with a birdie while Wood double-bogeyed. At the next hole, Nelson holed out for an eagle to take a five-stroke lead. With a three-shot lead at the turn, Nelson matched Wood on the back nine and finished with a 70 to Wood's 73.

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney ($)
1Byron Nelson United States68-70=138E1,000
2Craig Wood United States68-73=141+3800
3Denny Shute United States76-x+7700

Scorecards

Sunday, June 11, 1939

Hole 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 101112131415161718
Par434444344434344445
NelsonEEEE+1+1EE–1–1E–1EEE–1E–1
WoodEEEEE–1–1–1–1EEEEEEE–1–1
ShuteE+1+1+1+1+2+2+2+3+3+3+3+4+4+4+4+5+7
Source:[8]

Monday, June 12, 1939

Hole 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 101112131415161718
Par434444344434344445
NelsonEE–1–3–2–1–1–1–1EE+1+1+1+1+1+1+1
Wood+1E+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+3+4+5+5+6+5+5+4+4

Cumulative playoff scores, relative to par

Eagle Birdie Bogey Double bogey
Source:[9]

References
  1. "Nelson, Shute and Wood to decide Open title today". Palm Beach Post. Associated Press. June 11, 1939. p. 11.
  2. "U.S. Open history: 1939". USGA. Archived from the original on July 6, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  3. "Nelson captures playoff". Vancouver Sun. June 12, 1939. p. 20.
  4. "National Open golf scores (second round)". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. June 10, 1939. p. 14.
  5. "Scores in U.S. Open golf". Montreal Gazette. June 10, 1939. p. 12.
  6. "Open scores". Milwaukee Journal. June 10, 1939. p. 6.
  7. "Prize winners". Milwaukee Journal. June 12, 1939. p. 3-L.
  8. Boni, Bill (June 12, 1939). "Nelson and Wood deadlocked after 18-hole playoff in U.S. Open golf". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. p. 19.
  9. "Byron Nelson takes national open golf championship". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. June 12, 1939. p. 11.

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