1936 U.S. Open (golf)
The 1936 U.S. Open was the 40th U.S. Open, held June 4–6 at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey, west of New York City.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | June 4–6, 1936 |
| Location | Springfield, New Jersey |
| Course(s) | Baltusrol Golf Club Upper Course[1] |
| Organized by | USGA |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Format | Stroke play − 72 holes |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72[2] |
| Length | 6,866 yards (6,278 m)[2] |
| Field | 164 players, 76 after cut |
| Cut | 151 (+7) |
| Prize fund | $5,000[3] |
| Winner's share | $1,000 |
| Champion | |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Tony Manero | |
| 282 (−6) | |
Tony Manero, a relatively unknown pro from New York playing out of North Carolina, surpassed third round leader Harry Cooper in the final round to claim his only major title. The purse was $5,000 and the winner's share was $1,000.[3] The Upper Course was used for this championship;[1] the Lower Course has been used for all subsequent majors at Baltusrol.
Entering the final round, Cooper led Manero by four strokes. Manero's final round 67 (−5) was a course record and gave him a 72-hole total of 282 (−6), two strokes ahead of Cooper, who shot 73 (+1) for 284. Manero's total of 282 set a new U.S. Open tournament record by four shots; the previous record of 286 was set in 1916.[4]
Manero was fortunate to even be in the championship, because during sectional qualifying, he needed a chip-in on his final hole just to qualify. His victory was not without controversy. During the final round he was paired with Gene Sarazen, whose tournament scoring record he would break. Sarazen apparently requested the pairing as he believed he could help the notoriously high-strung Manero, a close friend, stay calm. Afterwards a complaint was filed with the USGA alleging that Sarazen was actually giving advice to Manero, a violation of the rules. After a meeting, the USGA ruled that there was no evidence of any wrongdoing, and Manero was allowed to keep the championship.
In contrast to the previous year, scoring conditions at the Open were ideal throughout the week. For the tournament, 38 players broke par and the scoring average was 76.04, both numbers setting U.S. Open records. Chuck Kocsis finished as low amateur in a tie for 14th place.
A record field of 1,278 entered the qualifying for this U.S. Open, up from 1,177 in 1935.[5]
Course
Upper Course
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yards | 471 | 423 | 186 | 390 | 385 | 439 | 216 | 538 | 346 | 3,394 | 158 | 602 | 340 | 365 | 40 | 140 | 439 | 563 | 465 | 3,472 | 6,866 |
| Par | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
- Note: The Lower Course has been used for all subsequent majors at Baltusrol.
Lengths of the courses for previous major championships at Baltusrol:
- 6,212 yards (5,680 m), par 74 - 1915 U.S. Open (Old Course) The Old Course was plowed under in 1918
- 6,003 yards (5,489 m), par - 1903 U.S. Open (Old Course)
Past champions in the field
Made the cut
| Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Burke | United States | 1931 | 72 | 76 | 72 | 74 | 294 | +6 | T18 |
| Tommy Armour |  Scotland United States | 1927 | 74 | 76 | 72 | 71 | 295 | +7 | T22 |
| Johnny Farrell | United States | 1928 | 75 | 75 | 70 | 75 | 295 | +7 | T22 |
| Johnny Goodman (a) | United States | 1933 | 75 | 73 | 73 | 74 | 295 | +7 | T22 |
| Gene Sarazen | United States | 1922, 1932 | 75 | 72 | 75 | 74 | 296 | +8 | T28 |
| Walter Hagen | United States | 1914, 1919 | 74 | 72 | 73 | 78 | 297 | +9 | T33 |
| Olin Dutra | United States | 1934 | 74 | 77 | 75 | 74 | 300 | +12 | T45 |
| Chick Evans (a) | United States | 1916 | 77 | 74 | 77 | 74 | 302 | +14 | T50 |
Missed the cut
| Player | Country | Year won | R1 | R2 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Parks, Jr. | United States | 1935 | 76 | 76 | 152 | +8 |
Source:[6]
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, June 4, 1936
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To Par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Clarence Clark | United States | 69 | −3 |
| Ray Mangrum | United States | |||
| Paul Runyan | United States | |||
| T4 | Vic Ghezzi | United States | 70 | −2 |
| Tom Kerrigan | United States | |||
| Leslie Madison | United States | |||
| Frank Moore | United States | |||
| Henry Picard | United States | |||
| Johnny Revolta | United States | |||
| T10 | Johnny Bulla | United States | 71 | −1 |
| Harry Cooper |  England United States | |||
| Ky Laffoon | United States | |||
| Ted Longworth | United States | |||
| Craig Wood | United States |
Source:[8]
Second round
Friday, June 5, 1936
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To Par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Vic Ghezzi | United States | 70-70=140 | −4 |
| Ray Mangrum | United States | 69-71=140 | ||
| T3 | Harry Cooper | England United States | 71-70=141 | −3 |
| Henry Picard | United States | 70-71=141 | ||
| Johnny Revolta | United States | 70-71=141 | ||
| Denny Shute | United States | 72-69=141 | ||
| 7 | Tony Manero | United States | 73-69=142 | −2 |
| T8 | Ralph Guldahl | United States | 73-70=143 | −1 |
| Chuck Kocsis (a) | United States | 72-71=143 | ||
| T10 | Clarence Clark | United States | 69-75=144 | E |
| Frank Moore | United States | 70-74=144 | ||
| Jack Munger (a) | United States | 74-70=144 | ||
| Paul Runyan | United States | 69-75=144 |
Source:[6]
Third round
Saturday, June 6, 1936 (morning)
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To Par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harry Cooper | England United States | 71-70-70=211 | −5 |
| 2 | Vic Ghezzi | United States | 70-70-73=213 | −3 |
| 3 | Denny Shute | United States | 72-69-73=214 | −2 |
| T4 | Clarence Clark | United States | 69-75-71=215 | −1 |
| Ky Laffoon | United States | 71-74-70=215 | ||
| Tony Manero | United States | 73-69-73=215 | ||
| Henry Picard | United States | 70-71-74=215 | ||
| T8 | Herman Barron | United States | 73-74-69=216 | E |
| Ralph Guldahl | United States | 73-70-73=216 | ||
| Chuck Kocsis (a) | United States | 72-71-73=216 | ||
| Ray Mangrum | United States | 69-71-76=216 |
Final round
Saturday, June 6, 1936 (afternoon)
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To Par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tony Manero | United States | 73-69-73-67=282 | −6 | 1,000 |
| 2 | Harry Cooper | England United States | 71-70-70-73=284 | −4 | 750 |
| 3 | Clarence Clark | United States | 69-75-71-72=287 | −1 | 650 |
| 4 | Macdonald Smith | Scotland United States | 73-73-72-70=288 | E | 550 |
| T5 | Wiffy Cox | United States | 74-74-69-72=289 | +1 | 350 |
| Ky Laffoon | United States | 71-74-70-74=289 | |||
| Henry Picard | United States | 70-71-74-74=289 | |||
| T8 | Ralph Guldahl | United States | 73-70-73-74=290 | +2 | 137 |
| Paul Runyan | United States | 69-75-73-73=290 | |||
| 10 | Denny Shute | United States | 72-69-73-77=291 | +3 | 100 |
References
- "Parks eliminated in National Open". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. June 6, 1936. p. 16.
- "Par and yardage for Baltusrol". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. June 4, 1936. p. 17.
- "Here's how the $5,000 U.S. Open prize was distributed". Chicago Sunday Tribune. Associated Press. June 7, 1936. p. 6, part 2.
- Kirksey, George (June 7, 1936). "Manero's dizzy dash down the stretch unequaled". Miami News. United Press. p. 12.
- "Record field of 1,278 plays in U.S. 'Open'". Milwaukee Journal. United Press. May 7, 1936. p. 2-sports.
- "National Open scores". Chicago Daily Tribune. June 6, 1936. p. 22.
- "National Open scores". Chicago Sunday Tribune. June 7, 1936. p. 6, part 2.
- "First round scores in National Open tourney". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 5, 1936. p. 19.