1938 U.S. Open (golf)

The 1938 U.S. Open was the 42nd U.S. Open, held June 9–11 at Cherry Hills Country Club in Englewood, Colorado, a suburb south of Denver. Defending champion Ralph Guldahl won his second straight U.S. Open title, six strokes ahead of runner-up Dick Metz.[3][4] It was the second of Guldahl's three major titles.

1938 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	June 9–11, 1938
Location	Englewood, Colorado
Course(s)	Cherry Hills Country Club
Organized by	USGA
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Format	Stroke play − 72 holes
Statistics
Par	71
Length	6,888 yards (6,298 m)[1]
Field	160 players, 60 after cut
Cut	155 (+13)
Prize fund	$6,000[2]
Winner's share	$1,000
Champion
Ralph Guldahl
284 (E)

Cherry Hills Country Club

Location in the United States

Metz owned a four-stroke lead over Guldahl after Saturday morning's third round, but Metz struggled in the afternoon and shot a 79 (+8) to finish at 290 (+6). Guldahl began his round with two birdies in his first six holes on his way to a 69 (−2) and an even-par 284 total, six strokes ahead of Metz.[5] His six-shot victory was the largest since Jim Barnes won by nine strokes in 1921. Guldahl became the fourth player to successfully defend at the U.S. Open, joining Willie Anderson, John McDermott, and Bobby Jones. There have only been three since: Ben Hogan in 1951, Curtis Strange in 1989 and Brooks Koepka in 2018.

In the second round, Ray Ainsley set a dubious record by shooting a 19 on the par-4 16th hole.[2] Ainsley's ball landed in a creek, and instead of taking a drop he continued to play the ball out. He shot 96 (+25) for the round and missed the cut.

This was the first U.S. Open played in the western United States. The U.S. Open returned in 1960 and 1978, and the PGA Championship was played here in 1941 and 1985. The average elevation of the course exceeds 5,300 feet (1,620 m) above sea level.

This was the first U.S. Open in which the players were limited to a maximum of 14 clubs; the USGA rule (4-4) went into effect in January 1938.[6][7] Guldahl won the title the previous year with 19 clubs in his bag.[8]

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Player	Country	Year(s) won	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	To par	Finish
Ralph Guldahl	United States	1937	74	70	71	69	284	E	1
Gene Sarazen	United States	1922, 1932	74	74	75	73	296	+12	10
Olin Dutra	United States	1934	74	71	77	77	299	+15	T16
Tommy Armour	Scotland  United States	1927	78	71	74	80	303	+19	23
Willie Macfarlane	Scotland	1925	79	73	78	78	308	+24	T32
Tony Manero	United States	1936	74	80	81	78	313	+29	48
Billy Burke	United States	1931	75	79	78	WD

Source:[9][10]

Missed the cut

Player	Country	Year won	R1	R2	Total	To par
Sam Parks, Jr.	United States	1935	85	77	162	+20

Source:[9]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 9, 1938

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
T1	Jimmy Hines	United States	70	−1
	Henry Picard	United States
3	John Rogers	United States	71	E
4	Emery Zimmerman	United States	72	+1
T5	Dick Metz	United States	73	+2
	Willie Hunter	Scotland  United States
T7	Ted Adams (a)	United States	74	+3
	Dick Chapman (a)	United States
	Olin Dutra	United States
	Alex Follmer	United States
	Jim Foulis	United States
	Ralph Guldahl	United States
	Alvin Krueger	United States
	Levi Lynch	United States
	Tony Manero	United States
	Johnny Revolta	United States
	Gene Sarazen	United States
	Wilford Wehrle (a)	United States

Source:[11]

Second round

Friday, June 10, 1938

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Henry Picard	United States	70-70=140	−2
2	Dick Metz	United States	73-68=141	−1
T3	Jug McSpaden	United States	76-67=143	+1
	Emery Zimmerman	United States	72-71=143
5	Ralph Guldahl	United States	74-70=144	+2
T6	Harry Cooper	England  United States	76-69=145	+3
	Olin Dutra	United States	74-71=145
	Jimmy Hines	United States	70-75=145
	Willie Hunter	Scotland  United States	73-72=145
10	Johnny Revolta	United States	74-72=146	+4

Source:[12]

Third round

Saturday, June 11, 1938 (morning)

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Dick Metz	United States	73-68-70=211	−2
2	Jimmy Hines	United States	70-75-69=214	+1
3	Ralph Guldahl	United States	74-70-71=215	+2
4	Emery Zimmerman	United States	72-71-73=216	+3
T5	Jug McSpaden	United States	76-67-74=217	+4
	Henry Picard	United States	70-70-77=217
T7	John Rogers	United States	71-76-73=220	+7
	Denny Shute	United States	77-71-72=220
T9	Harry Cooper	England  United States	76-69-76=221	+8
	George Von Elm	United States	78-72-71=221

Source:[9]

Final round

Saturday, June 11, 1938 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Ralph Guldahl	United States	74-70-71-69=284	E	1,000
2	Dick Metz	United States	73-68-70-79=290	+6	800
T3	Harry Cooper	England  United States	76-69-76-71=292	+8	650
	Toney Penna	Italy  United States	78-72-74-68=292
T5	Byron Nelson	United States	77-71-74-72=294	+10	412
	Emery Zimmerman	United States	72-71-73-78=294
T7	Frank Moore	United States	79-73-72-71=295	+11	216
	Henry Picard	United States	70-70-77-78=295
	Paul Runyan	United States	78-71-72-74=295
10	Gene Sarazen	United States	74-74-75-73=296	+12	106

Source:[9]

References

1. Kilgallen, James L. (June 9, 1938). "Golfers start Cherry Hills rounds today". Miami Daily News. INS. p. 1-B.
2. "U.S. Open history: 1938". USGA. Archived from the original on July 6, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
3. "Guldahl retains U.S. Open golf crown". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. June 13, 1938. p. 14.
4. Petrie, Kerr N. (June 12, 1938). "Metz second by six shots to Ralph's 284". Miami Daily News. (New York Herald Tribune). p. 1-C.
5. McLemore, Henry (June 12, 1938). "Ralph Guldahl retains national open golf championship". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). United Press. p. 10.
6. "Golfers limited to 14 clubs in competition". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). United Press. January 1, 1937. p. 14.
7. "Tournament golfers limited to 14 clubs". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). Associated Press. January 1, 1937. p. 7.
8. "Uses 19 clubs". Milwaukee Journal. June 13, 1937. p. 1, sports.
9. Bartlett, Charles (June 11, 1938). "Picard leads National Open; scores 140". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 17.
10. Bartlett, Charles (June 12, 1938). "Guldahl's 284 wins National Open title". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, part 2.
11. Bartlett, Charles (June 10, 1938). "Picard and Hines tie for National Open golf lead". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 25.
12. Bartlett, Charles (June 11, 1938). "Picard leads National Open; scores 140". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 17.

External links

• About.com – 1938 U.S. Open
• USGA Championship Database