1950 U.S. Open (golf)

The 1950 U.S. Open was the 50th U.S. Open, held June 8–11 at the East Course of Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia. In what became known as the "Miracle at Merion," 1948 champion Ben Hogan won the second of his four U.S. Open titles in an 18-hole playoff over 1946 champion Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio, just 16 months after being severely injured in an automobile accident.[3][4] It was the fourth of Hogan's nine major titles.[5]

1950 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJune 8–11, 1950
LocationArdmore, Pennsylvania
Course(s)Merion Golf Club,
East Course
Organized byUSGA
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par70
Length6,694 yards (6,121 m)[1]
Field150 players, 52 after cut
Cut149 (+9)
Prize fund$15,000[2]
Winner's share$4,000
Champion
Ben Hogan
287 (+7), playoff
Merion GC
Location in the United States
Merion GC 
Location in Pennsylvania

Lee Mackey established a new tournament record by shooting a 64 in the first round,[6][7][8] but followed that up with an 81 and finished in 25th place.[9] His score of 64 was not bettered in any other major championship for 23 years, until Johnny Miller closed with a 63 at the U.S. Open in 1973 to win at Oakmont. Tommy Armour, three-time major champion and winner in 1927, played in his final major and missed the cut.

This was the second U.S. Open played at Merion's East Course, which previously hosted sixteen years earlier in 1934, won by Olin Dutra. Opened in 1912, the course was the site of the U.S. Amateur in 1916, 1924, and 1930; the first was the debut of Bobby Jones at age 14 (quarterfinalist) and the latter two he won. The 1930 victory was the fourth and final leg of his grand slam.

Hogan made his U.S. Open debut at Merion in 1934 at age 21. He shot 79 (+9) twice[10] and missed the 36-hole cut by three strokes. He made his first cut at the U.S. Open in 1939 and did not miss another; his last was in 1967 at age 54.

Course
See also: Merion Golf Club

East Course

Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards3605551955954254353603671853,4773353784001334433954452304583,2176,694
Par453544443364443444343470

Source:[11]

Past champions in the field

Made the cut
PlayerCountryYear(s) wonR1R2R3R4TotalTo parFinish
Ben Hogan United States194872697274287+71
Lloyd Mangrum United States194672706976287+72
Cary Middlecoff United States194971717179292+12T10
Gene Sarazen United States1922, 193272728276302+22T38

Source:[9]

Missed the cut
PlayerCountryYear wonR1R2TotalTo par
Tommy Armour Scotland
 United States		19277575150+10
Tony Manero United States19367775152+12
Lawson Little United States19407974153+13
Craig Wood United States19417776153+13
Billy Burke United States19317879157+17
Lew Worsham United States19478276158+18
Johnny Farrell United States19287981160+20

Source:[11][12][13]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 8, 1950

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Lee Mackey United States64–6
2Al Brosch United States67–3
T3Skip Alexander United States68–2
Julius Boros United States
T5Harold Williams United States69–1
Henry Williams, Jr. United States
T7Pat Abbott United States71+1
John Barnum United States
Al Besselink United States
Jim Ferrier Australia
Claude Harmon United States
Loddie Kempa United States
Joe Kirkwood, Jr. United States
Jack Mallon United States
Cary Middlecoff United States
Henry Picard United States
Denny Shute United States

Source:[7][8]

Scorecard
Hole 1  2  3 456789101112131415161718
Par453544443444344434
MackeyEEE−1−1−1−2−3−3−3−4−4−5−5−6−6−5−6

Source:[8]

Second round

Friday, June 9, 1950

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Dutch Harrison United States72-67=139–1
T2Julius Boros United States68-72=140E
Johnny Bulla United States74-66=140
Jim Ferrier Australia71-69=140
5Ben Hogan United States72-69=141+1
T6Skip Alexander United States68-74=142+2
Lloyd Mangrum United States72-70=142
Cary Middlecoff United States71-71=142
Henry Picard United States71-71=142
Skee Riegel United States73-69=142
Bob Toski United States73-69=142

Source:[11][12][13]

Third round

Saturday, June 10, 1950   (morning)

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Lloyd Mangrum United States72-70-69=211+1
2Dutch Harrison United States72-67-73=212+2
T3Ben Hogan United States72-69-72=213+3
Cary Middlecoff United States71-71-71=213
Johnny Palmer United States73-70-70=213
6Jim Ferrier Australia71-69-74=214+4
7Henry Ransom United States72-71-73=216+6
T8Julius Boros United States68-72-77=217+7
George Fazio United States73-72-72=217
Bill Nary United States73-70-74=217

Source:

Final round

Saturday, June 10, 1950   (afternoon)

Mangrum began the final round with a one-shot lead over Dutch Harrison and a two-stroke lead over Hogan, defending champion Cary Middlecoff, and Johnny Palmer. Fazio was the first to post 287 (+7) after an even-par 70. Mangrum struggled early in his round, carding six bogeys on the first seven holes and shot 76 (+6), which also left him at 287. Hogan had a chance to win the tournament in regulation but missed a short putt for par at 15 and then bogeyed the par-3 17th. In a three-way tie for the lead going to the difficult 18th, Hogan hit one of his most famous shots, a 1-iron approach to 40 feet (12 m).[14] He two-putted for par to join Mangrum and Fazio in the Sunday playoff.[15][16] Middlecoff and Palmer both shot 79 and fell to tenth place.

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney ($)
T1Ben Hogan United States72-69-72-74=287+7Playoff
Lloyd Mangrum United States72-70-69-76=287
George Fazio United States73-72-72-70=287
4Dutch Harrison United States72-67-73-76=288+8800
T5Jim Ferrier Australia71-69-74-75=289+9500
Joe Kirkwood, Jr. United States71-74-74-70=289
Henry Ransom United States72-71-73-73=289
8Bill Nary United States73-70-74-73=290+10350
9Julius Boros United States68-72-77-74=291+11300
T10Cary Middlecoff United States71-71-71-79=292+12225
Johnny Palmer United States73-70-70-79=292

Source:[9][16]

Scorecard
Hole  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18 
Par453544443444344434
Hogan+3+3+4+4+4+4+4+4+4+4+4+5+5+5+6+6+7+7
Mangrum+2+3+2+3+4+5+6+6+6+6+6+6+6+6+7+7+7+7
Fazio+7+6+7+7+7+7+8+8+8+8+8+8+7+8+7+7+7+7
Harrison+3+2+4+5+5+5+5+6+7+7+7+8+8+8+8+8+8+8
Ferrier+7+6+7+7+7+7+8+8+8+8+9+9+9+9+10+9+9+9
Middlecoff+3+4+4+5+7+7+7+6+6+8+8+8+8+8+9+11+12+12
Palmer+4+4+5+5+7+8+8+8+8+8+9+10+11+11+11+11+11+12

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
Source:[11]

Playoff

Sunday, June 11, 1950

The three players were within one stroke of each other as late as the 13th hole, with Hogan at even par and Fazio and Mangrum at one-over. Fazio bogeyed four of the last five holes to fall out of contention, while Hogan led Mangrum by a single stroke through 15. Mangrum's tee shot at 16 went into heavy rough but his third shot stopped 15 feet (4.6 m) from the hole. As he putted to save par, he picked up his ball to remove a bug that had landed on it, a violation of the rules (then rule 10, paragraph 2).[3] Mangrum rolled it in, but was assessed a two-stroke penalty at the next tee; the double-bogey allowed Hogan to cruise to a four-stroke victory.[1][3] Hogan had just one bogey, while Fazio had seven and Mangrum four, plus the double-bogey for the rules violation.

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney ($)
1Ben Hogan United States69−14,000
2Lloyd Mangrum United States73+32,500
3George Fazio United States75+51,000

Source:[1][3]

  • This was the final three-way playoff at the U.S. Open that determined a third-place finisher; at the next in 1963, non-winners tied for second.

Scorecard
Hole  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18 
Par453544443444344434
HoganEEEEEE−1EEEEEEEEE−1−1
MangrumE−1EEEEEEE+1E+1+1+2+1+3+3+3
Fazio+1EEEE+1+2+1+1+1+1+1+1+2+3+4+4+5
Birdie Bogey Double bogey

Source:[1][3]

References
  1. "Hogan shoots 69, one under, to win Open golf". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. June 12, 1950. p. 19.
  2. "U.S. Open history: 1950". USGA. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
  3. Bartlett, Charles (June 12, 1950). "Hogan wins Open title on 69 in playoff". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, part 6.
  4. Trostel, Michael (May 28, 2013). "Looking Back...1950 U.S. Open at Merion". USGA. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  5. "Defining Moment". Golf Digest. June 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  6. Bernstein, Ralph (June 9, 1950). "Harold Williams has good chance to win Open". Tuscaloosa News. Alabama. Associated Press. p. 11.
  7. "Lee Mackey, Jr., shoots 64 to lead National Open". Wilmington Morning Star. North Carolina. Associated Press. June 9, 1950. p. 12.
  8. Bartlett, Charles (June 9, 1950). "Record 64 by golf unknown leads Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, part 4.
  9. "Top U.S. Open scorers". Milwaukee Sentinel. June 11, 1950. p. 2-B.
  10. Cavagnaro, Bob (June 9, 1934). "Bobby Cruickshank has three-stroke lead as 64 golfers battle for Open title". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. p. 6.
  11. "1950 U.S. Open news, cards, pairings, scores" (PDF). Trenham Golf History. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  12. Bartlett, Charles (June 10, 1950). "Harrison shoots 67; leads Open with 139". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, part 2.
  13. "National Open tourney scores". Youngtown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. June 10, 1950. p. 7.
  14. Balicki, Ron (September 11, 2009). "Remembering the 1-iron at Merion". Golfweek. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  15. Talbot, Gayle (June 11, 1950). "Hogan, Mangrum, Fazio tie; Ben's legs give out". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. p. 1-B.
  16. Bartlett, Charles (June 11, 1950). "Hogan limps into U.S. Open tie with 287". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, part 2.

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