1947 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	June 12–15, 1947
Location	Ladue, Missouri
Course(s)	St. Louis Country Club
Organized by	USGA
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	71
Length	6,532 yards (5,973 m) [1]
Field	146 players, 75 after cut
Cut	151 (+9)
Prize fund	$10,000 [2]
Winner's share	$2,500
Champion
Lew Worsham
282 (−2), playoff
←  1946 1948 →

The 1947 U.S. Open was the 47th U.S. Open, held June 12–15 at St. Louis Country Club in Ladue, Missouri, a suburb west of St. Louis. Lew Worsham denied Sam Snead his elusive U.S. Open title by prevailing in an 18-hole playoff. For Snead, it was his second of four career runner-up finishes at the Open.

In the third round, amateur Jim McHale Jr. tied the tournament record with a 65, and he established a new nine-hole record with a 30 on the front nine. ^[3] That mark was equaled fifteen times before it was broken in 1995 by Neal Lancaster, who carded a 29 on the back nine in the final round. ^[4]

Worsham's win marked the 17th consecutive victory in a major championship for an American-born golfer. This remains the longest stretch ever for American golfers. A significant reason this occurred is because the British Open, which is usually won by international golfers, was cancelled for most of the 1940s due to World War II.

The purse was $10,000 with a winner's share of $2,000 and $1,500 for the runner-up. ^[2] In addition, both playoff participants received a $500 bonus. ^[5]

Course layout

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Total
Yards	395	233	187	421	545	325	150	347	537	3,140	349	399	180	576	416	500	188	365	419	3,392	6,532
Par	4	3	3	4	5	4	3	4	5	35	4	4	3	5	4	5	3	4	4	36	71

Source: ^[1]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 12, 1947

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Chick Harbert	67	−4
	Henry Ransom
	Harry Todd
4	Bobby Locke	68	−3
T5	Leland Gibson	69	−2
	Otto Greiner
	Dick Metz
	Bud Ward (a)
T9	Ed Furgol	70	−1
	Ben Hogan
	Al Smith
	Horton Smith
	Lew Worsham

Source: ^[6]

Second round

Friday, June 13, 1947

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Chick Harbert	67-72=139	−3
	Dick Metz	69-70=139
3	Lew Worsham	70-70=140	−2
T4	Jim Ferrier	71-70=141	−1
	Henry Ransom	67-74=141
	Bud Ward (a)	69-72=141
T7	Bobby Locke	68-74=142	E
	Johnny Palmer	72-70=142
	Sam Snead	72-70=142
	Harry Todd	67-75=142

Source: ^[7]

Third round

Saturday, June 14, 1947 (morning)

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Lew Worsham	70-70-71=211	−2
T2	Bobby Locke	68-74-70=212	−1
	Sam Snead	72-70-70=212
T4	Ed Oliver	73-70-71=214	+1
	Bud Ward (a)	69-72-73=214
T6	Jim Ferrier	71-70-74=215	+2
	Ben Hogan	70-75-70=215
	Joe Kirkwood, Sr.	72-73-70=215
9	Sammy Byrd	72-74-70=216	+3
T10	Ed Furgol	70-75-72=217	+4
	Dick Metz	69-70-78=217
	Johnny Palmer	72-70-75=217
	Paul Runyan	71-74-72=217

Source: ^[3]

Final round

Saturday, June 14, 1947

Worsham began the final round with a stroke lead over Snead and Bobby Locke. A front-nine 33 kept him in the lead, but after three bogeys on the back he had to settle for a 71 and a 282 total. Snead overcame two early bogeys with birdies at 5, 6, and 15. After a bogey at 17, Snead needed a birdie on the 72nd hole to tie Worsham and force a playoff the next day. His approach shot left him 18 feet (5.5 m) away, which he rolled in for final-round 70. Locke shot 73 to finish three strokes back, in a tie for third place. ^[8]

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ( $)
T1	Lew Worsham	70-70-71-71=282	−2	Playoff
	Sam Snead	72-70-70-70=282
T3	Bobby Locke	68-74-70-73=285	+1	900
	Ed Oliver	73-70-71-71=285
5	Bud Ward (a)	69-72-73-73=287	+3	0
T6	Jim Ferrier	71-70-74-74=289	+5	400
	Vic Ghezzi	74-73-73-69=289
	Leland Gibson	69-76-73-71=289
	Ben Hogan	70-75-70-74=289
	Johnny Palmer	72-70-75-72=289
	Paul Runyan	71-74-72-72=289

Source: ^[3]

(a) denotes amateur

Playoff

Sunday, June 15, 1947

In the 18-hole playoff on Sunday morning, Snead led Worsham by two strokes with just three holes remaining. Worsham birdied the par-3 16th with a 28-foot (8.5 m) putt and Snead bogeyed 17 after he missed the fairway and overshot the green from the rough. The match was all-even at the tee of the 90th hole, a par-4 of 419 yards (383 m). Both put lengthy drives in the fairway, and Snead's approach shot stopped pin-high and 15 feet (5 m) left of the hole. Worsham was long and lay 40 feet (12 m) feet past the cup on the apron of the green. His downhill chip hit the hole without dropping, and ended up 29 inches (74 cm) away, leaving Snead his birdie putt for the win. Snead left it well short and as he prepared to hole out in continuation, Worsham called for an official to determine who was further away. With a tape measure, it was determined that it remained Snead's turn, who was visibly flustered with the unnecessary interruption and delay. Snead missed the 30.5-inch (77 cm) putt. Worsham then rolled in his par-saving putt for a 69 and the title, which averted an additional 18-hole playoff in the afternoon. ^{[5] [9] [10]}

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ( $)
1	Lew Worsham	69	−2	2,500
2	Sam Snead	70	−1	2,000

• Prize money includes $500 playoff bonus for each. ^[5]

Scorecard

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	3	3	4	5	4	3	4	5	4	4	3	5	4	5	3	4	4
Worsham	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	+1	E	−1	−1	−2	−2	−2	−1	−2	−2	−2
Snead	−1	−1	−1	−1	−2	E	E	−1	−1	−2	−2	−2	−3	−3	−3	−3	−2	−1

Birdie

Bogey

Double bogey

Source: ^{[5] [10]}

References

External links

• USGA Championship Database

38°39′N 90°23′W / 38.65°N 90.38°W / 38.65; -90.38