1938 U.S. Open (golf)

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)
Field	160 players, 60 after cut
Cut	155 (+13)
Prize fund	$6,000
Winner's share	$1,000
Champion
Ralph Guldahl
284 (E)

Cherry Hills Country Club

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Location in the United States

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. It was the second of Guldahl's three major titles.

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. 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. 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. Guldahl won the title the previous year with 19 clubs in his bag.

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 9, 1938

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

Source:

Second round

Friday, June 10, 1938

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

Source:

Third round

Saturday, June 11, 1938 (morning)

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

Source:

Final round

Saturday, June 11, 1938 (afternoon)

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

Source:

External links

• USGA Championship Database