1954 U.S. Open (golf)
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | June 17–19, 1954 |
| Location | Springfield, New Jersey |
| Course(s) | Baltusrol Golf Club Lower Course |
| Organized by | USGA |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 70 |
| Length | 7,027 yards (6,425 m)[1][2] |
| Field | 159 players, 50 after cut |
| Cut | 151 (+11) |
| Prize fund | $23,280[3] |
| Winner's share | $6,000 |
| Champion | |
 Ed Furgol | |
| 284 (+4) | |
The 1954 U.S. Open was the 54th U.S. Open, held June 17–19 at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey, west of New York City. On the Lower Course, Ed Furgol won his only major title, one stroke ahead of runner-up Gene Littler.[2]
Littler owned the 36-hole lead by two strokes over defending champion Ben Hogan and Furgol. After a 76 in the third round, Littler fell three strokes back of Furgol, who shot a 71 to take a one-stroke lead over Dick Mayer. Hogan made four bogeys at the first six holes and fell out of contention with a 76.
In the final round on Saturday afternoon, Littler rebounded with a 70, but it was not enough. Furgol was helped by a great recovery on the 18th. After hitting his drive into the trees, he played his escape shot onto the 18th fairway of Baltusrol's other course. From there he managed to make par, carding a 72 for a 284 total. Mayer was tied with Furgol as he played 18, but he double-bogeyed the hole to fall into third.[4][5]
This U.S. Open was the first to be nationally televised, one hour of the final round,[6] carried by NBC. It was also the first in which ropes were used to control the gallery, and prize money was increased by 20% over the previous year.[3] This was the fourth U.S. Open at Baltusrol, but the first on the Lower Course, which later hosted in 1967, 1980, and 1993.
Course layout
Lower Course
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yards | 465 | 379 | 444 | 183 | 391 | 467 | 468 | 372 | 204 | 3,373 | 450 | 421 | 190 | 391 | 409 | 427 | 201 | 620 | 545 | 3,654 | 7,027 |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 34 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 36 | 70 |
Source:[1]
Lengths of the courses for previous major championships at Baltusrol:
- 6,866 yards (6,278 m), par 72 - 1936 U.S. Open (Upper Course)
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lloyd Mangrum | United States |
1946 | 72 | 71 | 72 | 71 | 286 | +6 | T3 |
| Ben Hogan | United States |
1948, 1950, 1951, 1953 |
71 | 70 | 76 | 72 | 289 | +9 | T6 |
| Cary Middlecoff | United States |
1949 | 72 | 71 | 72 | 75 | 290 | +10 | T11 |
| Julius Boros | United States |
1952 | 78 | 71 | 78 | 70 | 297 | +17 | T23 |
| Lew Worsham | United States |
1947 | 72 | 77 | 77 | 71 | 297 | +17 | T23 |
| Lawson Little | United States |
1940 | 78 | 73 | 73 | 77 | 301 | +21 | T35 |
Missed the cut
| Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Manero | United States |
1936 | 77 | 80 | 157 | +17 |
| Johnny Farrell | United States |
1928 | 79 | 79 | 158 | +18 |
| Billy Burke | United States |
1931 | 82 | 86 | 168 | +28 |
| Chick Evans (a) | United States |
1916 | 88 | 85 | 173 | +33 |
| Gene Sarazen | United States |
1922, 1932 | 79 | WD |
Source:[7]
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, June 17, 1954
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billy Joe Patton (a) | United States |
69 | −1 |
| T2 | Ted Kroll | United States |
70 | E |
| Gene Littler | United States
| |||
| Bob Toski | United States
| |||
| T5 | Ed Furgol | United States |
71 | +1 |
| Ben Hogan | United States
| |||
| Al Mengert | United States
| |||
| T8 | Tommy Bolt | United States |
72 | +2 |
| Leland Gibson | United States
| |||
| Lloyd Mangrum | United States
| |||
| Dick Mayer | United States
| |||
| Cary Middlecoff | United States
| |||
| Johnny Revolta | United States
| |||
| Sam Snead | United States
| |||
| Robert Watson | United States
| |||
| Lew Worsham | United States
|
Source:[8]
Second round
Friday, June 18, 1954
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gene Littler | United States |
70-69=139 | −1 |
| T2 | Ed Furgol | United States |
71-70=141 | +1 |
| Ben Hogan | United States |
71-70=141 | ||
| T4 | Lloyd Mangrum | United States |
72-71=143 | +3 |
| Dick Mayer | United States |
72-71=143 | ||
| Al Mengert | United States |
71-72=143 | ||
| Cary Middlecoff | United States |
72-71=143 | ||
| T8 | Tommy Bolt | United States |
72-72=144 | +4 |
| Dick Chapman (a) | United States |
77-67=143 | ||
| Bobby Locke |  South Africa |
74-70=144 | ||
| Bob Toski | United States |
70-74=144 |
Source:[7]
Third round
Saturday, June 19, 1954 (morning)
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ed Furgol | United States |
71-70-71=212 | +2 |
| 2 | Dick Mayer | United States |
72-71-70=213 | +3 |
| T3 | Gene Littler | United States |
70-69-76=215 | +5 |
| Lloyd Mangrum | United States |
72-71-72=215 | ||
| Cary Middlecoff | United States |
72-71-72=215 | ||
| T6 | Al Mengert | United States |
71-72-73=216 | +6 |
| Billy Joe Patton (a) | United States |
69-76-71=216 | ||
| T8 | Tommy Bolt | United States |
72-72-73=217 | +7 |
| Fred Haas | United States |
73-73-71=217 | ||
| Jay Hebert | United States |
77-70-70=217 | ||
| Ben Hogan | United States |
71-70-76=217 | ||
| Sam Snead | United States |
72-73-72=217 |
Final round
Saturday, June 19, 1954 (afternoon)
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ed Furgol | United States |
71-70-71-72=284 | +4 | 6,000 |
| 2 | Gene Littler | United States |
70-69-76-70=285 | +5 | 3,600 |
| T3 | Lloyd Mangrum | United States |
72-71-72-71=286 | +6 | 1,500 |
| Dick Mayer | United States |
72-71-70-73=286 | |||
| 5 | Bobby Locke | South Africa |
74-70-74-70=288 | +8 | 960 |
| T6 | Tommy Bolt | United States |
72-72-73-72=289 | +9 | 570 |
| Fred Haas | United States |
73-73-71-72=289 | |||
| Ben Hogan | United States |
71-70-76-72=289 | |||
| Shelley Mayfield | United States |
73-75-72-69=289 | |||
| Billy Joe Patton (a) | United States |
69-76-71-73=289 | 0 |
- (a) denotes amateur
References
- ^ a b "54th U.S. Open Championship: Baltusrol, Lower Course". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. June 17, 1954. p. 1D.
- ^ a b c d Grimsley, Will (June 20, 1954). "Furgol wins Open in dramatic finish". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. p. 1-sports.
- ^ a b "U.S. Open history:1954". USGA. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
- ^ a b c "Furgol wins Open, Mayer ties for third". St. Petersburg Times. Florida. June 20, 1954. p. 1C.
- ^ a b c Fraley, Oscar (June 20, 1954). "Ed Furgol wins US Open". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. United Press. p. 1C.
- ^ "Open on TV". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. June 18, 1954. p. 4, part 2.
- ^ a b "National Open golf scores". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. June 19, 1954. p. 11.
- ^ "Amateur Patton fires 1-under 69 to lead Open". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. June 18, 1954. p. 4, part 2.
External links
- About.com – 1954 U.S. Open
- USOpen.com - 1954