1916 U.S. Open (golf)

1916 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJune 29–30, 1916
LocationMinneapolis, Minnesota
Course(s)Minikahda Club
Organized byUSGA
FormatStroke play − 72 holes
Statistics
Par72 [1][2]
Length6,150 yards (5,624 m)[1][2]
Field62 players
CutNone
Winner's share($300)
Champion
Chick Evans (a)
286 (−2)
Minneapolis 
Location in the United States
Minneapolis 
Location in Minnesota

The 1916 U.S. Open was the 22nd U.S. Open, held June 29–30 at Minikahda Club in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Amateur Chick Evans led wire-to-wire and set a new U.S. Open scoring record to win his only U.S. Open title, two strokes ahead of runner-up Jock Hutchison.[3]

There were 94 entries and on-site qualifying was held and only the defending champion was exempt. Qualifying was held on Tuesday and Wednesday, and each day half the field played 36 holes for 32 places in the starting field of 64.[4][5]

Evans opened the championship on Thursday with rounds of 70-69, the first in history to break 140 in the first two rounds of a U.S. Open.[6][7] He led by three over Wilfrid Reid, who went out of contention after a 79 (+7) in the third round. Evans carded a 74 to maintain his three-shot advantage after 54 holes, with Jim Barnes as the nearest pursuer. After a double-bogey at the fourth hole, Evans recovered with a birdie at the next and matched Barnes through the front nine. At the par-5 12th, Evans found the green in two shots and two-putted for a birdie. He finished with a round of 73 to Barnes' 74. Hutchison, nine back after two rounds, moved up to second place with a 68 (−4), the lowest score to date in the final round of a U.S. Open.[2] As the top professional, he took home the winner's share of the purse.

Evans' total of 286 established a new U.S. Open scoring record that stood for two decades, until 1936. Three months later, he won the U.S. Amateur championship at Merion near Philadelphia and became the first to win both titles in the same year. Evans won the U.S. Amateur again in 1920.

Like previous editions, this U.S. Open was scheduled for just two days, at 36 holes each. Not held in 1917 and 1918 due to World War I, it resumed in 1919 and was stretched to three days, with 18 holes on each of the first two days and 36 holes on the third. It reverted to the two-day format in 1920, then went to the three-day schedule in 1926.

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 310 460 130 530 265 300 220 410 400 3,025 160 385 535 475 365 335 355 160 355 3,125 6,150
Par 4 5 3 5 4 4 3 4 4 36 3 4 5 5 4 4 4 3 4 36 72

Source:[8]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 29, 1916  (morning)

Place Player Score To par
T1 Chick Evans (a) 70 −2
Wilfrid Reid
T3 Jim Barnes 71 −1
Jack Dowling
T5 Alex Campbell 73 +1
W. Clark
Walter Hagen
Jock Hutchison
Gilbert Nicholls
Bob Peebles
Alec Ross

Source:[7]

Second round

Thursday, June 29, 1916  (afternoon)

Place Player Score To par
1 Chick Evans (a) 70-69=139 −5
2 Wilfrid Reid 70-72=142 −2
T3 Jim Barnes 71-74=145 +1
Bob Peebles 73-72=145
T5 Bob MacDonald 74-72=146 +2
George Sargent 75-71=146
7 Jack Dowling 71-76=147 +3
T8 Mike Brady 75-73=148 +4
J. Ferguson 75-73=148
Jock Hutchison 73-75=148
J. J. O'Brien 76-72=148
Tom Vardon 76-72=148

Source:[7]

Third round

Friday, June 30, 1916  (morning)

Place Player Score To par
1 Chick Evans (a) 70-69-74=213 −3
2 Jim Barnes 71-74-71=216 E
3 George Sargent 75-71-72=218 +2
T4 Jock Hutchison 73-75-72=220 +4
Gilbert Nicholls 73-76-71=220
T6 J. J. O'Brien 76-72-73=221 +5
Bob Peebles 73-72-76=221
Wilfrid Reid 70-72-79=221
Louis Tellier 74-75-72=221
10 Jack Dowling 71-76-75=222 +6

Source:[2][3][7][8]

Final round

Friday, June 30, 1916  (afternoon)

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1 Chick Evans (a) 70-69-74-73=286 −2 0
2 Jock Hutchison 73-75-72-68=288 E 300
3 Jim Barnes 71-74-71-74=290 +2 150
T4 Gilbert Nicholls 73-76-71-73=293 +5 83
Wilfrid Reid 70-72-79-72=293
George Sargent 75-71-72-75=293
7 Walter Hagen 73-76-75-71=295 +7 60
8 Bob MacDonald 74-72-77-73=296 +8 50
T9 Mike Brady 75-73-75-74=297 +9 30
J. J. O'Brien 76-72-73-76=297
Tom Vardon 76-72-75-74=297

Source:[2][3][7][8]

(a) denotes amateur

References

  1. ^ a b ""Chick" Evans wins title at Minneapolis". Youngstown Daily Vindicator. (Ohio). July 1, 1916. p. 9.
  2. ^ a b c d e Sixty, Billy (July 1, 1916). "Golf". Milwaukee Journal. p. 8.
  3. ^ a b c "Evans wins National Open golf title". Chicago Daily Tribune. July 1, 1916. p. 10.
  4. ^ Ritchie, J.H. (June 29, 1916). "Second flight honors captured by Simpson". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 12.
  5. ^ Trenham, Peter C. "A Chronicle of the Philadelphia Section PGA and its Members" (PDF). Philadelphia Section PGA. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 27, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  6. ^ "Chick Evans Jr. is a Comeback". Grand Forks Daily Herald. North Dakota. June 30, 1916. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  7. ^ a b c d e Ritchie, J.H. (June 30, 1916). "Evans leads in national golf tourney". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 14.
  8. ^ a b c Evans, Chick (July 1916). "The Open Championship" (PDF). The American Golfer. pp. 169–174. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 23, 2016.

44°56′35″N 93°19′19″W / 44.943°N 93.322°W / 44.943; -93.322