1931 U.S. Open (golf)

1931 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJuly 2–6, 1931
LocationToledo, Ohio
Course(s)Inverness Club
Organized byUSGA
Tour(s)PGA Tour
FormatStroke play − 72 holes
Statistics
Par71[1]
Length6,529 yards (5,970 m)[2]
Field144 players,[3] 62 after cut
Cut158 (+16)
Prize fund$6,000
Winner's share$1,750
(incl. $750 playoff bonus)[4]
Champion
Billy Burke
292 (+8), playoff
Toledo
Location in the United States
Toledo
Location in Ohio

The 1931 U.S. Open was the 35th U.S. Open, held July 2–6 at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. Billy Burke won his only major title, defeating George Von Elm in a marathon 72-hole playoff, the longest in tournament history.[5][6][7]

Von Elm, the 1926 U.S. Amateur champion, held the 54-hole lead at 217 after rounds of 75-69-73. Burke, playing just ahead of Von Elm in the final round, carded a 73 and a 292 total. Von Elm bogeyed 12, 14, 15, and 16, and needed a birdie at 18 to force a 36-hole playoff on Sunday.[8][9]

In the playoff, Von Elm and Burke were still tied after 36 holes, with Von Elm making a birdie on the 36th to extend it.[10][11] In the era prior to sudden-death, 36-hole playoffs were required to break ties, so another was held the following day.

In the morning round, Von Elm shot a 76 and led by a stroke, but Burke took the lead late in the afternoon round at the 32nd and extended it to two strokes at the 34th. A bogey on the final hole narrowed Burke's victory margin to one stroke, 148 to Von Elm's 149.[12][13] Burke reportedly smoked 32 cigars during the tournament, and quipped afterwards: "George Von Elm lost 15 pounds (7 kg). I gained three."

Following this tournament, the USGA reduced the length of all future playoffs to 18 holes, which remained the format until 2018.[14] A second playoff round was played in 1939 and 1946. Sudden-death after 18 holes was added in the 1950s, but was not needed until 1990, and was used again 1994 and 2008.

Leo Diegel made a hole-in-one during the second round, only the third in U.S. Open history and first since 1922. He missed the playoff by two strokes and finished in third place. Low-amateur went to Philip Perkins, who finished in a tie for seventh. Three-time British Open champion Henry Cotton played the first of two U.S. Open appearances this year, missing the cut. Defending champion Bobby Jones retired from competition in 1930 and did not compete.

This was the second U.S. Open at Inverness, which hosted eleven years earlier in 1920. It later hosted in 1957 and 1979, and the PGA Championship in 1986 and 1993.

Course layout

Main article: Inverness Club
Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Yards 392 388 146 431 430 350 316 210 492 3,155 348 380 516 146 416 441 398 404 325 3,374 6,529
Par 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 5 35 4 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 4 36 71

Source:[2][15]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, July 2, 1931

Place Player Score To par
T1 Herman Barron 71 E
Mortie Dutra
Charles Guest
Eddie Williams
5 Al Espinosa 72 +1
T6 Billy Burke 73 +2
Henry Ciuci
Bill Davies
Guy Paulsen
Fred Robson
Joe Turnesa
Frank Walsh

Source:[16]

Second round

Friday, July 3, 1931

Place Player Score To par
1 George Von Elm 75-69=144 +2
T2 Billy Burke 73-72=145 +3
Eddie Williams 71-74=145
T4 Herman Barron 71-75=146 +4
Charles Guest 71-75=146
Guy Paulsen 74-72=146
Macdonald Smith 73-73=146
T8 Leo Diegel 75-73=148 +6
Mortie Dutra 71-77=148
Johnny Farrell 78-70=148
Walter Hagen 74-74=148
Joe Turnesa 73-75=148

Source:[17]

Third round

Saturday, July 4, 1931 (morning)

Place Player Score To par
1 George Von Elm 75-69-73=217 +4
2 Billy Burke 73-72-74=219 +6
3 Guy Paulsen 74-72-74=220 +7
T4 Mortie Dutra 71-77-73=221 +8
Walter Hagen 74-74-73=221
Macdonald Smith 73-73-75=221
T7 Leo Diegel 75-73-74=222 +9
Charles Guest 71-75-76=222
T9 Wiffy Cox 76-74-74=224 +11
Herman Barron 71-75-78=224

Source:[8][9][11]

Final round

Saturday, July 4, 1931 (afternoon)

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
T1 Billy Burke 73-72-74-73=292 +8 Playoff
George Von Elm 75-69-73-75=292
3 Leo Diegel 75-73-74-72=294 +10 650
T4 Wiffy Cox 76-74-74-72=296 +12 450
Bill Mehlhorn 77-73-75-71=296
Gene Sarazen 74-78-74-70=296
T7 Mortie Dutra 71-77-73-76=297 +13 200
Walter Hagen 74-74-73-76=297
Philip Perkins (a) 78-76-73-70=297 0
T10 Al Espinosa 72-78-75-74=299 +15 105
Johnny Farrell 78-70-79-72=299
Macdonald Smith 73-73-75-78=299
(a) denotes amateur

Source:[8][9][11]

Scorecard

Final round

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 5 4 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 4
Burke +7 +7 +7 +8 +8 +8 +8 +7 +7 +7 +7 +7 +7 +8 +8 +8 +8 +8
Von Elm +3 +3 +3 +4 +5 +5 +5 +5 +5 +5 +5 +6 +6 +7 +8 +9 +9 +8

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Birdie Bogey

Source:[18]

Playoff

First playoff

Sunday, July 5, 1931

Player Score To par
Billy Burke 73-76=149 +7
George Von Elm 75-74=149 +7

Source:[11]

Scorecards

Morning round

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 5 4 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 4
Burke E +1 +2 +2 +2 +2 +1 +1 E +1 +1 E E E E E +1 +2
Von Elm E -1 E +2 +4 +4 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3 +2 +3 +3 +3 +4 +4 +4

Afternoon round

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 5 4 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 4
Burke +3 +3 +4 +5 +5 +6 +7 +8 +7 +7 +7 +7 +7 +6 +7 +7 +7 +7
Von Elm +4 +6 +7 +7 +9 +8 +7 +6 +5 +6 +6 +6 +6 +6 +8 +8 +8 +7

Cumulative playoff scores, relative to par

Birdie Bogey Double bogey

Source:[19]

Second playoff

Monday, July 6, 1931

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1 Billy Burke 77-71=148 +6 1,750
2 George Von Elm 76-73=149 +7 1,000
  • Playoff bonus is included: $750 to champion, $250 to runner-up[4]

Scorecards

Morning round

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 5 4 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 4
Burke +1 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3 +2 +3 +2 +2 +2 +3 +3 +3 +5 +4 +5 +6
Von Elm E E E +1 +1 +1 +2 +3 +3 +4 +3 +3 +5 +5 +5 +5 +5 +5

Afternoon round

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 5 4 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 4
Burke +6 +5 +5 +4 +5 +5 +6 +5 +5 +5 +5 +4 +5 +5 +5 +5 +5 +6
Von Elm +5 +5 +5 +6 +6 +6 +6 +7 +6 +5 +5 +5 +5 +6 +6 +7 +7 +7

Source:[5][15][20]

References

  1. ^ "Leaders' cards". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. July 3, 1931. p. 15.
  2. ^ a b Gould, Alan (July 3, 1931). "Four outsiders lead in U.S. Open golf at Toledo". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. p. 13.
  3. ^ Bartlett, Charles (July 2, 1931). "144 start play today for Jones' U.S. Open crown". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 32.
  4. ^ a b "Bonus given Burke, Von Elm for fine play". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 7, 1931. p. 14.
  5. ^ a b Rice, Grantland (July 7, 1931). "Burke beats Von Elm for title by 1 stroke". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1, sports.
  6. ^ "Burke's work on green wins Open title". Pittsburgh Press. July 7, 1931. p. 18.
  7. ^ McCabe, Jim (June 13, 2011). "The epic battle of the 1931 U.S. Open". Golfweek. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  8. ^ a b c Bartlett, Charles (July 5, 1931). "Burke's 292 ties Von Elm for Open title". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, part 2.
  9. ^ a b c Rice, Grantland (July 5, 1931). "Von Elam and Burke tie in National Open meet". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1, sports.
  10. ^ Bartlett, Charles (July 6, 1931). "Von Elm, Burke tie at 149 in Open golf playoff". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 29.
  11. ^ a b c d "Von Elm, Burke all square in Open playoff". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 6, 1931. p. 1.
  12. ^ Bartlett, Charles (July 7, 1931). "Burke defeats Von Elm; king of U.S. golf". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
  13. ^ "Burke wins National Open golfing crown". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 7, 1931. p. 1.
  14. ^ "U.S. Open abandons 18 holes for 2-hole playoff". ESPN. Associated Press. February 26, 2018.
  15. ^ a b "Hole-by-hole account of Von Elm-Burke match". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 7, 1931. p. 14.
  16. ^ Bartlett, Charles (July 3, 1931). "Four pros shoot par 71 for lead in U.S. Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 19.
  17. ^ Bartlett, Charles (July 4, 1931). "Von Elm breaks par to lead U.S. Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 11.
  18. ^ "Leaders' scores". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. July 5, 1931. p. 1, sports.
  19. ^ "Play-off cards". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. July 6, 1931. p. 15.
  20. ^ "The cards". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. July 7, 1931. p. 14.

41°39′07″N 83°39′04″W / 41.652°N 83.651°W / 41.652; -83.651

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