1908 U.S. Open (golf)


The 1908 U.S. Open was the fourteenth U.S. Open, held August 27–29 at Myopia Hunt Club in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, northeast of Boston. Fred McLeod defeated 1899 champion Willie Smith in an 18-hole playoff to win his only major title.
High winds on Thursday caused scores in the first two rounds to soar, with only two players managing to break 80. Willie Smith carded rounds of 77-82 for a three-stroke lead over Myopia club pro John Jones, with brother Alec Smith four back and Fred McLeod five behind.
On Friday, Smith struggled to an 85 in the third round in the morning but still held the lead by one over McLeod and two over Alex. In the final round that afternoon, McLeod tied for lowest score of the tournament by carding a 77, while Smith managed a 78 to force a playoff.
In the playoff on Saturday, McLeod and Smith were even through 13 holes, but McLeod took the lead at the 14th after Smith missed a par putt. McLeod dominated the rest of the way, going 1-under on the last five holes to shoot a 77 to Smith's 83. McLeod only broke 80 in one round of the tournament, while Smith and Gilbert Nicholls were the only players to shoot in the 70s twice. The winning score of 322 was the third-highest in U.S. Open history.

Past champions in the field

Source:
Did not play: Harry Vardon, Fred Herd, James Foulis.

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, August 27, 1908
PlacePlayerCountryScore
1Willie Smith77
2Alex Smith80
3John Jones81
T4Jock Hutchison82
T4Fred McLeod82
T6Herbert Barker84
T6Richard Kimball84
T8Willie Anderson85
T8Laurie Auchterlonie85
T8Alex Campbell85
T8Tom McNamara85

Source:

Second round

Thursday, August 27, 1908
PlacePlayerCountryScore
1Willie Smith77-82=159
2John Jones81-81=162
3Alex Smith80-83=163
4Fred McLeod82-82=164
T5Jock Hutchison82-84=166
T5Gilbert Nicholls89-77=166
T7Jack Hobens86-81=167
T7Tom McNamara85-82=167
T9Laurie Auchterlonie85-83=168
T9Alex Campbell85-83=168

Source:

Third round

Friday, August 28, 1908
PlacePlayerCountryScore
1Willie Smith77-82-85=244
2Fred McLeod82-82-81=245
3Alex Smith80-83-83=246
4John Jones81-81-87=249
5Peter Robertson89-84-77=250
T6Willie Anderson85-86-80=251
T6Laurie Auchterlonie85-83-83=251
8Jack Hobens86-81-85=252
T9Jock Hutchison82-84-87=253
T9Richard Kimball84-86-83=253
T9Tom McNamara85-82-86=253

Source:

Final round

Friday, August 28, 1908
PlacePlayerCountryScoreMoney
T1Fred McLeod82-82-81-77=322Playoff
T1Willie Smith77-82-85-78=322Playoff
3Alex Smith80-83-83-81=327100
4Willie Anderson85-86-80-79=33080
5John Jones81-81-87-82=33170
T6Jack Hobens86-81-85-81=33345
T6Peter Robertson89-84-77-83=33345
T8Percy Barrett94-80-86-78=33828
T8Jock Hutchison82-84-87-85=33828
T10Richard Kimball84-86-83-86=3390
T10Tom McNamara85-82-86-86=3390

Source:
Amateurs: Travis, Hylan, J. Anderson.

Playoff

Saturday, August 29, 1908
PlacePlayerCountryScoreMoney
1Fred McLeod39-38=77300
2Willie Smith38-45=83150

Source: