1924 U.S. Open (golf)


The 1924 U.S. Open was the 28th U.S. Open, held June 5–6 at Oakland Hills Country Club in Birmingham, Michigan, a suburb northwest of Detroit. Cyril Walker, a relatively unknown Englishman, won his only major title at the South Course, three strokes ahead of runner-up Bobby Jones, the defending champion.
After the first two rounds of play on Thursday, Jones shared the lead with Bill Mehlhorn, with Walker a shot back. Walker shot a third consecutive 74 in the third round to tie Jones after 54 holes, with Mehlhorn one back. Jones and Mehlhorn, playing ahead of Walker in the final round, both played poorly, each carding 78. Leading by three on the 15th, Walker made bogey but then responded with a birdie on 16. He parred the final two holes to secure the championship.
This was the high point of Walker's golf career. He never won another significant title, and it was his only top ten finish in the U.S. Open; his next best finish in a major was the semifinals of the PGA Championship in 1921. A heavy drinker, Walker wound up working as a caddy and a dishwasher; unable to afford a room, he died in a New Jersey jail cell of pneumonia in 1948 at age 56.
This was the first of nine major championships held at the South Course through 2017; six U.S. Opens and three PGA Championships.

Course layout

South Course
Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards4364901984184073533844502373,4034504035521424614123841914763,4716,874
Par453444443354453544353772

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Past champions in the field

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Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 5, 1924
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Bill Mehlhorn72E
T2Eddie Loos73+1
T2Dave Robertson73+1
T4Bobby Jones 74+2
T4Gene Sarazen74+2
T4Herbert Lagerblade74+2
T4Cyril Walker74+2
T8Mike Brady75+3
T8Johnny Golden75+3
T8Walter Hagen75+3
T8Willie Ogg
75+3

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Second round

Thursday, June 5, 1924
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Bobby Jones 74-73=147+3
T1Bill Mehlhorn72-75=147+3
3Cyril Walker74-74=148+4
T4Bobby Cruickshank77-72=149+5
T4Dave Robertson73-76=149+5
T6Walter Hagen75-75=150+6
T6Macdonald Smith
78-72=150+6
8Abe Espinosa80-71=151+7
T9Mike Brady75-77=152+8
T9Tom Kerrigan75-77=152+8

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Third round

Friday, June 6, 1924
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Bobby Jones 74-73-75=222+6
T1Cyril Walker74-74-74=222+6
3Bill Mehlhorn72-75-76=223+7
4Bobby Cruickshank77-72-76=225+9
T5Walter Hagen75-75-76=226+10
T5Dave Robertson73-76-77=226+10
7Macdonald Smith
78-72-77=227+11
T8Abe Espinosa80-71-77=228+12
T8Tommy Armour
77-76-75=228+12
T10Peter O'Hara76-79-74=229+13
T10Mike Brady75-77-77=229+13
T10Eddie Loos73-81-75=229+13

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Final round

Friday, June 6, 1924
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
1Cyril Walker74-74-74-75=297+9500
2Bobby Jones 74-73-75-78=300+120
3Bill Mehlhorn72-75-76-78=301+13300
T4Bobby Cruickshank77-72-76-78=303+15150
T4Walter Hagen75-75-76-77=303+15150
T4Macdonald Smith
78-72-77-76=303+15150
T7Abe Espinosa80-71-77-77=305+1785
T7Peter O'Hara76-79-74-76=305+1785
9Mike Brady75-77-77-77=306+1875
T10Chick Evans 77-77-76-77=307+190
T10Eddie Loos73-81-75-78=307+1963
T10Dave Robertson73-76-77-81=307+1963

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Amateurs: Jones, Evans, Guilford, Sweet.