1934 U.S. Open (golf)


The 1934 U.S. Open was the 38th U.S. Open, held June 7–9 at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia. Olin Dutra won his only U.S. Open, a stroke ahead of runner-up Gene Sarazen on the East Course. Dutra overcame an eight-stroke deficit after 36 holes to win his second major title; he won the PGA Championship in 1932.
Bobby Cruickshank opened the tournament with a pair of 71s, and had a three-stroke lead over Sarazen at the midway point. Sarazen carded a 73 in the third round to take a one-shot lead over Cruickshank. In the final round on Saturday afternoon, both Cruickshank and Sarazen were overcome by Dutra, who took the lead after birdies at 10 and 15. Despite a pair of bogeys to finish the round, Dutra's 72 and total of 293 was enough to secure the victory.
Dutra's win was all the more impressive after he fell ill before the tournament and was laid up for three days in his hotel room. He lost and could not practice for ten days. He was about to withdraw until his brother Mortie, who finished in 28th place, convinced him to play on. His 36-hole comeback from eight shots down was the largest in U.S. Open history until Arnold Palmer equaled it in 1960. From California, Dutra was the first U.S. Open champion born in the western United States.
Former caddies in Texas at the same course in Fort Worth, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson played in their first major championship, and both missed the cut, shooting 158 and 162, respectively. Lawson Little finished as low amateur in 25th place; he won the title six years later in 1940 as a professional.
Merion Golf Club was affiliated with the Merion Cricket Club until 1941. This was the first U.S. Open at Merion, which hosted its fifth in 2013, all on the East Course.

Course

East Course
Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards3605551955954254353603671853,4773353784001334433954452304583,2176,694
Par453544443364443444343470

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Past champions in the field

PlayerCountryYear wonR1R2R3R4TotalTo parFinish
Gene Sarazen1922, 193273727376294+142
Billy Burke193176717772296+16T6
Johnny Goodman 193376778375311+31T43
Tommy Armour
192782727981314+34T50
Johnny Farrell192875798381318+38T58
Walter Hagen1914, 191982727981318+38T58

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First round

Thursday, June 7, 1934
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Wiffy Cox71+1
T1Bobby Cruickshank71+1
T1Charles Lacey71+1
4Gene Sarazen73+3
T5Rodney Bliss74+4
T5Henry Ciuci74+4
T5Mortie Dutra74+4
T5Willie Goggin74+4
T5Paul Runyan74+4
T5Jimmy Thomson
74+4
T5Horton Smith74+4
T5George Von Elm74+4

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Second round

Friday, June 8, 1934
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Bobby Cruickshank71-71=142+2
2Gene Sarazen73-72=145+5
3Wiffy Cox71-75=146+6
T4Leo Diegel76-71=147+7
T4Rodney Bliss74-73=147+7
T4Billy Burke76-71=147+7
T4Horton Smith74-73=147+7
T8Henry Ciuci74-74=148+8
T8Joe Kirkwood75-73=148+8
T8Macdonald Smith
75-73=148+8

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Third round

Saturday, June 9, 1934
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Gene Sarazen73-72-73=218+8
2Bobby Cruickshank71-71-77=219+9
3Wiffy Cox71-75-74=220+10
T4Olin Dutra76-74-71=221+11
T4Ralph Guldahl78-73-70=221+11
T6Harry Cooper
76-74-74=224+14
T6Billy Burke76-71-77=224+14
T8Leo Diegel76-71-78=225+15
T8Johnny Golden75-76-74=225+15
T10Al Espinosa76-74-76=226+16
T10Joe Kirkwood75-73-78=226+16
T10Butch Krueger76-75-75=226+16
T10Johnny Revolta76-73-77=226+16
T10Macdonald Smith
75-73-78=226+16

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Final round

Saturday, June 9, 1934
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
1Olin Dutra76-74-71-72=293+131,000
2Gene Sarazen73-72-73-76=294+14750
T3Harry Cooper
76-74-74-71=295+15400
T3Wiffy Cox71-75-74-75=295+15400
T3Bobby Cruickshank71-71-77-76=295+15400
T6Billy Burke76-71-77-72=296+16300
T6Macdonald Smith
75-73-78-70=296+16300
T8Tom Creavy79-76-78-66=299+19116
T8Ralph Guldahl78-73-70-78=299+19116
T8Jimmy Hines80-70-77-72=299+19116
T8Johnny Revolta76-73-77-73=299+19116

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Scorecard

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
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