1948 U.S. Open (golf)


The 1948 U.S. Open was the 48th U.S. Open, held June 10–12 at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, northwest of Los Angeles. Ben Hogan won the first of his four U.S. Open titles at the course that became known as "Hogan's Alley," as it was his third win at Riviera in less than 18 months. He had won the Los Angeles Open at the course in early 1947 and 1948. It was the third of Hogan's nine major titles; he had won his second PGA Championship a few weeks earlier. He was only the second to win both titles in the same year, joining Gene Sarazen in 1922. Later winners of both were Jack Nicklaus in 1980 and Tiger Woods in 2000.
Although Sam Snead held the lead by a stroke after 36 holes with a record 138, Hogan dominated the final two rounds, shooting 68-69 on Saturday for a total of 276, two shots ahead of runner-up Jimmy Demaret. Hogan decimated the U.S. Open scoring record by five strokes, and his three rounds in the 60s was a tournament first. The scoring record stood for 19 years, until bested by a stroke by Jack Nicklaus in 1967. Hogan's 8-under-par set a U.S. Open record that stood until 2000, when it was broken by Tiger Woods.
Eight months later, Hogan and his wife were involved in a serious automobile accident, a head-on collision with a Greyhound bus in west Texas. The injuries he sustained prevented a defense of his title in 1949 while he recovered. Hogan returned to competition and won the U.S. Open in 1950, 1951, and 1953.
Ted Rhodes became the first African-American to play in the U.S. Open since 1913. He opened with 70, made the cut, and finished in 51st place.
This was the first U.S. Open played on the West Coast; the first in the western U.S. was a decade earlier, in 1938 near Denver. The first major played on the West Coast was the PGA Championship in 1929, played at Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles. At the time, the course at Riviera was the longest ever for a U.S. Open at.
Babe Didrikson Zaharias became the first woman to attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open, but her application was rejected by the USGA. They stated that the event was intended to be open to men only.

Course layout

Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards5134664152454321664023854223,4463155694454401804401455854553,5747,020
Par544343444354544343543671

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Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Missed the cut

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Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 10, 1948
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Ben Hogan67−4
T1Lew Worsham67−4
T3Ken Rogers 69−2
T3Sam Snead69−2
T5Bobby Locke70−1
T5Toney Penna70−1
T5Ted Rhodes70−1
T8Skip Alexander71−1
T8John Bass71−1
T8Charles Congdon71−1
T8John Dawson 71−1
T8Jimmy Demaret71−1
T8Jim Ferrier71−1
T8Leland Gibson71−1
T8Herman Keiser71−1
T8Dave Killen71−1
T8Lloyd Mangrum71−1
T8Andrew Mills71−1
T8Jim Turnesa71−1
T8Marvin Ward 71−1
T8Gene Webb71−1
T8Al Zimmerman71−1

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Second round

Friday, June 11, 1948
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Sam Snead69-69=138−4
T2Ben Hogan67-72=139−3
T2Bobby Locke70-69=139−3
4Jim Turnesa71-69=140−2
T5Charles Congdon71-70=141−1
T5Jimmy Demaret71-70=141−1
T5George Schneiter73-68=141−1
T5Frank Stranahan 72-69=141−1
T5Lew Worsham67-74=141−1
T10Herman Keiser71-71=142E
T10Joe Kirkwood, Jr.72-70=142E
T10Toney Penna70-72=142E

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Third round

Saturday, June 12, 1948
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Ben Hogan67-72-68=207−6
2Jimmy Demaret71-70-68=209−4
3Jim Turnesa71-69-70=210−3
4Sam Snead69-69-73=211−2
T5Charles Congdon71-70-71=212−1
T5Bobby Locke70-69-73=212−1
T5Jug McSpaden74-69-69=212−1
T5Lew Worsham67-74-71=212−1
9Smiley Quick73-71-69=213E
T10Herman Barron73-70-71=214+1
T10Joe Kirkwood, Jr.72-70-72=214+1

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Final round

Saturday, June 12, 1948
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
1Ben Hogan67-72-68-69=276−82,000
2Jimmy Demaret71-70-68-69=278−61,500
3Jim Turnesa71-69-70-70=280−41,000
4Bobby Locke70-69-73-70=282−2800
5Sam Snead69-69-73-72=283−1600
6Lew Worsham67-74-71-73=285+1500
7Herman Barron73-70-71-72=286+2400
T8Johnny Bulla73-72-75-67=287+3300
T8Toney Penna70-72-73-72=287+3300
T8Smiley Quick73-71-69-74=287+3300

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