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1937 U.S. Open (golf)

1937 U.S. Open
Dates June 10–12, 1937
Location Birmingham, Michigan
Course(s) Oakland Hills Country Club,
South Course
Organized by USGA
Tour(s) PGA Tour
Format Stroke play − 72 holes
Par 72
Length 7,037 yards (6,435 m)
Field 166 players, 65 after cut
Cut 152 (+8)
Winner's share $1,000
United States Ralph Guldahl
281 (−7)
«1936
1938»

The 1937 U.S. Open was the 41st U.S. Open, held June 10–12 at the South Course of Oakland Hills Country Club in Birmingham, Michigan, a suburb northwest of Detroit. Ralph Guldahl won the first of his two consecutive U.S. Opens, two strokes ahead of runner-up Sam Snead, making his U.S. Open debut.

Snead opened with a 69 to share the lead with Denny Shute. Through 54 holes, Snead and Guldahl trailed Ed Dudley by a stroke. During the final round on Saturday afternoon, Dudley shot a 76 and fell out of contention, while Snead birdied the last to finish with a 71 and a 283 total. Guldahl, playing well behind Snead, holed a 65-foot (20 m) putt for eagle at 8, then a birdie from 25 feet (8 m) at 9. After bogeys at 10 and 11, he rallied with birdies on the next two holes. He then went even on his last five holes to finish with a 69 and a 281 total, two better than Snead and a stroke better than the previous tournament record, set the previous year by Tony Manero.

Two years earlier, Guldahl had become so frustrated with the game that he quit to become a carpenter. After deciding to return to the game, he went through a period of dominance throughout the late-1930s. He won the Western Open, then considered on-par with the major championships, three years in a row; was runner-up in the Masters Tournament in 1937 and 1938 before winning in 1939; and he would defend his U.S. Open title in 1938. For Snead, age 25, this tournament was just the beginning of a hard-luck career in the U.S. Open; he finished runner-up four times at the only major he never won.

Guldahl won the title with 19 clubs in his bag. The USGA rule (4-4) regarding a maximum of 14 clubs went into effect the following January.


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