The 1941 U.S. Open was the 45th U.S. Open, held June 5–7 at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Craig Wood, who had lost in a playoff at the U.S. Open two years earlier, finally broke through and claimed his first U.S. Open title, three strokes ahead of runner-up Denny Shute in sweltering heat.[2][6] Eight years earlier, Shute had defeated him in a playoff at the 1933 British Open.

1941 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJune 5–7, 1941
LocationFort Worth, Texas
Course(s)Colonial Country Club
Organized byUSGA
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par70 [1][2]
Length7,035 yards (6,433 m)[3][4][5]
Field163 players, 67 after cut
Cut156 (+16)[1]
Winner's share$1,000
Champion
United States Craig Wood
284 (+4)
← 1940
1946 →
Colonial CC is located in the United States
Colonial CC
Colonial CC
Colonial CC  is located in Texas
Colonial CC 
Colonial CC 

Wood opened the tournament with a 73 in the first round and followed that up with a 71 in the rain-delayed second. Part of a four-way tie for the lead after 36 holes,[1][5][7] Wood shot a pair of 70s in the final two rounds, capped by a birdie on the 72nd, to post a 284 total. Only Fort Worth's Ben Hogan managed better than Wood in the final two rounds, but he finished five behind in a tie for third. Denny Shute shot a 287 total to finish three strokes behind Wood in second.[2][6]

Wood, age 39, was almost forced to miss the tournament due to a nagging back injury he aggravated two weeks earlier. After recording a double-bogey 7 on his first hole of the championship, he considered withdrawing but was convinced to continue by playing partner Tommy Armour. With his win here, Wood became the first to win the first two majors in a season; he won the Masters two months earlier. Prior to 1941, he had several near misses, and had lost all four majors in extra holes.

Tyrrell Garth, a month shy of his 16th birthday, established a new tournament record for youngest competitor. He shot an 80 in the first round and withdrew during the second; his record stood for 65 years, until 2006 (Tadd Fujikawa).

This was the last U.S. Open played for five years, until 1946, due to World War II. Colonial has hosted an annual PGA Tour event since 1946, now known as the Fort Worth Invitational.

Course layout

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Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Yards 569 395 468 250 469 395 418 198 343 3,505 403 593 400 192 455 447 207 406 427 3,530 7,035
Par 5 4 4 3 4 4 4 3 4 35 4 5 4 3 4 4 3 4 4 35 70

Source:[3]

Round summaries

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First round

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Thursday, June 5, 1941

Place Player Score To par
1   Denny Shute 69 −1
T2   Vic Ghezzi 70 E
  Dutch Harrison
T4   Gene Kunes 71 +1
  Lawson Little
  Jug McSpaden
  Dick Metz
  Jack Ryan
T9   Clayton Heafner 72 +2
  Bill Kaiser
  Ted Kroll
  Johnny Morris
  Henry Ransom
  Harry Todd (a)
  Bunny Torpey

Source:[4][8]

Second round

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Friday, June 6, 1941

Thunderstorms caused delays in the morning and afternoon, but only a few players did not complete the second round on Friday.[1][5][7]

Place Player Score To par
T1   Clayton Heafner 72-72=144 +4
  Lawson Little 71-73=144
  Denny Shute 69-75=144
  Craig Wood 73-71=144
T5   Dick Metz 71-74=145 +5
  Paul Runyan 73-72=145
T7   Herman Barron 75-71=146 +6
  Johnny Bulla 75-71=146
  Harold McSpaden 71-75=146
  Byron Nelson 73-73=146
  Henry Ransom 72-74=146
  Sam Snead 76-70=146

Source:[1][5][7]

Third round

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Saturday, June 7, 1941  (morning)

Place Player Score To par
1   Craig Wood 73-71-70=214 +4
T2   Paul Runyan 73-72-71=216 +6
  Denny Shute 69-75-72=216
4   Johnny Bulla 75-71-72=218 +8
T5   Ben Hogan 74-77-68=219 +9
  Lloyd Mangrum 73-74-72=219
  Gene Sarazen 74-73-72=219
T8   Herman Barron 75-71-74=220 +10
  Jug McSpaden 71-75-74=220
  Byron Nelson 73-73-74=220

Source:[2][6]

Final round

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Saturday, June 7, 1941  (afternoon)

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1   Craig Wood 73-71-70-70=284 +4 1,000
2   Denny Shute 69-75-72-71=287 +7 800
T3   Johnny Bulla 75-71-72-71=289 +9 650
  Ben Hogan 74-77-68-70=289
T5   Herman Barron 75-71-74-71=291 +11 413
  Paul Runyan 73-72-71-75=291
T7   Dutch Harrison 70-82-71-71=294 +14 216
  Jug McSpaden 71-75-74-74=294
  Gene Sarazen 74-73-72-75=294
T10   Ed Dudley 74-74-74-73=295 +15 125
  Lloyd Mangrum 73-74-72-76=295
  Dick Metz 71-74-76-74=295

Source:[2][6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Four players deadlock for Open golf lead". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. June 7, 1941. p. 12.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Craig Wood cards 284 to triumph in National Open tournament at Fort Worth". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. June 8, 1941. p. D2.
  3. ^ a b "See Texas golf test of nerves". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. April 6, 1941. p. 5, sports.
  4. ^ a b Considine, Bob (June 6, 1941). "Shute tops Open field with 69". Milwaukee Sentinel. INS. p. B3.
  5. ^ a b c d "Denny Shute's 69 paces Open field". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. June 6, 1941. p. 18. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  6. ^ a b c d Bartlett, Charles (June 8, 1941). "Woods' 284 captures Open title; Shute 2d". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, part 2.
  7. ^ a b c Bartlett, Charles (June 7, 1941). "Three tie Shute for Open lead with 144". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 15.
  8. ^ Bartlett, Charles (June 6, 1941). "Shute's 69 leads Open; Little 4th with 71". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 29.
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32°43′01″N 97°22′23″W / 32.717°N 97.373°W / 32.717; -97.373