The 1949 U.S. Open was the 49th U.S. Open, held June 9–11 at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois, a suburb northwest of Chicago. Cary Middlecoff won the first of his two U.S. Open titles, one stroke ahead of runners-up Clayton Heafner and Sam Snead. For Snead, it was the third of four second-place finishes at the only major championship he never won. Middlecoff, a dentist, won his second U.S. Open in 1956.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | June 9–11, 1949 |
| Location | Medinah, Illinois |
| Course(s) | Medinah Country Club Course No. 3 |
| Organized by | USGA |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 6,981 yards (6,383 m)[1] |
| Field | 159 players, 51 after cut |
| Cut | 150 (+8) |
| Prize fund | $10,000[2] |
| Winner's share | $2,000 |
| Champion | |
 Cary Middlecoff | |
| 286 (+2) | |
Middlecoff began the championship with a 75, but rebounded with scores of 67-69 in the next two rounds to take a one-shot lead over Buck White after 54 holes. In the final round, Middlecoff was paired with Heafner, and the two exchanged the lead several times during the round. Heafner went ahead by one after the 11th, then double-bogeyed 12 to give Middlecoff the lead. After a Heafner birdie at 13, the two were tied again. Heafner then bogeyed 14 to fall one behind, a deficit he would not be able to overcome after missing a 6-footer for birdie at 18 that would have forced a Sunday playoff. Snead also had a chance to force a playoff with a birdie at the last, but his approach shot missed the green and he could only save par.[1]
Byron Nelson, the 1939 champion, came out of retirement but missed the cut. He played the U.S. Open six years later in 1955, then retired for good. Two-time champion Ralph Guldahl played in his final U.S. Open. Defending champion Ben Hogan missed the tournament after being severely injured in an automobile accident in February. He returned the following year and won three of the next four U.S. Opens.
This was the first U.S. Open at Medinah, which returned in 1975 and 1990, both ending in 18-hole playoffs. It later hosted the PGA Championship in 1999 and 2006, both won by Tiger Woods, and the Ryder Cup in 2012.
Round summaries
editFirst round
editFriday, June 9, 1949
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Les Kennedy |
69 | −2 |
| T2 | Herman Barron |
70 | −1 |
| Al Brosch
| |||
| Charles Farlow
| |||
| Chick Harbert
| |||
| T6 | Pete Cooper |
71 | E |
 Bobby Cruickshank
| |||
| Ralph Guldahl
| |||
| Claude Harmon
| |||
| Johnny Palmer
| |||
| Bus Peele
| |||
| Lew Worsham
|
Source:[3]
Second round
editSaturday, June 10, 1949
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al Brosch |
70-71=141 | −1 |
| T2 | Cary Middlecoff |
75-67=142 | E |
| Buck White |
74-68=142 | ||
| T4 | Claude Harmon |
71-72=143 | +1 |
| Clayton Heafner |
72-71=143 | ||
| Les Kennedy |
69-74=143 | ||
| 7 | Pete Cooper |
71-73=144 | +2 |
| T8 | Bob Harris |
76-69=145 | +3 |
 Bobby Locke |
74-71=145 | ||
| Ellsworth Vines |
73-72=145 |
Source:[4]
Third round
editSaturday, June 11, 1949 (morning)
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cary Middlecoff |
75-67-69=211 | −2 |
| 2 | Buck White |
74-68-70=212 | −1 |
| T3 | Al Brosch |
70-71-73=214 | +1 |
| Clayton Heafner |
72-71-71=214 | ||
| 5 | Ellsworth Vines |
73-72-71=216 | +3 |
| T6 | Dave Douglas |
74-73-70=217 | +4 |
| Claude Harmon |
71-72-74=217 | ||
| Eric Monti |
75-72-70=217 | ||
| Sam Snead |
73-73-71=217 | ||
| Jim Turnesa |
78-69-70=217 |
Final round
editSaturday, June 11, 1949 (afternoon)
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cary Middlecoff |
75-67-69-75=286 | +2 | 2,000 |
| T2 | Clayton Heafner |
72-71-71-73=287 | +3 | 1,250 |
| Sam Snead |
73-73-71-70=287 | |||
| T4 | Bobby Locke |
74-71-73-71=289 | +5 | 700 |
| Jim Turnesa |
78-69-70-72=289 | |||
| T6 | Dave Douglas |
74-73-70-73=290 | +6 | 450 |
| Buck White |
74-68-70-78=290 | |||
| T8 | Pete Cooper |
71-73-74-73=291 | +7 | 300 |
| Claude Harmon |
71-72-74-74=291 | |||
| Johnny Palmer |
71-75-72-73=291 |
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Middlecoff captures 49th National Open shootout". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. June 12, 1949. p. 14A.
- ^ a b c "PGA scores, money winners". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. June 12, 1949. p. 27.
- ^ "National Open golf scores". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. June 10, 1949. p. 19.
- ^ "National Open qualifiers". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. June 11, 1949. p. 11.