US Open Historical Fast Facts
Here are ten quick facts from the last 114 years of the US Open…
#1 THE FIRST TOURNAMENT
It had humble beginnings as a one-day 36-hole tournament played on Oct. 4, 1895, on the nine-hole course at the Newport Golf and Country Club in Rhode Island. Only 10 professional golfers and one amateur teed it up for the inaugural event, won by Horace Rawlins who took home first prize of $150. The first prize in 2013 was $1,440,000.
#2 THE FORMAT CHNAGES
The USGA made the championship a 72-hole event in 1898, with 36 holes played over two days. That year, 49 golfers entered the tournament. In 1926 the U.S. Open became a three-day event, with 18 holes of competition over the first two days and a 36-hole finale on day three. It wasn't until 1965 that the tournament became the four-round event it is today, with 18 holes played each day. By 2009, the number of players entering and attempting to qualify to play in the U.S. Open had swelled to more than 9,000.
#4 THE AGE RANGE OF WINNERS
Through the 2013 tournament, Hale Irwin was the oldest winner of the U.S. Open. He was 45 when he won in 1990. The youngest winner was John S. McDermott, only 19 when he won the trophy in 1911. The oldest player to make the 36-hole cut was legendary Sam Snead, who was 61 when he made the cut in 1973.
#5 PLAYERS WITH MOST VICTORIES
Four players have won the U.S. Open four times. Willie Anderson's victories came in the early part of the 20th century. Bobby Jones prevailed four times in the 1920s and '30s. Ben Hogan was a dominant golfer in the U.S. Open in the late 1940s and '50s. Jack Nicklaus' four titles were between 1962 and 1980.
#6 THE LOWEST WINNING SCORES
In 1898 Fred Herd won the U.S. Open with a 72-hole score of 328. The lowest winning scores since that time were 272 totals by 4 players (Jack Nicklaus, Lee Janzen, Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk) until Rory McIlroy won in 2011 at Congressional Country Club with a record 16-under par 268 total.
#7 COURSES HOSTING THE MOST OPENS
Through 2013, this record goes to Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, host of eight U.S. Open tournaments between 1927 and 2007. Baltusrol is in second place, having hosted seven events between 1903 and 1993.
#8 MOST CONSECUTIVE OPENS PLAYED
Jack Nicklaus started 44 consecutive U.S. Opens. Hale Irwin follows him in a distant second with 34. Playing in different eras, both Gene Sarazen and Tom Kite made 33 consecutive starts.
#9 LOWEST TOTAL TO PAR
This one can win you drinks. When the subject of who shot the most under-par winning score in the U.S. Open comes up, it is usually forgotten that Alex Smith won with an amazing 33-under-par total in 1906. His 72-hole score was seemingly not that great, 295. But the course that year played to a par of 82 compared to the pars of 70, 71 or 72 of U.S. Open courses in the modern era.
#10 LARGEST WINNING MARGIN
Tiger Woods won by a 15 strokes with his score of 272 at Pebble Beach in California in 2000. Click HERE for a recap of what is considered by many to be the most dominant win in golf history. The second largest winning margin goes all the way back to 1899, when Willie Smith won by 11 strokes at Baltimore Country Club in Maryland.