1913 U.S. Open (golf)

The 1913 U.S. Open was the 19th U.S. Open, held September 18–20 at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, a suburb southwest of Boston. Amateur Francis Ouimet, age 20, won his only U.S. Open title in an 18-hole playoff, five strokes ahead of Britons Harry Vardon and Ted Ray.^[1][2][3]

1913 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	September 18–20, 1913
Location	Brookline, Massachusetts
Course(s)	The Country Club
Organized by	USGA
Format	Stroke play − 72 holes
Statistics
Par	73
Length	6,235 yards (5,701 m)[1]
Field	66 players, 54 after cut
Cut	165 (+19)
Winner's share	($300)
Champion
Francis Ouimet (a)
304 (+12), playoff
← 1912 1914 →

The Country Club 

Location in the United States

The Country Club 

Location in Massachusetts

1913 winner Francis Ouimet holding a horseshoe; with Eddie Lowery his 10-year-old caddy, with a white towel around his neck

Vardon, Ouimet, and Ray

Vardon at the 1913 U.S. Open

Fred McLeod and Harry Vardon at the 1913 U.S. Open

The four rounds were played over two days, Thursday and Friday. After 36 holes, Vardon and Wilfrid Reid co-led at 147 (+1),^[4][5] and after the third round on Friday morning, Ouimet, Vardon, and Ray were tied for the lead at 225 (+6). All three shot 79 in the afternoon and remained tied for the lead at the end of regulation at 304 (+12).^[6][7][8]

In the Saturday playoff round, all were tied at even-par 38 at the turn, then Ouimet had a bogey-free back nine 34 for 72 (−1), Vardon was second with 77, and Ray came in third with a 78.^[1][3] It was widely hailed as a stunning upset over the strongly-favored Britons and increased the popularity of the game in the United States.

Ouimet's victory was the first of eight wins by amateurs at the U.S. Open; Bobby Jones won four and the last was Johnny Goodman in 1933, 92 years ago.

The U.S. Open returned to the course for the 50th and 75th anniversaries in 1963 and 1988, and the U.S. Amateur was held at The Country Club on the centennial anniversary in 2013; it also hosted the Ryder Cup in 1999. All four events, except the 2013 U.S. Amateur, were won by Americans. The 2022 U.S. Open, again played at The Country Club, was won by Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick.

Vardon, the 1900 champion, won a sixth British Open in 1914. Ray, the British Open champion in 1912, won the U.S. Open in 1920.

The tournament inspired the Mark Frost book The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet, and the Birth of Modern Golf (2002). The book was adapted into the film The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005), directed by Bill Paxton.^[9]

Course

Main article: The Country Club

Hole	Name	Yards	Par		Hole	Name	Yards	Par
1	Polo Field	430	5		10	Redan	140	3
2	Cottage	300	4		11	Stockton	390	4
3	Pond	435	5		12	Paddock	415	4
4	Hospital	300	4		13	Maiden	320	4
5	Newton	420	4		14	Quarry	470	5
6	Bakers	275	4		15	Liverpool	370	4
7	Plateau	185	3		16	Clyde	125	3
8	Corner	380	4		17	Elbow	360	4
9	Himalayas	520	5		18	Home	410	4
Out		3,245	38		In		2,990	35
Source:[1][4][6]					Total		6,245	73

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, September 18, 1913 (morning)

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Alec Ross	71	−2
	Macdonald Smith
3	Jack Croke	72	−1
T4	Robert Andrews (a)	73	E
	Walter Hagen
	Tom McNamara
T5	Jim Barnes	74	+1
	John McDermott
T7	Fred Herreshoff (a)	75	+2
	Wilfrid Reid
	Herbert Strong
	Harry Vardon

Source:^[4][5]

Second round

Thursday, September 18, 1913 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Wilfrid Reid	75-72=147	+1
	Harry Vardon	75-72=147
T3	Ted Ray	79-70=149	+3
	Herbert Strong	75-74=149
T5	Jim Barnes	74-76=150	+4
	Macdonald Smith	71-79=150
T7	Walter Hagen	73-78=151	+5
	Francis Ouimet (a)	77-74=151
	Alec Ross	71-80=151
	George Sargent	75-76=151

Source:^[4][5]

Third round

Friday, September 19, 1913 (morning)

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Francis Ouimet (a)	77-74-74=225	+6
	Ted Ray	79-70-76=225
	Harry Vardon	75-72-78=225
4	Walter Hagen	73-78-76=227	+8
5	Jim Barnes	74-76-78=228	+9
T6	John McDermott	74-79-77=230	+11
	George Sargent	75-76-79=230
	Macdonald Smith	71-79-80=230
T9	Pat Doyle	78-80-73=231	+12
	Herbert Strong	75-74-82=231
	Louis Tellier	76-76-79=231

Source:^[6][7]

Final round

Friday, September 19, 1913 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
T1	Francis Ouimet (a)	77-74-74-79=304	+12	Playoff
	Ted Ray	79-70-76-79=304
	Harry Vardon	75-72-78-79=304
T4	Walter Hagen	73-78-76-80=307	+15	78
	Jim Barnes	74-76-78-79=307
	Macdonald Smith	71-79-80-77=307
	Louis Tellier	76-76-79-76=307
8	John McDermott	74-79-77-78=308	+16	50
9	Herbert Strong	75-74-82-79=310	+18	40
10	Pat Doyle	78-80-73-80=311	+19	30

Source:^[6][7]

Amateurs: Ouimet (+12), Fownes (+20), Herreshoff (+26), Travers (+30)

Scorecard

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	5	4	5	4	4	4	3	4	5	3	4	4	4	5	4	3	4	4
Ouimet	+6	+6	+6	+6	+8	+9	+9	+11	+11	+13	+13	+14	+13	+13	+13	+13	+12	+12
Vardon	+6	+7	+8	+9	+10	+10	+10	+10	+10	+10	+11	+11	+12	+12	+12	+12	+12	+12
Ray	+6	+7	+6	+8	+7	+7	+9	+10	+11	+12	+11	+12	+11	+11	+11	+12	+12	+12

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Birdie

Bogey

Double bogey

Source:^[7]

Playoff

Saturday, September 20, 1913

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Francis Ouimet (a)	38-34=72	−1	0
2	Harry Vardon	38-39=77	+4	300
3	Ted Ray	38-40=78	+5	150

Source:^[1][3]

Scorecard

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	5	4	5	4	4	4	3	4	5	3	4	4	4	5	4	3	4	4
Ouimet	E	E	−1	−1	E	E	+1	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	−1	−1
Vardon	E	E	−1	−1	E	−1	E	E	E	+1	+1	+2	+1	+1	+1	+1	+2	+4
Ray	E	E	E	E	+1	+1	+1	E	E	+1	+1	+2	+2	+2	+4	+5	+6	+5

Source:^[1][3]