1912 U.S. Open (golf)


The 1912 U.S. Open was the 18th U.S. Open, held August 1–2 at the Country Club of Buffalo in Amherst, New York, a suburb east of Buffalo. Twenty-year-old John McDermott successfully defended his U.S. Open title, two strokes ahead of runner-up Tom McNamara.
At the end of the second round on Thursday, Mike Brady, Percy Barrett, and Alex Smith were tied for the lead, with defending champion McDermott two back.
In the third round on Friday morning, played in rainy conditions with thunderstorms threatening to disrupt play, McDermott managed to card a 74 despite hitting two drives out of bounds. He still trailed Brady by three going into the final round in the afternoon, but Brady struggled on his way to a 79 and 299 total. McNamara, seven back at the start of the round, fired a course-record 69 to post 296; his 142 over the last two rounds was a new tournament record, but not enough to catch McDermott. Despite a bogey on the last hole, McDermott carded a 71 for a 294 total, two shots ahead of McNamara.
McDermott, age 20, was already a two-time U.S. Open champion, but by 1914 his golf career was over. After a series of personal setbacks, he began suffering from mental illness and spent most of the rest of his life in a mental institution.
Jim Barnes, a future champion in 1921, tied for 18th in his first U.S. Open. Horace Rawlins, the winner of the inaugural Open in 1895, made his final appearance and missed the cut.
The par-6 tenth hole measured, the longest hole in U.S. Open history up to that point and the only time a hole was given a par more than five.

Course

Past champions in the field

Source:
Did not play: Laurie Auchterlonie, Harry Vardon, Willie Smith.

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, August 1, 1912
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Mike Brady72−2
T1Dan Kenny72−2
T1George Sargent72−2
T4Frank Peebles73−1
T4Walter Travis 73−1
T6Grange Alves74E
T6Percy Barrett
74E
T6Alex Campbell74E
T6Jack Campbell74E
T6Jack Croke74E
T6John McDermott74E
T6Tom McNamara74E
T6David Ogilvie74E

Source:

Second round

Thursday, August 1, 1912
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Percy Barrett
74-73=147−1
T1Mike Brady72-75=147−1
T1Alex Smith77-70=147−1
T4Jack Campbell74-75=149+1
T4John McDermott74-75=149+1
T4Frank Peebles73-76=149+1
T7Jim Barnes77-73=150+2
T7George Sargent72-78=150+2
T10Tom Anderson, Jr.75-76=151+3
T10Alex Campbell74-77=151+3

Source:

Third round

Friday, August 2, 1912
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Mike Brady72-75-73=220−2
2John McDermott74-75-74=223+1
3Alex Smith77-70-77=224+2
4George Sargent72-78-76=226+4
5Tom McNamara74-80-73=227+5
6Otto Hackbarth77-77-75=229+7
T7Charlie Murray75-78-77=230+8
T7Walter Travis 73-79-78=230+8
T9Alex Campbell74-77-80=231+9
T9Jack Dowling76-79-76=231+9

Source:

Final round

Friday, August 2, 1912
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
1John McDermott74-75-74-71=294−2300
2Tom McNamara74-80-73-69=296E150
T3Mike Brady72-75-73-79=299+390
T3Alex Smith77-70-77-75=299+390
5Alex Campbell74-77-80-71=302+670
6George Sargent72-78-76-77=303+760
T7Jack Dowling76-79-76-74=305+945
T7Otto Hackbarth77-77-75-76=305+945
9Charlie Murray75-78-77-76=306+1040
T10Tom Anderson, Jr.75-76-81-75=307+1125
T10Frank Peebles73-76-83-75=307+1125
T10Walter Travis 73-79-78-77=307+110

Source:
Amateurs: Travis, J. Anderson, Gardner, Lee.