1938 U.S. Open (golf)


The 1938 U.S. Open was the 42nd U.S. Open, held June 9–11 at Cherry Hills Country Club in Englewood, Colorado, a suburb south of Denver. Defending champion Ralph Guldahl won his second straight U.S. Open title, six strokes ahead of runner-up Dick Metz. It was the second of Guldahl's three major titles.
Metz owned a four-stroke lead over Guldahl after Saturday morning's third round, but Metz struggled in the afternoon and shot a 79 to finish at 290. Guldahl began his round with two birdies in his first six holes on his way to a 69 and an even-par 284 total, six strokes ahead of Metz. His six-shot victory was the largest since Jim Barnes won by nine strokes in 1921. Guldahl became the fourth player to successfully defend at the U.S. Open, joining Willie Anderson, John McDermott, and Bobby Jones. There have only been three since: Ben Hogan in 1951, Curtis Strange in 1989 and Brooks Koepka in 2018.
In the second round, Ray Ainsley set a dubious record by shooting a 19 on the par-4 16th hole. Ainsley's ball landed in a creek, and instead of taking a drop he continued to play the ball out. He shot 96 for the round and missed the cut.
This was the first U.S. Open played in the western United States. The U.S. Open returned in 1960 and 1978, and the PGA Championship was played here in 1941 and 1985. The average elevation of the course exceeds above sea level.
This was the first U.S. Open in which the players were limited to a maximum of 14 clubs; the USGA rule went into effect in January 1938. Guldahl won the title the previous year with 19 clubs in his bag.

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

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Missed the cut

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Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 9, 1938
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Jimmy Hines70−1
T1Henry Picard70−1
3John Rogers71E
4Emery Zimmerman72+1
T5Dick Metz73+2
T5Willie Hunter
73+2
T7Ted Adams 74+3
T7Dick Chapman 74+3
T7Olin Dutra74+3
T7Alex Follmer74+3
T7Jim Foulis74+3
T7Ralph Guldahl74+3
T7Alvin Krueger74+3
T7Levi Lynch74+3
T7Tony Manero74+3
T7Johnny Revolta74+3
T7Gene Sarazen74+3
T7Wilford Wehrle 74+3

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Second round

Friday, June 10, 1938
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Henry Picard70-70=140−2
2Dick Metz73-68=141−1
T3Jug McSpaden76-67=143+1
T3Emery Zimmerman72-71=143+1
5Ralph Guldahl74-70=144+2
T6Harry Cooper
76-69=145+3
T6Olin Dutra74-71=145+3
T6Jimmy Hines70-75=145+3
T6Willie Hunter
73-72=145+3
10Johnny Revolta74-72=146+4

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Third round

Saturday, June 11, 1938
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Dick Metz73-68-70=211−2
2Jimmy Hines70-75-69=214+1
3Ralph Guldahl74-70-71=215+2
4Emery Zimmerman72-71-73=216+3
T5Jug McSpaden76-67-74=217+4
T5Henry Picard70-70-77=217+4
T7John Rogers71-76-73=220+7
T7Denny Shute77-71-72=220+7
T9Harry Cooper
76-69-76=221+8
T9George Von Elm78-72-71=221+8

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Final round

Saturday, June 11, 1938
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
1Ralph Guldahl74-70-71-69=284E1,000
2Dick Metz73-68-70-79=290+6800
T3Harry Cooper
76-69-76-71=292+8650
T3Toney Penna
78-72-74-68=292+8650
T5Byron Nelson77-71-74-72=294+10412
T5Emery Zimmerman72-71-73-78=294+10412
T7Frank Moore79-73-72-71=295+11216
T7Henry Picard70-70-77-78=295+11216
T7Paul Runyan78-71-72-74=295+11216
10Gene Sarazen74-74-75-73=296+12106

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