1941 U.S. Open (golf)


The 1941 U.S. Open was the 45th U.S. Open, held June 5–7 at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Craig Wood, who had lost in a playoff at the U.S. Open two years earlier, finally broke through and claimed his first U.S. Open title, three strokes ahead of runner-up Denny Shute in sweltering heat. Eight years earlier, Shute had defeated him in a playoff at the 1933 British Open.
Wood opened the tournament with a 73 in the first round and followed that up with a 71 in the rain-delayed second. Part of a four-way tie for the lead after 36 holes, Wood shot a pair of 70s in the final two rounds, capped by a birdie on the 72nd, to post a 284 total. Only Fort Worth's Ben Hogan managed better than Wood in the final two rounds, but he finished five behind in a tie for third. Denny Shute shot a 287 total to finish three strokes behind Wood in second.
Wood, age 39, was almost forced to miss the tournament due to a nagging back injury he aggravated two weeks earlier. After recording a double-bogey 7 on his first hole of the championship, he considered withdrawing but was convinced to continue by playing partner Tommy Armour. With his win here, Wood became the first to win the first two majors in a season; he won the Masters two months earlier. Prior to 1941, he had several near misses, and had lost all four majors in extra holes.
Tyrrell Garth, a month shy of his 16th birthday, established a new tournament record for youngest competitor. He shot an 80 in the first round and withdrew during the second; his record stood for 65 years, until 2006.
This was the last U.S. Open played for five years, until 1946, due to World War II. Colonial has hosted an annual PGA Tour event since 1946, now known as the Fort Worth Invitational.

Course layout

Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards5693954682504693954181983433,5054035934001924554472074064273,5307,035
Par544344434354543443443570

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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 5, 1941
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Denny Shute69–1
T2Vic Ghezzi70E
T2Dutch Harrison70E
T4Gene Kunes71+1
T4Lawson Little71+1
T4Jug McSpaden71+1
T4Dick Metz71+1
T4Jack Ryan71+1
T9Clayton Heafner72+2
T9Bill Kaiser72+2
T9Ted Kroll72+2
T9Johnny Morris72+2
T9Henry Ransom72+2
T9Harry Todd 72+2
T9Bunny Torpey72+2

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Second round

Friday, June 6, 1941
Thunderstorms caused delays in the morning and afternoon, but only a few players did not complete the second round on Friday.
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Clayton Heafner72-72=144+4
T1Lawson Little71-73=144+4
T1Denny Shute69-75=144+4
T1Craig Wood73-71=144+4
T5Dick Metz71-74=145+5
T5Paul Runyan73-72=145+5
T7Herman Barron75-71=146+6
T7Johnny Bulla75-71=146+6
T7Harold McSpaden71-75=146+6
T7Byron Nelson73-73=146+6
T7Henry Ransom72-74=146+6
T7Sam Snead76-70=146+6

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Third round

Saturday, June 7, 1941
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Craig Wood73-71-70=214+4
T2Paul Runyan73-72-71=216+6
T2Denny Shute69-75-72=216+6
4Johnny Bulla75-71-72=218+8
T5Ben Hogan74-77-68=219+9
T5Lloyd Mangrum73-74-72=219+9
T5Gene Sarazen74-73-72=219+9
T8Herman Barron75-71-74=220+10
T8Jug McSpaden71-75-74=220+10
T8Byron Nelson73-73-74=220+10

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Final round

Saturday, June 7, 1941
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
1Craig Wood73-71-70-70=284+41,000
2Denny Shute69-75-72-71=287+7800
T3Johnny Bulla75-71-72-71=289+9650
T3Ben Hogan74-77-68-70=289+9650
T5Herman Barron75-71-74-71=291+11413
T5Paul Runyan73-72-71-75=291+11413
T7Dutch Harrison70-82-71-71=294+14216
T7Jug McSpaden71-75-74-74=294+14216
T7Gene Sarazen74-73-72-75=294+14216
T10Ed Dudley74-74-74-73=295+15125
T10Lloyd Mangrum73-74-72-76=295+15125
T10Dick Metz71-74-76-74=295+15125

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