The 1908 U.S. Open was the fourteenth

U.S. Open U.S. Open or US Open are open championship sporting tournaments that are hosted in the United States and in which anyone, especially amateur and professional, or American and non-American, may compete. The term may also be applied to non-sporting ev ...

, held August 27–29 at Myopia Hunt Club in

South Hamilton, Massachusetts South Hamilton is a postal address assigned to ZIP code 01982 by the Postal Service and is part of the town of Hamilton, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S ...

, northeast of

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. Fred McLeod defeated

1899 Events January * January 1 ** Spanish rule formally ends in Cuba with the cession of Spanish sovereignty to the U.S., concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.''The American Monthly Review of Reviews'' (February 1899), p ...

champion Willie Smith in an 18-hole playoff to win his only

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

title. High winds on Thursday caused scores in the first two rounds to soar, with only two players managing to break 80. Willie Smith carded rounds of 77-82 for a three-stroke lead over Myopia club pro John Jones, with brother

Alec Smith Alexander Douglas Smith (known as Alec Smith; 25 May 1949 – 19 January 2006) was a Zimbabwe National Army chaplain and son of Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith. Early life and education Smith grew up on the family farm in Selukwe (now ...

four back and Fred McLeod five behind. On Friday, Smith struggled to an 85 in the third round in the morning but still held the lead by one over McLeod and two over Alex. In the final round that afternoon, McLeod tied for lowest score of the tournament by carding a 77, while Smith managed a 78 to force a playoff. In the playoff on Saturday, McLeod and Smith were even through 13 holes, but McLeod took the lead at the 14th after Smith missed a par putt. McLeod dominated the rest of the way, going 1-under on the last five holes to shoot a 77 to Smith's 83. McLeod only broke 80 in one round of the tournament, while Smith and

Gilbert Nicholls Gilbert Ernest Nicholls (July 23, 1878 – January 17, 1950) was an English-American professional golfer, prominent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He had eight top-10 finishes in the U.S. Open (golf), U.S. Open. Early life Nicholls w ...

were the only players to shoot in the 70s twice. The winning score of 322 was the third-highest in U.S. Open history.

Round summaries

First round

''Thursday, August 27, 1908 (morning)'' Source:

Second round

''Thursday, August 27, 1908 (afternoon)'' Source:

Third round

''Friday, August 28, 1908 (morning)'' Source:

Final round

''Friday, August 28, 1908 (afternoon)'' Source: Amateurs:

Travis Travis may refer to: People and fictional characters *Travis (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Travis (surname), a list of people Places in the United States *Travis, Staten Island, a neighborhood *Travis Air Force Base, a ...

(347), Hylan (356), J. Anderson (357).

Playoff

''Saturday, August 29, 1908'' Source:

References

External links

USGA Championship Database
{{coord, 42.609, -70.859, type:event, display=title U.S. Open (golf) Golf tournaments in Massachusetts Sports in Essex County, Massachusetts Events in Essex County, Massachusetts Hamilton, Massachusetts

U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open national championship of golf in the United States. It is the third of the four men's major golf championships, and is on the official schedule of both the P ...