The 1939 U.S. Open was the 43rd U.S. Open, held June 8–12 at

Philadelphia Country Club Philadelphia Country Club is a private country club located in the Gladwyne suburb of Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It has 27 holes of regulation golf including one 18-hole championship course, a nine-hole course, an ...

Gladwyne, Pennsylvania Gladwyne is a suburban community in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States along the historic Philadelphia Main Line. In 2018, Gladwyne was ranked the sixth richest ZIP Code (using 2015 IRS data) in the country i ...

, a suburb northwest of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Byron Nelson John Byron Nelson Jr. (February 4, 1912 – September 26, 2006) was an American professional golfer between 1935 and 1946, widely considered one of the greatest golfers of all time. Nelson and two other legendary champions of the time, Ben Hog ...

won after two playoff rounds to prevail against Craig Wood and

Denny Shute Herman Densmore "Denny" Shute (October 25, 1904 – May 13, 1974) was an American professional golfer who won three major championships in the 1930s. Life and career Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Shute was the son of a golf pro from England; Hermon ...

to claim his only U.S. Open title, and the second of his five major championships. It was the first playoff at the U.S. Open in eight years and the first three-way playoff since

1913 Events January * January – Joseph Stalin travels to Vienna to research his ''Marxism and the National Question''. This means that, during this month, Stalin, Hitler, Trotsky and Tito are all living in the city. * January 3 &ndash ...

Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (; May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for the better part of four decades (having won PGA of America and Senior PGA Tour events over six decades) an ...

led after each of the first two rounds but his triple-bogey on the 72nd hole dropped him to fifth place, two strokes back. Two years earlier, he was runner-up in his first U.S. Open in

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Snead finished second three more times, but never won the title to complete a career

grand slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

. In his fourth U.S. Open,

Ben Hogan William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory, hi ...

made his first 36-hole cut at the championship and finished in a tie for 62nd. He finished in a tie for fifth the following year; after the war he won four U.S. Opens and contended in numerous others. He made every subsequent cut he played in at the U.S. Open, the last in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

at age 54.

Round summaries

First round

''Thursday, June 8, 1939''

Second round

''Friday, June 9, 1939'' Source:

Third round

''Saturday, June 10, 1939 - (morning)'' Source:

Final round

''Saturday, June 10, 1939 - (afternoon)'' Nelson began the final round on Saturday afternoon five strokes back of leader

Johnny Bulla John Guthrie Bulla (June 2, 1914 – December 7, 2003) was an American professional golfer. Early life Bulla was born in Newell, West Virginia. Professional career Bulla played on what is now called the PGA Tour. His only win was at t ...

and shot 68 to gain the clubhouse lead at 284. Wood birdied the 18th to also get to 284, while Shute also finished on that number after a bogey at 17. It appeared, however, that that number would not be enough. Snead stood on the par-5 18th needing only a par to win the championship. Snead believed he needed a birdie to win and played the hole aggressively. After finding two bunkers, he made a triple-bogey 8 and missed the playoff by two strokes. :(a) denotes

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

Source:

Playoff

''Sunday, June 11, 1939''
''Monday, June 12, 1939'' In the three-way 18-hole playoff on Sunday afternoon, Nelson and Wood each carded 68 (−1), while Shute shot a 76 (+7) and was eliminated. In the second 18-hole playoff on Monday morning, Nelson took control at the third hole with a birdie while Wood double-bogeyed. At the next hole, Nelson holed out for an eagle to take a five-stroke lead. With a three-shot lead at the turn, Nelson matched Wood on the back nine and finished with a 70 to Wood's 73.

Scorecards

''Sunday, June 11, 1939'' :Source: ''Monday, June 12, 1939'' ''Cumulative playoff scores, relative to par'' : :Source:

References

External links

USOpen.com - 1939
!-
USGA Championship Database
-> {{coord, 40.062, -75.292, type:event, display=title U.S. Open (golf) Golf tournaments in Pennsylvania U.S. Open U.S. Open U.S. Open U.S. Open