1927 U.S. Open (golf)

1927 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	June 14–17, 1927
Location	Oakmont, Pennsylvania
Course(s)	Oakmont Country Club
Organized by	USGA
Format	Stroke play − 72 holes
Statistics
Par	72
Length	6,965 yards (6,369 m)
Field	137 players, 62 after cut
Cut	163 (+19)
Prize fund	$2,000
Winner's share	$500
Champion
Tommy Armour
301 (+13), playoff
«1926 1928»

Oakmont CC

Location in the United States

The 1927 U.S. Open was the 31st U.S. Open, held June 14–17 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, a suburb northeast of Pittsburgh. Tommy Armour defeated Harry Cooper in an 18-hole playoff to win the first of his three major titles.

The surprise second round leader was amateur Harrison R. Johnston, who won the U.S. Amateur two years later in 1929. In the third round on Thursday morning, he suffered two double bogeys on the front-nine and shot an 87 (+15), and finished in 19th place. Gene Sarazen, Walter Hagen, Bill Mehlhorn, and Emmet French were all in contention in the final round, but only French managed to break 40 on the back-nine. Tommy Armour shot a final round 76 and 301 total, while Harry Cooper shot 77. Armour needed a 10-foot (3 m) putt for birdie on the par-4 18th to tie Cooper and force a playoff. Neither player managed to break par during any round in the tournament.

Both players were tied after nine holes of the Friday playoff, even though they only halved one hole. Cooper then took a two-shot lead, but an Armour birdie at 13 and a Cooper bogey at 15 brought the match to all square. On the 16th, Cooper found a bunker off the tee and recorded a double bogey, while Armour made par to gain a two-stroke advantage did not relinquish. Armour finished with a 76 to Cooper's 79.

Armour's winning score of 301 was the highest since 1919, and the last time the winning score exceeded 300 strokes. Only Al Espinosa managed to break 70 during the tournament, shooting 69 in the final round. After Armour, no foreign-born player won the U.S. Open for another 38 years, until Gary Player in 1965. England's Ted Ray, the 1920 champion, played in his first Open since his win; it would also be his last. The 12th hole at Oakmont measured 621 yards (568 m), the longest in U.S. Open history until 1955.

While Armour won two more majors, Cooper never won one. His 31 PGA Tour victories are the most by a player without a major win, and he is often cited as the "best player to never win a major."

Defending champion Bobby Jones and Eddie Jones shared low-amateur honors, finishing in a tie for 11th. It was the only time in his 11 U.S. Open appearances that Jones finished outside the top-10.

This was the first U.S. Open held at Oakmont, which is scheduled to host its ninth in 2016. It has also hosted three PGA Championships; the first in 1922 was a match play event won by Gene Sarazen.

Final leaderboard

Thursday, June 16, 1927

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par	Money ($)
T1	Tommy Armour	Scotland United States	78-71-76-76=301	+13	Playoff
	Harry Cooper	England United States	74-76-74-77=301
3	Gene Sarazen	United States	74-74-80-74=302	+14	200
4	Emmet French	United States	75-79-77-73=304	+16	150
5	Bill Mehlhorn	United States	75-77-80-73=305	+17	100
6	Walter Hagen	United States	77-73-76-81=307	+19	90
T7	Archie Compston	England	79-74-76-79=308	+20	73
	Johnny Farrell	United States	81-73-78-76=308
	Johnny Golden	United States	83-77-75-73=308
	Harry Hampton	Scotland	73-78-80-77=308

Playoff

Friday, June 17, 1927

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Tommy Armour	Scotland United States	39-37=76	+4	500
2	Harry Cooper	England United States	39-40=79	+7	300

Source:

Scorecard

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	5	4	4	5	4	3	4	3	5	4	4	5	3	4	4	3	4	4
Armour	–1	–1	E	E	+1	+1	+2	+2	+2	+3	+4	+4	+4	+5	+5	+5	+4	+4
Cooper	E	E	E	+1	+1	+2	+2	+3	+2	+2	+2	+2	+3	+4	+5	+7	+6	+7

Source:

External links

• About.com: 1927 U.S. Open
• USGA Championship Database
• USOpen.com - 1927