1953 U.S. Open Golf Tournament Winner and Scores

The 1953 U.S. Open was the 53rd time the tournament was played. It was a wire-to-wire win for Bantam Ben, his record-tying fourth in this major championship.

Winner: Ben Hogan, 283

Where it was played: Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania

Tournament dates: June 11-13, 1953

Leader after first round: Ben Hogan, 67

Leader after second round: Ben Hogan, 139

Leader after third round: Ben Hogan, 212

What Happened at the 1953 U.S. Open

Arnold Palmer played in his first U.S. Open in 1953, and Ben Hogan won his last U.S. Open here.

Hogan's fourth victory tied the tournament record shared by Willie Anderson and Bobby Jones (Jack Nicklaus later joined them). Hogan had a couple more good chances over the ensuing six or seven years (including a playoff loss in the 1955 U.S. Open), but his victory here, at Oakmont, was his last in the U.S. Open.

In fact, Hogan won only twice more after this, at the 1953 British Open and at the 1959 Colonial. But Hogan's 1953 is remembered as one of the greatest seasons in golf history. Hogan entered only six PGA Tour tournaments, but he won five of them, including all three majors he entered: The Masters, U.S. Open and British Open. (Hogan was unable to play the 1953 PGA Championship because its dates conflicted with those of the British Open and Open qualifying. With the PGA still using a match-play format, Hogan usually skipped it at this point anyway.)

Palmer was 24 years old in 1953, still an amateur, and serving in the Coast Guard. He received a military furlough to play in this tournament. But his debut in the U.S. Open lasted only two rounds — Palmer shot 84-78 and missed the cut.

Ken Venturi also made his tournament debut at the 1953 U.S. Open, while 2-time Masters champ Horton Smith played the U.S. Open for the last time this year. Both missed the cut.

Hogan took the lead with a first-round 67, the best score of the tournament. Sam Snead moved into second place with his second-round 69, trailing Hogan by two. In the third round, Snead got closer, shooting 72 to Hogan's 73. So Hogan led Snead by one entering the final 18. But Snead faded (76) while Hogan held steady (71), and Hogan won by six strokes over runner-up Snead.

1953 U.S. Open Final Scores

Ben Hogan 67-72-73-71—283
Sam Snead 72-69-72-76—289
Lloyd Mangrum 73-70-74-75—292
Pete Cooper 78-75-71-70—294
Jimmy Demaret 71-76-71-76—294
George Fazio 70-71-77-76—294
Ted Kroll 76-71-74-74—295
Dick Metz 75-70-74-76—295
Marty Furgol 73-74-76-73—296
Jay Hebert 72-72-74-78—296
a-Frank Souchak 70-76-76-74—296
Fred Haas 74-73-72-78—297
Bill Ogden 71-78-75-73—297
Jack Burke Jr. 76-73-72-77—298
Dutch Harrison 77-75-70-76—298
Bobby Locke 78-70-74-76—298
Julius Boros 75-72-76-76—299
Clarence Doser 74-76-78-71—299
Bill Nary 76-74-73-76—299
Jim Turnesa 75-78-72-74—299
Gardner Dickinson 77-73-76-74—300
Doug Ford 74-77-74-75—300
Al Mengert 75-71-78-76—300
Bob Rosburg 76-72-78-74—300
a-Frank Stanahan 75-75-75-75—300
Clayton Heafner 75-75-76-75—301
a-James McHale Jr. 79-74-75-73—301
Peter Thomson 80-73-73-75—301
Art Wall 80-72-77-72—301
Louis Barbaro 72-79-74-77—302
Jerry Barber 72-75-76-79—302
Toby Lyons 73-78-74-77—302
Johnny Bulla 74-77-79-73—303
Raymond Gafford 80-72-74-77—303
Lionel Hebert 80-71-80-72—303
Shelley Mayfield 76-75-75-77—303
Harry Todd 75-76-79-74—304
Felice Torza 75-74-77-78—304
Fred Wampler 75-76-75-78—304
Jackson Bradley 78-73-76-78—305
Walter Burkemo 70-79-79-77—305
Chick Harbert 76-76-75-79—306
a-Harry Haverstick 73-77-79-77—306
Mickey Homa 77-76-76-77—306
Art Doering 73-78-77-79—307
Dennis Lavender 76-77-78-76—307
Lawson Little 78-75-79-75—307
Jimmy Clark 77-73-73-85—308
a-Robert Roos Jr. 75-78-78-77—308
a-Sam Urzetta 77-74-82-75—308
Buck White 77-75-78-78—308
Jack Fleck 76-76-77-80—309
a-John Garrison 73-77-79-80—309
Dick Mayer 77-76-76-82—311
a-Billy Joe Patton 80-73-77-81—311
Charles Bassler 78-73-83-78—312
Errie Ball 76-74-84-79—313
Willie Goggin 77-74-88-77—316
Ed Oliver 79-74-87-76—316

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