1903 U.S. Open Winner and Scores
Winner: Willie Anderson, 307
Where it was played: Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey
Tournament dates: June 26-29, 1903
Leader after first round: Willie Anderson, 73
Leader after second round: Willie Anderson, 149
Leader after third round: Willie Anderson, 225
What Happened in the 1903 U.S. Open
Willie Anderson claimed this tournament for the second time, beating David Brown in an 18-hole playoff to win the 1903 U.S. Open.Anderson went on to win the next two U.S. Opens, and is still the only golfer to win three consecutive. He won four total, which remains a tournament record (tied with Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus). Anderson also was the first player to win two U.S. Opens, and the first to win back-to-back U.S. Opens (which he accomplished by winning the 1904 tourney).
Anderson and Brown (also known as "Deacon" Brown, he was the 1886 British Open winner) finished tied at 307, then Anderson won the playoff 82 to 84, scores recorded in heavy rains. According to the USGA history, the fourth round ended on Saturday but the Baltusrol Golf Club course was unavailable for a Sunday playoff. Why? Member play. So the pros waited until Monday for the playoff.
Anderson's father, Tom Anderson Sr., and his brother, Tom Jr., were also both in the field. It was the first time a father-and-son(s) played in the same U.S. Open.
Donald Ross, later to become famous as one of the greats of golf course architecture, finished fifth. It was one of four Top 10 finishes in this tournament by Ross, and his best. (Ross' brother Alex Ross placed ninth, and was the winner of the 1907 U.S. Open.)
Another interesting name at the 1904 U.S. Open was that of John Montgomery Ward. Ward was a famous baseball player in the late 1800s who played frequently, after retirement from baseball, in amateur golf championships. This was one of two appearances Ward made in a U.S. Open (playing as an amateur), and he made the cut. Ward was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the 1960s.
This was the first U.S. Open played at Baltusrol, a golf club that later hosted many more Opens plus other majors, both professional and amateur. Baltusrol's Old Course, which no longer exists, was the golf course.
1903 U.S. Open Final Scores
| x-Willie Anderson | 73-76-76-82—307 |
| David Brown | 79-77-75-76—307 |
| Stewart Gardner | 77-77-82-79—315 |
| Alex Smith | 77-77-81-81—316 |
| Donald Ross | 79-79-78-82—318 |
| Jack Campbell | 76-83-83-77—319 |
| Laurie Auchterlonie | 75-79-84-83—321 |
| a-Findlay Douglas | 77-79-82-84—322 |
| Jack Hobens | 76-81-82-84—323 |
| Alex Ross | 83-82-78-80—323 |
| Willie Smith | 80-81-83-79—323 |
| Horace Rawlins | 82-77-78-87—324 |
| Isaac Mackie | 83-80-78-84—325 |
| a-F.O. Reinhart | 81-75-89-80—325 |
| Alex Campbell | 79-84-80-83—326 |
| Gilbert Nicholls | 86-82-78-80—326 |
| a-Walter Travis | 83-80-81-82—326 |
| Bert Way | 84-79-82-81—326 |
| Bernard Nicholls | 85-78-82-83—328 |
| William Norton | 78-81-83-87—329 |
| David Ogilvie | 81-86-81-81—329 |
| George Cummings | 83-86-77-84—330 |
| Harry Turpie | 86-82-81-82—331 |
| Joe Lloyd | 84-85-80-83—332 |
| John Reid | 82-82-84-84—332 |
| a-George T. Brokaw | 78-82-86-87—333 |
| James Campbell | 81-84-82-86—333 |
| Fred McLeod | 83-80-79-91—333 |
| Arthur Smith | 80-87-83-83—333 |
| Arthur Fenn | 82-83-83-86—334 |
| David Hunter | 80-90-86-79—335 |
| John Dingwall | 83-88-86-79—336 |
| Charles Murray | 83-84-84-85—336 |
| William Braid | 86-75-89-87—337 |
| Robert Thompson | 81-84-88-85—338 |
| Alex Findlay | 87-86-82-84—339 |
| John Harland | 82-82-84-91—339 |
| Ernest Way | 85-88-80-87—340 |
| Tom McNamara | 86-84-85-88—343 |
| Joe Mitchell | 85-84-91-85—345 |
| David Patrick | 86-86-85-88—345 |
| Walter Reynolds | 91-83-86-86—346 |
| Thomas Clark | 85-91-84-87—347 |
| Jack Jolly | 85-91-87-84—347 |
| a-Frank Croker | 89-87-91-81—348 |
| Alexander Patrick | 91-89-84-85—349 |
| John Pearson | 83-91-89-86—349 |
| P.P. Burns | 87-90-81-94—352 |
| John Brett | 89-91-87-86—353 |
| a-William Carnegie | 87-83-89-94—353 |
| Robert Dow | 87-90-89-90—356 |
| a-L.L. Kellogg Jr. | 91-89-90-86—356 |
| a-J.S. Gillespie | 87-92-87-91—357 |
| a-Charles Tappin | 89-88-92-90—359 |
| a-Robert Watson | 88-91-89-92—360 |
| a-John M. Ward | 91-93-89-90—363 |
| Robert Shields | 93-93-85-94—365 |
| J.S. Davidson | 93-92-90-92—367 |
| Philip Honeyman | 90-95-91-94—370 |
| a-M.G. McDonald | 94-97-89-92—372 |
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