1909 U.S. Open Golf Tournament Winner and Scores
Winner: George Sargent, 290
Where it was played: Englewood Golf Club in Englewood, New Jersey
Tournament dates: June 24-25, 1909
Leader after first round: David Hunter, 68
Leader after second round: Tom McNamara, 142
Leader after third round: Tom McNamara, 217
What Happened in the 1909 U.S. Open
George Sargent was the 1909 U.S. Open with a score 290 — the lowest score yet recorded in the U.S. Open and also lower than any British Open winning total to this point.Sargent's winning total wasn't the only scoring record set here, though. In the first round, David Hunter scored 68. That was the first score under 70 in U.S. Open history. Unfortunately for Hunter, he had an 84 in both the second and third rounds and finished well back of Sargent.
Tom McNamara had the second sub-70 round in tournament history with a second-round 69. That gave him a four-stroke lead after 36 holes. Sargent opened 75-72, five behind McNamara.
The tournament was played over two days, 36 holes per day. On the morning of Day 2, Sargent closed to within two strokes of McNamara's lead after they scored 72 and 75, respectively. In the final round that afternoon, McNamara struggled to a 77, while Sargent had an excellent 71 to win by four strokes.
Although McNamara didn't win, his solo second-place finish was the best showing yet by an American golfer in the U.S. Open. Every winner to this point (and for one more year) was British. The first American U.S. Open champ was Johnny McDermott, who won the 1911 U.S. Open. McDermott made his tournament debut this year at age 17, finishing 49th.
Horace Rawlins, the very first tournament champ as winner of the 1895 U.S. Open, completed this tournament for the last time. He placed 60th, last among those who made the cut. He entered once more, in 1912, but missed the cut that year.
Sargent, from England, went on to win the 1912 Canadian Open. From 1911 through 1916, he finished in the Top 10 of the U.S. Open five out of six years, with a best of tied third in 1914. His 290 total in the 1909 U.S. Open was five strokes better than anyone had scored previously.
1909 U.S. Open Final Scores
| George Sargent | 75-72-72-71—290 |
| Tom McNamara | 73-69-75-77—294 |
| Alex Smith | 76-73-74-72—295 |
| Willie Anderson | 79-74-76-70—299 |
| Jack Hobens | 75-78-72-74—299 |
| Isaac Mackie | 77-75-74-73—299 |
| Tom Anderson Jr. | 78-74-75-73—300 |
| Herbert Barker | 75-79-73-73—300 |
| Andrew Campbell | 71-75-77-77—300 |
| Tom Peebles | 76-73-73-78—300 |
| a-Walter Travis | 72-78-77-73—300 |
| Mike Brady | 76-77-74-75—302 |
| Alex Campbell | 75-73-81-74—303 |
| Fred McLeod | 78-76-74-75—303 |
| Orrin Terry | 78-80-73-73—304 |
| a-F.R. Upton Jr. | 72-79-78-75—304 |
| Gilbert Nicholls | 73-75-79-79—306 |
| Walter Fovargue | 80-76-77-74—307 |
| David Ogilvie | 76-78-79-74—307 |
| Peter Robertson | 79-72-78-79—308 |
| Charles Rowe | 74-77-76-81—308 |
| Jack Campbell | 74-79-75-81—309 |
| Laurie Auchterlonie | 78-75-77-81—311 |
| a-S. Findlay Douglas | 82-76-78-75—311 |
| Jock Hutchison | 79-76-77-79—311 |
| Tom Vardon | 80-75-82-74—311 |
| John Dingwall | 79-74-77-82—312 |
| George Low | 78-75-74-85—312 |
| James Maiden | 76-78-80-78—312 |
| Jack Burke Sr. | 75-78-81-79—313 |
| David Hunter | 68-84-84-77—313 |
| Charles Murray | 77-75-77-84—313 |
| George Sparling | 78-79-76-81—314 |
| James Thompson | 78-80-78-78—314 |
| Robert Thompson | 83-78-78-75—314 |
| Alex Ross | 76-79-78-84—317 |
| Walter Clark | 82-79-72-84—317 |
| Herbert Strong | 75-79-80-83—317 |
| Joe Mitchell | 83-78-79-78—318 |
| Albert H. Murray | 80-80-82-76—318 |
| Frederick Pye | 78-81-78-81—318 |
| a-Gilman Tiffany | 81-81-79-77—318 |
| Alex Cunningham | 82-77-82-79—320 |
| George Turnbull | 80-76-82-82—320 |
| Fred Brand | 77-75-83-86—321 |
| Richard Kimball | 77-82-77-85—321 |
| Robert Simpson | 84-76-77-84—321 |
| Jack Croke | 81-84-79-78—322 |
| Elijah Horton | 79-85-76-82—322 |
| John McDermott | 80-81-78-83—322 |
| George Gordon | 84-79-81-79—323 |
| a-W.F. Morgan Jr. | 78-84-84-78—324 |
| Harry Vinall | 80-80-83-81—324 |
| a-Max Behr | 81-83-83-78—325 |
| W.D. Robinson | 84-81-82-79—326 |
| William Byrne | 86-77-82-82—327 |
| L. Stanley Jacobs | 78-79-85-85—327 |
| a-Oswald Kirkby | 85-78-82-83—328 |
| a-R.C. Watson | 80-82-85-81—328 |
| Horace Rawlins | 82-83-81-83—329 |
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