1941 U.S. Open Golf Tournament Winner and Scores
Winner: Craig Wood, 284
Where it was played: Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas
Tournament dates: June 5-7, 1941
Leader after first round: Denny Shute, 69
Leader after second round: Craig Wood, Denny Shute, Lawson Little and Clayton Heafner, 144
Leader after third round: Craig Wood, 214
What Happened in the 1941 U.S. Open
Prior to 1941, Craig Wood was known as an immensely talented but very hard-luck golfer. He won plenty on tour, but in the major championships he kept falling just short. In fact, by 1941 Woods had lost in playoffs at the U.S. Open, The Masters and the British Open, and in extra holes of the championship match at the PGA Championship.But that all changed at the 1941 Masters, where he finally got the job done in a major by becoming The Masters' first wire-to-wire winner. And here, at the 1941 U.S. Open, Wood won his second major of the year, becoming the first golfer to win both The Masters and U.S. Open in the same year.
Wood also has the distinction of being the only golfer to win a major while wearing a corset. Well, that we're aware of, anyway. Just to be safe, we'll qualify that by saying Wood is the only male golfer to win in a corset (that we're aware of). According to the USGA, Wood hurt his back two weeks prior to the tournament. The USGA history states:
"His doctor fitted him with a corset that allowed him to compete in the U.S. Open. But after opening the championship with a 7, he wanted to withdraw. His fellow competitor, Tommy Armour, convinced him to play on and Wood shot a 73."The corset must have helped, because Wood improved to 71 in the second round, and carded back-to-back 70s in the third and fourth rounds. And he finished with a birdie on the final hole.
The 1941 U.S. Open was played at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, the hometown of Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan. Didn't help them, though: Nelson finished 13 strokes behind Wood; Hogan tied for third with Johnny Bulla, five strokes behind Wood. Nelson had beaten Wood in a playoff at the 1939 U.S. Open. The runner-up here, Denny Shute, had beaten Wood in a playoff at the 1933 British Open.
Of note at the 1941 U.S. Open: Three members of the Turnesa family made the cut — one of two times that happened in the U.S. Open. The Turnesas were eight brothers who played golf, seven professionally. And the amateur, Willie, won the U.S. and British amateur championships. One of the pros, Jim, won the 1952 PGA Championship. Joe won 14 PGA Tour titles and Mike won six. At the 1941 U.S. Open, Jim Turnesa, Mike Turnesa and Willie Turnesa all made the cut. (At the 1932 U.S. Open, Joe, Mike and Phil Turnesa all made the cut.)
A golfer one month shy of his 16th birthday set a record at the 1941 U.S. Open as youngest competitor in this tournament, a record that stood until 2006. Tyrell Garth withdrew during the second round, but not before setting that age-related record.
Due to the American entry into World War II later in 1941, the U.S. Open was not played again after this until 1946.
1941 U.S. Open Final Scores
| Craig Wood | 73-71-70-70—284 |
| Denny Shute | 69-75-72-71—287 |
| Johnny Bulla | 75-71-72-71—289 |
| Ben Hogan | 74-77-68-70—289 |
| Herman Barron | 75-71-74-71—291 |
| Paul Runyan | 73-72-71-75—291 |
| Dutch Harrison | 70-82-71-71—294 |
| Jug McSpaden | 71-75-74-74—294 |
| Gene Sarazen | 74-73-72-75—294 |
| Ed Dudley | 74-74-74-73—295 |
| Lloyd Mangrum | 73-74-72-76—295 |
| Dick Metz | 71-74-76-74—295 |
| Henry Ransom | 72-74-75-75—296 |
| Horton Smith | 73-75-73-75—296 |
| Sam Snead | 76-70-77-73—296 |
| a-Harry Todd | 72-77-76-71—296 |
| Lawson Little | 71-73-79-74—297 |
| Byron Nelson | 73-73-74-77—297 |
| Vic Ghezzi | 70-79-77-72—298 |
| Gene Kunes | 71-79-74-75—299 |
| Ralph Guldahl | 79-76-72-73—300 |
| Clayton Heafner | 72-72-78-78—300 |
| Johnny Palmer | 74-76-76-74—300 |
| Jimmy Hines | 75-74-76-76—301 |
| Joseph Zarhardt | 74-76-77-75—302 |
| Sam Byrd | 76-78-75-74—303 |
| Herman Keiser | 74-77-76-76—303 |
| Johnny Morris | 72-73-81-77—303 |
| Henry Picard | 77-79-72-75—303 |
| Jim Ferrier | 77-71-81-75—304 |
| Jerry Gianferante | 76-77-74-77—304 |
| a-Bud Ward | 76-77-75-76—304 |
| Abe Espinosa | 76-75-72-82—305 |
| Sam Parks Jr. | 73-82-74-76—305 |
| Toney Penna | 75-77-76-77—305 |
| Marvin Stahl | 77-76-73-79—305 |
| Jim Turnesa | 74-80-77-74—305 |
| Bill Kaiser | 72-78-80-76—306 |
| Willie Klein | 73-80-78-76—307 |
| Bunny Torpey | 72-79-78-79—308 |
| a-William Turnesa | 75-77-75-81—308 |
| Jim Foulis | 78-78-74-79—309 |
| Felix Serafin | 76-79-78-76—309 |
| Mike Turnesa | 77-79-75-78—309 |
| Henry Castillo | 84-72-77-77—310 |
| Charles Farlow | 79-77-77-77—310 |
| Bob Hamilton | 76-79-80-75—310 |
| Jack Ryan | 71-82-80-77—310 |
| a-Dick Chapman | 76-76-80-80—312 |
| Pat Willcox | 80-75-79-78—312 |
| Raymond Gafford | 76-78-82-77—313 |
| Al Watrous | 79-75-81-79—314 |
| Bill Nary | 77-76-83-79—315 |
| a-John Jacobs | 74-77-82-83—316 |
| a-Verne Stewart | 76-78-80-83—317 |
| Tom O'Connor | 73-78-79-88—318 |
| Jock Hutchison Jr. | 78-78-83-80—319 |
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