1950 U.S. Open Golf Tournament Winner, Scores

The 1950 U.S. Open was the 50th time the tournament was played. Sixteen months after nearly dying in a car crash, Ben Hogan won this tournament in a three-man playoff.

Winner: Ben Hogan, 287

Where it was played: Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania

Tournament dates: June 8-11, 1950

Leader after first round: Lee Mackey, 64

Leader after second round: Dutch Harrison, 139

Leader after third round: Lloyd Mangrum, 211

What Happened in the 1950 U.S. Open

Early in 1949, driving from Phoenix, Arizona, to Fort Worth, Texas, the car Hogan was driving in dense fog collided head-on with a bus that had veered into his lane. Hogan was severely injured and early on it was uncertain he would survive. After months in the hospital, he was able to resume practicing golf late in the year (although he suffered leg pain and circulatory issues the rest of his life).

Hogan had won the 1948 U.S. Open, but, obviously, was unable to defend that title in 1949. So his victory in this, the 1950 U.S. Open, was a grand achievement, completing his comeback to world-class golf. After he beat Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio in an 18-hole playoff at Merion Golf Club, Hogan's win came to be known as the "Miracle at Merion."

The first round, though, belonged to a little-known golfer named Lee Mackey, whose 64 gave him a three-stroke lead. And it also gave him the 18-hole U.S. Open scoring record: That was the first 64 in this major's history. But Mackey scored 81 in Round 2 and went on to finish 25th.

Hogan scored 72 in the first round, and moved up to solo fifth with a second-round 69. Following a 72 in Round 3, Hogan was tied for third, two shots behind the leader, Mangrum (the 1946 U.S. Open champ). Fazio was tied for eighth, six strokes off Mangrum's lead.

But with a 70, Fazio got into the clubhouse first with a 287 total. Mangrum scored 76 and tied Fazio. Hogan had bogeys on the 15th and 17th holes and needed a birdie on No. 18 to win, a par to get into the playoff. After hitting a 1-iron approach shot, he two putted from 40 feet to match 287.

After 13 holes of the 18-hole playoff, Hogan led by one stroke with Mangrum and Fazio tied behind him. But Fazio bogeyed four of the next five holes and finished with a 75.

Mangrum still trailed Hogan by only one after the 15th hole, but on the 16th green he committed a rules infraction and was penalized two strokes on the 17th tee. What did he do? He lifted his ball on the green to blow away a bug. He marked the ball first, but in USGA championships at that time, golfers were not allowed to mark and lift a ball on the green unless it was in another player's line.

After the 2-stroke penalty to Mangrum, Hogan won the playoff by four strokes. Hogan scored 69, Mangrum wound up at 73. It was the fourth of Hogan's nine career wins in major championships.

1950 U.S. Open Final Scores

Ben Hogan 72-69-72-74—287 (69)
Lloyd Mangrum 72-70-69-76—287 (73)
George Fazio 73-72-72-70—287 (75)
Dutch Harrison 72-67-73-76—288
Jim Ferrier 71-69-74-75—289
Joe Kirkwood Jr. 71-74-74-70—289
Henry Ransom 72-71-73-73—289
Bill Nary 73-70-74-73—290
Julius Boros 68-72-77-74—291
Cary Middlecoff 71-71-71-79—292
Johnny Palmer 73-70-70-79—292
Al Besselink 71-72-76-75—294
Johnny Bulla 74-66-78-76—294
Dick Mayer 73-76-73-72—294
Henry Picard 71-71-79-73—294
Skee Riegel 73-69-79-73—294
Sam Snead 73-75-72-74—294
Skip Alexander 68-74-77-76—295
Fred Haas 73-74-76-72—295
Jimmy Demaret 72-77-71-76—296
Marty Furgol 75-71-72-78—296
Dick Metz 76-71-71-78—296
Bob Toski 73-69-80-74—296
Harold Williams 69-75-75-77—296
Bobby Cruickshank 72-77-76-72—297
Ted Kroll 75-72-78-72—297
Lee Mackey Jr. 64-81-75-77—297
Paul Runyan 76-73-73-75—297
Pete Cooper 75-72-76-75—298
Henry Williams Jr. 69-76-76-77—298
John Barnum 71-75-78-75—299
Denny Shute 71-73-76-79—299
Buck White 77-71-77-74—299
Terl Johnson 72-77-74-77—300
Herschel Spears 75-72-75-78—300
Walter Burkemo 72-77-74-78—301
Dave Douglas 72-76-79-74—301
Claude Harmon 71-74-77-80—302
a-James McHale Jr. 75-73-80-74—302
Gene Sarazen 72-72-82-76—302
Jim Turnesa 74-71-78-79—302
Art Bell 72-77-78-76—303
Patrick Abbott 71-77-76-80—304
Joe Thacker 75-69-83-77—304
Johnny Morris 74-74-80-77—305
Loddie Kempa 71-74-78-83—306
a-Frank Stranahan 79-70-79-78—306
Gene Webb 75-74-82-75—306
a-P.J. Boatwright 75-74-79-79—307
George Bolesta 77-72-84-78—311
John O'Donnell 76-72-83-85—316

Previous and next:
1949 U.S. Open - 1951 U.S. Open

Popular posts from this blog

2026 Masters Tournament Dates and Schedule