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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