1912 U.S. Open Winner and Scores
Winner: John McDermott, 294
Where it was played: Country Club of Buffalo in Williamsville, New York
Tournament dates: August 1-2, 1912
Leader after first round: Mike Brady and George Sargent, 72
Leader after second round: Alex Smith, Mike Brady and Percy Barrett, 147
Leader after third round: Mike Brady, 220
What Happened in the 1912 U.S. Golf Tournament
Johnny McDermott made it two in a row, winning the 1912 U.S. Open by two strokes over Tom McNamara.McDermott was only 20 years old, but he was already a 2-time U.S. Open winner. And he lost in a playoff in 1910, so he barely missed out on winning three in a row. But while McDermott played well in 1913, by the end of 1914, when he was just 23 years old, his golf career was over. After a series of personal setbacks, McDermott had a breakdown late in 1914, and spent most of the rest of his life in a mental institution.
McDermott was two off the lead at the midway point, and he trailed leader Mike Brady by three strokes after the third round. But Brady struggled in the final round, shooting 79 to McDermott's 71, and dropped back into a tie for third. Brady never won a U.S. Open, but finished second twice (including the year before in 1911).
McNamara, meanwhile, made a run at the title by shooting 69. At the time it was just the third sub-70 round shot in a U.S. Open — and McNamara also had one of the other two. But it wasn't enough to catch McDermott.
McDermott's 294 total was 2-under par and is credited as the first-ever below-par score in a U.S. Open. The USGA had adopted the use of par officially only the previous year, in 1911.
Future 4-time major championship winner Jim Barnes made his tournament debut here, finishing tied for 18th. Horace Rawlins, winner of the very first U.S. Open in 1895, played the tournament for the last time. He missed the cut, scoring 88-85.
1912 U.S. Open Final Scores
| John McDermott | 74-75-74-71—294 |
| Tom McNamara | 74-80-73-69—296 |
| Mike Brady | 72-75-73-79—299 |
| Alex Smith | 77-70-77-75—299 |
| Alex Campbell | 74-77-80-71—302 |
| George Sargent | 72-78-76-77—303 |
| Jack Dowling | 76-79-76-74—305 |
| Otto Hackbarth | 77-77-75-76—305 |
| Charles Murray | 75-78-77-76—306 |
| Tom Anderson Jr. | 75-76-81-75—307 |
| Frank Peebles | 73-76-83-75—307 |
| a-Walter Travis | 73-79-78-77—307 |
| Fred McLeod | 79-77-75-77—308 |
| George Simpson | 79-73-77-79—308 |
| Percy Barrett | 74-73-83-79—309 |
| a-John G. Anderson | 80-79-78-73—310 |
| David Ogilvie | 74-83-73-80—310 |
| Jim Barnes | 77-73-79-82—311 |
| John Dingwall | 77-77-78-79—311 |
| Willie Macfarlane | 77-81-73-80—311 |
| Jack Croke | 74-81-78-79—312 |
| Tom Vardon | 74-83-79-76—312 |
| Jack Campbell | 74-75-83-81—313 |
| George Cummings | 78-79-77-79—313 |
| Jock Hutchison | 78-77-82-76—313 |
| Albert Murray | 78-79-79-78—314 |
| Charles Rowe | 77-78-79-81—315 |
| Dave Robertson | 80-82-77-77—316 |
| Peter Robertson | 77-82-81-76—316 |
| David Black | 78-77-78-84—317 |
| David Honeyman | 80-82-79-76—317 |
| David Livie | 82-80-76-79—317 |
| a-William Gardner Ii | 78-80-79-82—319 |
| Frank Belwood | 76-80-81-83—320 |
| Jack Hobens | 83-79-76-82—320 |
| James Thompson | 78-78-78-86—320 |
| Tom Bonnar | 76-79-81-85—321 |
| Karl Keffer | 76-76-86-85—323 |
| Tom Mulgrew | 79-85-76-84—324 |
| John Harland | 76-84-81-83—324 |
| James Dougherty | 82-77-83-83—325 |
| Walter Fovargue | 81-83-78-83—325 |
| a-Howard Lee | 82-80-81-82—325 |
| C.W. Singleton | 82-76-82-85—325 |
| Ben Lord | 80-86-88-81—335 |
| James Green | 83-81-79-83—326 |
| David Hunter | 80-85-77-84—326 |
| Jack Jolly | 80-79-78-89—326 |
| Arthur Woodward | 79-86-79-82—326 |
| Thomas Edwards | 78-87-84-80—329 |
| John Hagan | 80-83-80-87—330 |
| Irving Stringer | 83-82-83-86—334 |
| William Trovinger | 77-82-86-89—334 |
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