1929 U.S. Open (golf)
The 1929 U.S. Open was the 33rd U.S. Open, held June 27–30 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, a suburb northeast of New York City. Bobby Jones won his third U.S. Open title in a 36-hole playoff, besting Al Espinosa by 23 strokes on the West Course.[2]
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | June 27–30, 1929 |
| Location | Mamaroneck, New York |
| Course(s) | Winged Foot Golf Club, West Course |
| Organized by | USGA |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Format | Stroke play − 72 holes |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 6,786 yards (6,205 m)[1] |
| Field | 142 players, 67 after cut |
| Cut | 159 (+15) |
| Prize fund | $5,000 |
| Winner's share | $1,000 Awarded to runner-up |
| Champion | |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Bobby Jones (a) | |
| 294 (+6), playoff | |
Jones opened with a 69 in the first round to grab the lead,[3] then followed with a 75.[1][4]
After a third round 71, he had a three-stroke lead over Gene Sarazen and was four clear of Espinosa after 54 holes. Sarazen fell out of contention in the final round with a 78 and fell to a tie for third place. Espinosa shot a 75 and a 294 total, but it appeared like it would not be enough to overtake Jones. Beginning with the 15th, Jones needed only three bogeys and a par to win the championship. However, he triple-bogeyed the 15th and then made another bogey on 16 and his lead was gone. He made par at the 17th, but his approach on the 18th found a greenside bunker. Needing to get up-and-down to save par and force a playoff, Jones rolled in a 12-foot (3.7 m) putt for the tie.[5][6]
Jones dominated the 36-hole playoff on Sunday, with a 72 in the morning round to grab a 12-shot lead. Espinosa struggled again on the second 18, shooting an 80 to Jones' 69, and Jones won the playoff by 23 shots.[2][7] He won his fourth U.S. Open in 1930 and the grand slam. The 23-stroke win is the largest margin of victory in a major golf tournament playoff.
Originally scheduled to be played over the East Course at Winged Foot, storm damaged caused the championship to be relocated to the West Course.[8] It was the first of six U.S. Opens to be held on Winged Foot's West Course; it later hosted in 1959, 1974, 1984, 2006, and 2020; it also hosted the PGA Championship in 1997.
Course layout
West Course
| Hole | Name | Yards | Par | Hole | Name | Yards | Par | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Genesis | 445 | 4 | 10 | Pulpit | 190 | 3 | |
| 2 | Elm | 376 | 4 | 11 | Billows | 378 | 4 | |
| 3 | Pinnacle | 217 | 3 | 12 | Cape | 497 | 5 | |
| 4 | Sound View | 406 | 4 | 13 | White Mule | 213 | 3 | |
| 5 | Long Lane | 517 | 5 | 14 | Shamrock | 376 | 4 | |
| 6 | El | 323 | 4 | 15 | Pyramid | 397 | 4 | |
| 7 | Babe-in-the-Woods | 170 | 3 | 16 | Hells Bells | 456 | 5 | |
| 8 | Arena | 439 | 4 | 17 | Well-Well | 450 | 4 | |
| 9 | Meadow | 517 | 5 | 18 | Revelations | 419 | 4 | |
| Out | 3,410 | 36 | In | 3,376 | 36 | |||
| Source:[3] | Total | 6,786 | 72 | |||||
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, June 27, 1929
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bobby Jones (a) | 69 | −3 |
| 2 | Al Espinosa | 70 | −2 |
| 3 | Gene Sarazen | 71 | −1 |
| T4 | Chris Hilgendorf | 72 | E |
 Jack White | |||
| T6 | Leonard Schnutte | 73 | +1 |
| Denny Shute | |||
| T8 | Tommy Armour | 74 | +2 |
| Wiffy Cox | |||
| Jack Cummins (a) | |||
| Leo Diegel | |||
| Ted Longworth | |||
| Larry Nabholtz |
Source:[3]
Second round
Friday, June 28, 1929
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Gene Sarazen | 71-71=142 | −2 |
| Al Espinosa | 70-72=142 | ||
| T3 | Bobby Jones (a) | 69-75=144 | E |
| Denny Shute | 73-71=144 | ||
| 5 | Tommy Armour | 74-71=145 | +1 |
| T6 | Leo Diegel | 74-74=148 | +4 |
| Leonard Schnutte | 73-75=148 | ||
| T8 | George Von Elm (a) | 79-70=149 | +5 |
| T9 | Wiffy Cox | 74-76=150 | +6 |
| Peter O'Hara | 74-76=150 | ||
| Craig Wood | 79-71=150 |
Source:[4]
Third round
Saturday, June 29, 1929 (morning)
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bobby Jones (a) | 69-75-71=215 | −1 |
| 2 | Gene Sarazen | 71-71-76=218 | +2 |
| 3 | Al Espinosa | 70-72-77=219 | +3 |
| 4 | Denny Shute | 73-71-76=220 | +4 |
| 5 | Tommy Armour | 74-71-76=221 | +5 |
| T6 | George Von Elm (a) | 79-70-74=223 | +7 |
| Peter O'Hara | 74-76-73=223 | ||
| T8 | Henry Ciuci | 78-74-72=224 | +8 |
| Leo Diegel | 74-74-76=224 | ||
| 10 | Horton Smith | 76-77-74=227 | +11 |
Final round
Saturday, June 29, 1929 (afternoon)
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Bobby Jones (a) | 69-75-71-79=294 | +6 | Playoff |
| Al Espinosa | 70-72-77-75=294 | |||
| T3 | Gene Sarazen | 71-71-76-78=296 | +8 | 700 |
| Denny Shute | 73-71-76-76=296 | |||
| T5 | Tommy Armour | 74-71-76-76=297 | +9 | 550 |
| George Von Elm (a) | 79-70-74-74=297 | 0 | ||
| 7 | Henry Ciuci | 78-74-72-75=299 | +11 | 450 |
| T8 | Leo Diegel | 74-74-76-77=301 | +13 | 300 |
| Peter O'Hara | 74-76-73-78=301 | |||
| 10 | Horton Smith | 76-77-74-75=302 | +14 | 150 |
- (a) denotes amateur
Scorecard
Final round
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Jones | −1 | E | −1 | −1 | −1 | −1 | −1 | +2 | +1 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +6 |
| Espinosa | +4 | +4 | +3 | +4 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +8 | +8 | +8 | +8 | +7 | +6 | +6 |
| Sarazen | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +5 | +7 | +7 | +7 | +7 | +7 | +7 | +7 | +8 | +7 | +8 | +8 |
| Shute | +6 | +7 | +7 | +7 | +8 | +7 | +7 | +7 | +6 | +7 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +7 | +7 | +7 | +8 |
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
Source:[6]
Playoff
Sunday, June 30, 1929
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bobby Jones (a) | 72-69=141 | −3 | 0 |
| 2 | Al Espinosa | 84-80=164 | +20 | 1,000 |
Source:[2]
Scorecards
Morning round
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Jones | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | E | −1 | E | −1 | +1 | E | E | E |
| Espinosa | E | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +5 | +5 | +8 | +8 | +8 | +8 | +9 | +11 | +12 |
Afternoon round
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Jones | E | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | E | E | E | E | E | −1 | −1 | −1 | −2 | −3 | −3 | −3 |
| Espinosa | +13 | +13 | +14 | +14 | +16 | +17 | +17 | +17 | +16 | +18 | +18 | +18 | +18 | +18 | +18 | +17 | +18 | +20 |
Cumulative playoff scores, relative to par
Birdie Bogey Double bogey Triple bogey+
Source:[2]
References
- "Sarazen and Espinosa tie with 142 in golf meet". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. June 28, 1929. p. 8.
- Trumball, Walter (July 1, 1929). "Jones wins U.S. Open title; overwhelms Espinosa". Milwaukee Journal. p. 6.
- "Jones' 69 leads U.S. Open; Al Espinosa 2d". Chicago Daily Tribune. June 28, 1929. p. 21.
- Pegler, Westbrook (June 29, 1929). "Sarazen and Espinosa tie for Open golf lead". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 17.
- Gould, Alan J. (June 30, 1929). "Jones, Espinosa tie for Open title with 294 score". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1-sports.
- Pegler, Westbrook (June 30, 1929). "Jones, Espinosa tie; title playoff today". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, part 2.
- Pegler, Westbrook (July 1, 1929). "Jones' 141 wins playoff for Open title". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 29.
- Johnson, E. Michael (July 15, 2008). "Why Winged Foot Is Special". Golf Digest. Archived from the original on October 25, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2020.