1915 U.S. Open (golf)

The 1915 U.S. Open was the 21st U.S. Open, held June 17–18 at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey, west of New York City. Four-time U.S. Amateur champion Jerome Travers captured his only U.S. Open title, one stroke ahead of runner-up Tom McNamara.^[1] The championship was played on the original course at Baltusrol, now known as the Old Course, which no longer exists.

1915 U.S. Open

Travers with the winner's cup
Tournament information
Dates	June 17−18, 1915
Location	Springfield, New Jersey
Course(s)	Baltusrol Golf Club Old Course (no longer exists)
Organized by	USGA
Format	Stroke play − 72 holes
Statistics
Par	74
Length	6,212 yards (5,680 m)[1]
Field	66 players
Winner's share	($300)
Champion
Jerome Travers (a)
297 (+1)
← 1914 1916 →

Baltusrol 

Location in the United States

Baltusrol 

Location in New Jersey

Walter Hagen

Mike Brady

Tom McNamara

Future U.S. Open champions Jim Barnes and Chick Evans shared the first round lead, with Travers five behind. After a 72 in the second round, Travers pulled to within two-shots of leaders Barnes and Louis Tellier.^[2]

Travers took the lead in the third round with a 73, a shot ahead of Barnes, Tellier, Bob MacDonald, and Mike Brady, with McNamara two behind. MacDonald shot a 78 in the final round to finish in third, while Barnes and Tellier both shot 79 to finish in fourth. McNamara posted a 75 to total 298 as Travers made the turn at 39, and needed a 37 on the back-nine to win the title. His drive at the 10th went out of bounds, while his second shot found the rough. His third shot cleared the water surrounding the green and settled less than three feet (0.9 m) from the hole. He managed to save par with a 15-footer (4.5 m) at the 11th, three-putted for bogey at the 12th, but then made a birdie at 15. Pars over the final three holes saw him finish with a 76 and a 297 total.^[3]

Shortly after this win, Travers announced his retirement from competitive golf and never played in the U.S. Open again.

Defending champion Walter Hagen finished nine strokes back, in a tie for tenth place.

The Old Course at Baltusrol was plowed under three years later in 1918 by course architect A. W. Tillinghast to create the Upper and Lower Courses.

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 17, 1915 (morning)

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Jim Barnes	71	−3
	Chick Evans (a)
3	Bob MacDonald	72	−2
T4	Jock Hutchison	74	E
	Fred McLeod
T6	Davis Ogilvie	75	+1
	George Sargent
	Louis Tellier
T9	Mike Brady	76	+2
	Alex Campbell
	Joe Mitchell
	Jerome Travers (a)

Source:^[2]

Second round

Thursday, June 17, 1915 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Jim Barnes	71-75=146	−2
	Louis Tellier	75-71=146
3	Mike Brady	76-71=147	−1
4	Jerome Travers (a)	76-72=148	E
T5	Bob MacDonald	72-77=149	+1
	Tom McNamara	78-71=149
7	Fred McLeod	74-76=150	+2
T8	Walter Hagen	78-73=151	+3
	Alex Campbell	76-75=151
T10	Chick Evans (a)	71-81=152	+4
	George Low	78-74=152
	George Sargent	75-77=152

Source:^[2]

Third round

Friday, June 18, 1915 (morning)

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Jerome Travers (a)	76-72-73=221	−1
T2	Mike Brady	76-71-75=222	E
	Bob MacDonald	72-77-73=222
	Louis Tellier	75-71-76=222
5	Tom McNamara	78-71-74=223	+1
T6	Jim Barnes	71-75-79=225	+3
	Alex Campbell	76-75-74=225
8	Fred McLeod	74-76-76=226	+4
9	Walter Hagen	78-73-76=227	+5
10	George Low	78-74-76=228	+6

Source:^[3]

Final round

Friday, June 18, 1915 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Jerome Travers (a)	76-72-73-76=297	+1	0
2	Tom McNamara	78-71-74-75=298	+2	300
3	Bob MacDonald	72-77-73-78=300	+4	150
T4	Jim Barnes	71-75-79-76=301	+5	90
	Louis Tellier	75-71-76-79=301
6	Mike Brady	76-71-75-80=302	+6	70
7	George Low	78-74-76-75=303	+7	60
T8	Jock Hutchison	74-79-76-76=305	+9	45
	Fred McLeod	74-76-76-79=305
T10	Alex Campbell	76-75-74-81=306	+10	6
	Emmet French	77-79-75-75=306
	Walter Hagen	78-73-76-79=306
	Tom Kerrigan	78-75-76-77=306
	Gilbert Nicholls	78-81-73-74=306
	Jack Park	77-77-75-77=306
	Wilfrid Reid	77-78-75-76=306
	George Sargent	75-77-79-75=306

Source:^[3]

Amateurs: Travers (+1), Evans (+11), Stone (+12), Ouimet (+21).

References

1. Hinckley, Rockwell (June 19, 1915). "Golf". Milwaukee Journal. p. 6.
2. Smith, Harry C. (June 18, 1915). "Eastern pros tie for lead in golf meet". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 12.
3. Smith, Harry C. (June 19, 1915). "Travers wins golf classic at Baltusrol". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 10.

External links

• USGA Championship Database
• USOpen.com - 1915

40.705°N 74.328°W / 40.705; -74.328