The1956 U.S. Openwas the 56thU.S. Open,held June 14–16 at the East Course ofOak Hill Country ClubnearRochester, New York.Cary Middlecoffwon his second U.S. Open title, one stroke ahead of runners-upJulius BorosandBen Hogan,both former champions.[1][2][3][4]
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | June 14–16, 1956 |
| Location | Rochester, New York |
| Course(s) | Oak Hill Country Club East Course |
| Organized by | USGA |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 70 |
| Length | 6,902 yards (6,311 m)[1] |
| Field | 159 players, 51 after cut |
| Cut | 149 (+9) |
| Prize fund | $24,000 |
| Winner's share | $6,000 |
| Champion | |
 Cary Middlecoff | |
| 281 (+1) | |
Middlecoff began the final round with a two-stroke lead over Hogan,Ted Kroll,andWes Ellis.After an erratic finish where he bogeyed 16 and 17, he carded a third consecutive round of even-par 70 to post a 281 (+1) total and waited. Hogan, pursuing his record fifth U.S. Open, had a chance to tie Middlecoff but missed a 4-foot (1.2 m) par putt on the 17th to finish one back. Boros also had a chance to catch Middlecoff, but missed a 15-foot (4.5 m) birdie on the last and also finished a stroke behind. The last contender on the course, Kroll led by a stroke after a birdie at the 14th hole, but immediately followed it with a bogey and triple bogey and finished four strokes back.[1][4]
ReigningBritish OpenchampionPeter Thomsonmade a rare appearance in the United States and finished tied for fourth, his best finish at any othermajor.He was the 36-hole leader by a stroke over Hogan,[5][6]but fell back after a four-over 39 on the back nine in the third round.[7]Thomson won five British Opens, and his third consecutive (1954–56) came three weeks later atRoyal Liverpool.
Several future champions made their mark at this U.S. Open.Arnold Palmer,26, recorded the first of his thirteen top ten finishes at the U.S. Open, six strokes back in seventh place.Ken Venturicaptured low-amateurhonors in eighth place, two months after he lost a four-stroke lead atThe Masterswith an 80 in the final round.Billy Casper,24, made his major championship debut and finished 14th.
Defending championJack Fleck,who upset Hogan in a Sunday playoff theyear beforeatOlympic,shot 76-74 and missed the cut by a stroke.Jack Burke Jr.,winner of theMasterstwo months earlier, also missed with a 152.[6]
A record-setting 13,914 were in attendance for the final two rounds on Saturday.[1]
This was the first of three U.S. Opens at the East Course at Oak Hill;Lee Trevinowon in1968andCurtis Strangesuccessfully defended in1989.It also hosted thePGA Championshipin1980,2003,and2013,and theRyder Cupin1995.
Course layout
edit| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yards | 445 | 390 | 208 | 571 | 440 | 170 | 423 | 432 | 416 | 3,495 | 420 | 192 | 380 | 602 | 327 | 133 | 441 | 463 | 449 | 3,407 | 6,902 |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 35 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 35 | 70 |
Round summaries
editFirst round
editThursday, June 14, 1956
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob Rosburg |
68 | −2 |
| 2 |  Peter Thomson |
70 | E |
| T3 |  Errie Ball |
71 | +1 |
| Julius Boros
| |||
| Wes Ellis
| |||
| Doug Ford
| |||
| Ed Furgol
| |||
| Jay Hebert
| |||
| Cary Middlecoff
| |||
| T10 | Jerry Barber |
72 | +2 |
| Al Brosch
| |||
| Dave Douglas
| |||
| Fred Haas
| |||
| Dutch Harrison
| |||
| Ben Hogan
| |||
| Bill Hyndman(a)
| |||
| Ted Kroll
| |||
| Billy Maxwell
| |||
| Arnold Palmer
| |||
| Bud Taylor(a)
|
Source:[8]
Second round
editFriday, June 15, 1956
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Thomson |
70-69=139 | −1 |
| 2 | Ben Hogan |
72-68=140 | E |
| T3 | Jerry Barber |
72-69=141 | +1 |
| Wes Ellis |
71-70=141 | ||
| Ed Furgol |
71-70=141 | ||
| Cary Middlecoff |
71-70=141 | ||
| T7 | Julius Boros |
71-71=142 | +2 |
| Ted Kroll |
72-70=142 | ||
| Arnold Palmer |
72-70=142 | ||
| T10 | Fred Haas |
72-71=143 | +3 |
| Billy Maxwell |
72-71=143 | ||
| Bud Taylor(a) |
72-71=143 |
Amateurs:Taylor (+3),Ward(+7),Hyndman(+8),Patton(+8),Venturi(+8), Garrett (+9),Magee (+10), Ervasti (+11),Rodgers(+11), Simmons (+11), Dahlbender (+12), Holland (+12), Croonquist (+15), Shields (+16), Kuntz (+17), Moore Jr (+18), Aldrich (+19), Dixon (+20), Kelly (+23),Beman(+24), Myers (+25), Kleist (+27), Deal (+30), Watson (+34), Mandeville (+35), Brownell (WD).
Third round
editSaturday, June 16, 1956 (morning)
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cary Middlecoff |
71-70-70=211 | +1 |
| T2 | Wes Ellis |
71-70-71=212 | +2 |
| Ben Hogan |
72-68-72=212 | ||
| Ted Kroll |
72-70-70=212 | ||
| 5 | Julius Boros |
71-71-71=213 | +3 |
| T6 | Ed Furgol |
71-70-73=214 | +4 |
| Arnold Palmer |
72-70-72=214 | ||
| Peter Thomson |
70-69-75=214 | ||
| T9 | Jerry Barber |
72-69-74=215 | +5 |
| Fred Haas |
72-71-72=215 |
Final round
editSaturday, June 16, 1956 (afternoon)
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cary Middlecoff |
71-70-70-70=281 | +1 | 6,000 |
| T2 | Julius Boros |
71-71-71-69=282 | +2 | 2,650 |
| Ben Hogan |
72-68-72-70=282 | |||
| T4 | Ed Furgol |
71-70-73-71=285 | +5 | 1,033 |
| Ted Kroll |
72-70-70-73=285 | |||
| Peter Thomson |
70-69-75-71=285 | |||
| 7 | Arnold Palmer |
72-70-72-73=287 | +7 | 600 |
| 8 | Ken Venturi(a) |
77-71-68-73=289 | +9 | 0 |
| T9 | Jerry Barber |
72-69-74-75=290 | +10 | 416 |
| Wes Ellis |
71-70-71-78=290 | |||
| Doug Ford |
71-75-70-74=290 |
Amateurs:Venturi (+9), Patton (+12), Taylor (+18), Hyndman (+20), Ward (+25), Garrett (+29).
References
edit- ^abcd"Middlecoff wins US Open with 281".Milwaukee Journal.Associated Press. June 17, 1956. p. 1-sports.
- ^abcBartlett, Charles (June 17, 1956)."Middlecoff wins Open by stroke".Chicago Sunday Tribune.p. 1, sec. 2.
- ^Drum, Bob (June 17, 1956)."Middlecorr edges Hogan, Boros for Open title".Pittsburgh Press.p. 1, sec. 4.
- ^abcdWind, Herbert Warren(June 25, 1956)."The Chase of the Doc at Oak Hill".Sports Illustrated.p. 6.
- ^abBartlett, Charles (June 16, 1956)."Thomson leads Hogan by stroke in Open".Chicago Daily Tribune.p. 1, sec. 3.
- ^abc"Peter Thomson shoots 139, leads Open".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.June 16, 1956. p. 11.
- ^"US Open led by Middlecoff".Eugene Register-Guard.Associated Press. June 16, 1956. p. 10.
- ^Bartlett, Charles (June 15, 1956)."Rosburg scores 68 for lead in National Open".Chicago Daily Tribune.p. 1, sec. 4.
- ^ab"Middlecoff edges Hogan, Boros to win US Open golf".Montreal Gazette.Associated Press. June 18, 1956. p. 26.