1925 U.S. Open (golf)

1925 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	June 3–5, 1925
Location	Worcester, Massachusetts
Course(s)	Worcester Country Club
Organized by	USGA
Format	Stroke play− 72 holes
Statistics
Par	71
Length	6,430 yards (5,880 m)
Field	94
Cut	none
Winner's share	$500
Champion
Willie Macfarlane
291 (+7), playoff

Worcester

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Location in theUnited States

Worcester

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Location inMassachusetts

The1925 U.S. Openwas the 29thU.S. Open,held June 3–5 atWorcester Country ClubinWorcester, Massachusetts.Scottish proWillie Macfarlanewon the 36-hole playoff by one stroke on the final hole to secure his onlymajor championshipand denyBobby Joneshis second Open,which he won thefollowing year.

This was the last year that the first two rounds of the U.S. Open were played on the same day.Francis Ouimet,the1913champion, held the lead after the first round on Wednesday morning. Macfarlane tiedLeo Diegelfor the second round lead after a 67 that established a new tournament record.Macfarlane carded a 72 in the third round that gave him a one-stroke lead overJohnny Farrell.Macfarlane, however, struggled in the final round on Thursday afternoon on his way to a 78 and 291 total. That was still good enough to tie Jones, who shot 74 after a 70 in the morning. Farrell and Ouimet (who was playing in his final Open), shot 78 and 76, respectively, to finish a shot out of the playoff.

The 18-hole playoff on Friday morning ended in a tie, with both Macfarlane and Jones at 75. In the era beforesudden-death,another full round was required to break the tie, and it was held that afternoon. Jones took a four-stroke lead after nine, but Macfarlane managed to tie after recording birdies at 10 and 13, while Jones bogeyed 13. The match was still all square heading to the 18th tee. Macfarlane found the green on his approach while Jones hit into a bunker. After Jones failed to get up-and-down, Macfarlane two-putted for the title. Macfarlane was the first Scot to win the Open in fifteen years, sinceAlex Smithin1910.

During the first round, Jones was getting set to hit anironshot out of the rough on the 11th hole when he felt his club move the ball ever so slightly.No one else seemed to have seen this movement, but Jones called a penalty on himself. After officials were unable to confirm that the ball had actually moved, they allowed Jones to make his own ruling on whether or not he should be penalized. Jones said he was certain the ball had moved and penalized himself. The decision cost him the title, but forever added to Jones's legacy. Spectators praised him for his sportsmanship, but he would have none of it. He flatly replied, "You might as well praise me for not robbing a bank."Because there were so many players with a chance on the final nine of regulation and both playoff rounds were drama-filled, William D. Richardson ofThe New York Timescalled it "easily the greatest Open Championship of them all."

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, June 3, 1925 (morning)

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Francis Ouimet(a)	70	−1
T2	Johnny Farrell	71	E
	Jack Forrester
T4	Al Espinosa	72	+1
	Walter Hagen
	Willie Klein
	Gene Sarazen
T8	Tom Boyd	73	−1
	Leo Diegel
	Francis Gallett
	Macdonald Smith

Source:

Second round

Wednesday, June 3, 1925 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Leo Diegel	73-68=141	−1
	Willie Macfarlane	74-67=141
T3	Al Espinosa	72-71=143	+1
	Francis Gallet	73-70=143
	Francis Ouimet(a)	70-73=143
6	Gene Sarazen	72-72=144	+2
7	Johnny Farrell	71-74=145	+3
T8	Laurie Ayton, Snr	75-71=146	+4
	Mike Brady	74-72=146
T10	Jack Forrester	71-76=147	+5
	Bobby Jones(a)	77-70=147

Source:

Third round

Thursday, June 4, 1925 (morning)

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Willie Macfarlane	74-67-72=213	E
2	Johnny Farrell	71-74-69=214	+1
3	Francis Ouimet(a)	70-73-73=216	+3
T4	Al Espinosa	72-71-74=217	+4
	Bobby Jones(a)	77-70-70=217
6	Leo Diegel	73-68-77=218	+5
T7	Laurie Ayton, Snr	75-71-73=219	+6
	Walter Hagen	72-76-71=219
	Gene Sarazen	72-72-75=219
10	Mike Brady	74-72-74=220	+7

Source:

Final round

Thursday, June 4, 1925 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
T1	Willie Macfarlane	74-67-72-78=291	+7	Playoff
	Bobby Jones(a)	77-70-70-74=291
T3	Johnny Farrell	71-74-69-78=292	+8	300
	Francis Ouimet(a)	70-73-73-76=292		0
T5	Walter Hagen	72-76-71-74=293	+9	175
	Gene Sarazen	72-72-75-74=293
7	Mike Brady	74-72-74-74=294	+10	100
8	Leo Diegel	73-68-77-78=296	+12	90
T9	Laurie Ayton, Snr	75-71-73-78=297	+13	78
	Al Espinosa	72-71-74-80=297

Source:

Playoff

Friday, June 5, 1925

Player	Score	To par
Willie Macfarlane	75	+4
Bobby Jones(a)	75	+4

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	5	4	3	5	3	4	3	4	3	4	4	3	4	5	4	5	4
Macfarlane	E	+1	E	E	−1	−1	E	+1	+2	+2	+2	+3	+4	+4	+4	+4	+4	+4
Jones	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	+1	+3	+4	+4	+5	+5	+4	+4	+5	+4	+4

Source:

2nd playoff – (afternoon)

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Willie Macfarlane	72	+1	500
2	Bobby Jones(a)	73	+2	0

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	5	4	3	5	3	4	3	4	3	4	4	3	4	5	4	5	4
Macfarlane	E	E	E	+1	+1	+2	+2	+3	+4	+3	+3	+3	+2	+2	+2	+2	+1	+1
Jones	E	E	E	E	−1	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	+1	+1	+2	+2	+1	+2

Eagle

Birdie

Bogey

Double bogey

Triple bogey+

Source:

External links

• USGA Championship Database
• USOpen - 1925