1908 U.S. Open (golf)

1908 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	August 27–29, 1908
Location	South Hamilton, Massachusetts
Course(s)	Myopia Hunt Club
Organized by	USGA
Format	Stroke play − 72 holes
Statistics
Field	84, 48 after cut
Cut	183
Winner's share	$300
Champion
Fred McLeod
322

Myopia  
Hunt Club

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Location in the United States

Myopia  
Hunt Club

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Location in Massachusetts

The 1908 U.S. Open was the fourteenth U.S. Open, held August 27–29 at Myopia Hunt Club in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, northeast of Boston. Fred McLeod defeated 1899 champion Willie Smith in an 18-hole playoff to win his only major title.

High winds on Thursday caused scores in the first two rounds to soar, with only two players managing to break 80. Willie Smith carded rounds of 77-82 for a three-stroke lead over Myopia club pro John Jones, with brother Alec Smith four back and Fred McLeod five behind.

On Friday, Smith struggled to an 85 in the third round in the morning but still held the lead by one over McLeod and two over Alex. In the final round that afternoon, McLeod tied for lowest score of the tournament by carding a 77, while Smith managed a 78 to force a playoff.

In the playoff on Saturday, McLeod and Smith were even through 13 holes, but McLeod took the lead at the 14th after Smith missed a par putt. McLeod dominated the rest of the way, going 1-under on the last five holes to shoot a 77 to Smith's 83. McLeod only broke 80 in one round of the tournament, while Smith and Gilbert Nicholls were the only players to shoot in the 70s twice. The winning score of 322 was the third-highest in U.S. Open history.

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, August 27, 1908 (morning)

Place	Player	Score
1	Willie Smith	77
2	Alex Smith	80
3	John Jones	81
T4	Jock Hutchison	82
	Fred McLeod
T6	Herbert Barker	84
	Richard Kimball
T8	Willie Anderson	85
	Laurie Auchterlonie
	Alex Campbell
	Tom McNamara

Source:

Second round

Thursday, August 27, 1908 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Score
1	Willie Smith	77-82=159
2	John Jones	81-81=162
3	Alex Smith	80-83=163
4	Fred McLeod	82-82=164
T5	Jock Hutchison	82-84=166
	Gilbert Nicholls	89-77=166
T7	Jack Hobens	86-81=167
	Tom McNamara	85-82=167
T9	Laurie Auchterlonie	85-83=168
	Alex Campbell	85-83=168

Source:

Third round

Friday, August 28, 1908 (morning)

Place	Player	Score
1	Willie Smith	77-82-85=244
2	Fred McLeod	82-82-81=245
3	Alex Smith	80-83-83=246
4	John Jones	81-81-87=249
5	Peter Robertson	89-84-77=250
T6	Willie Anderson	85-86-80=251
	Laurie Auchterlonie	85-83-83=251
8	Jack Hobens	86-81-85=252
T9	Jock Hutchison	82-84-87=253
	Richard Kimball	84-86-83=253
	Tom McNamara	85-82-86=253

Source:

Final round

Gallery following McLeod, likely at 1908 U.S. Open

Friday, August 28, 1908 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Score	Money ($)
T1	Fred McLeod	82-82-81-77=322	Playoff
	Willie Smith	77-82-85-78=322
3	Alex Smith	80-83-83-81=327	100
4	Willie Anderson	85-86-80-79=330	80
5	John Jones	81-81-87-82=331	70
T6	Jack Hobens	86-81-85-81=333	45
	Peter Robertson	89-84-77-83=333
T8	Percy Barrett	94-80-86-78=338	28
	Jock Hutchison	82-84-87-85=338
T10	Richard Kimball	84-86-83-86=339	0
	Tom McNamara	85-82-86-86=339

Source:

Amateurs: Travis (347), Hylan (356), J. Anderson (357).

Playoff

Saturday, August 29, 1908

Place	Player	Score	Money ($)
1	Fred McLeod	39-38=77	300
2	Willie Smith	38-45=83	150

Source:

External links

• USGA Championship Database