The 1924 U.S. Open was the 28th U.S. Open, held June 5–6 at Oakland Hills Country Club in Birmingham, Michigan, a suburb northwest of Detroit. Cyril Walker, a relatively unknown Englishman, won his only major title at the South Course, three strokes ahead of runner-up Bobby Jones, the defending champion.

After the first two rounds of play on Thursday, Jones shared the lead with Bill Mehlhorn, with Walker a shot back. Walker shot a third consecutive 74 in the third round to tie Jones after 54 holes, with Mehlhorn one back. Jones and Mehlhorn, playing ahead of Walker in the final round, both played poorly, each carding 78. Leading by three on the 15th, Walker made bogey but then responded with a birdie on 16. He parred the final two holes to secure the championship.

This was the high point of Walker's golf career. He never won another significant title, and it was his only top ten finish in the U.S. Open; his next best finish in a major was the semifinals of the PGA Championship in 1921. A heavy drinker, Walker wound up working as a caddy and a dishwasher; unable to afford a room, he died in a New Jersey jail cell of pneumonia in 1948 at age 56.

This was the first of nine major championships held at the South Course through 2017; six U.S. Opens and three PGA Championships.

Course layout

South Course Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal Yards4364901984184073533844502373,4034504035521424614123841914763,4716,874Par453444443354453544353772 Source:

Round summaries First round Thursday, June 5, 1924 (morning) PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Bill Mehlhorn 72 E T2 Eddie Loos 73 +1 Dave Robertson T4 Bobby Jones (a) 74 +2 Gene Sarazen Herbert Lagerblade Cyril Walker T8 Mike Brady 75 +3 Johnny Golden Walter Hagen Willie Ogg Source:

Second round Thursday, June 5, 1924 (afternoon) PlacePlayerScoreTo parT1 Bobby Jones (a) 74-73=147 +3 Bill Mehlhorn 72-75=147 3 Cyril Walker 74-74=148 +4 T4 Bobby Cruickshank 77-72=149 +5 Dave Robertson 73-76=149T6 Walter Hagen 75-75=150 +6 Macdonald SmithAccording to his naturalization certificate (available at Ancestry.com) Smith became a U.S. citizen in 1923 78-72=150 8 Abe Espinosa 80-71=151 +7 T9 Mike Brady 75-77=152 +8 Tom Kerrigan 75-77=152 Source:

Third round Friday, June 6, 1924 (morning) PlacePlayerScoreTo parT1 Bobby Jones (a) 74-73-75=222 +6 Cyril Walker 74-74-74=222 3 Bill Mehlhorn 72-75-76=223 +7 4 Bobby Cruickshank 77-72-76=225 +9 T5 Walter Hagen 75-75-76=226 +10 Dave Robertson 73-76-77=2267 Macdonald Smith 78-72-77=227 +11T8 Abe Espinosa 80-71-77=228 +12 Tommy Armour 77-76-75=228T10 Peter O'Hara 76-79-74=229 +13 Mike Brady 75-77-77=229 Eddie Loos 73-81-75=229 Source:

Final round Friday, June 6, 1924 (afternoon) PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)1 Cyril Walker 74-74-74-75=297 +9 5002 Bobby Jones (a) 74-73-75-78=300 +12 03 Bill Mehlhorn 72-75-76-78=301 +13 300T4 Bobby Cruickshank 77-72-76-78=303 +15 150 Walter Hagen 75-75-76-77=303 Macdonald Smith 78-72-77-76=303T7 Abe Espinosa 80-71-77-77=305 +17 85 Peter O'Hara 76-79-74-76=3059 Mike Brady 75-77-77-77=306 +18 75T10 Chick Evans (a) 77-77-76-77=307 +19 0 Eddie Loos 73-81-75-78=307 63 Dave Robertson 73-76-77-81=307 Source:

Amateurs: Jones (+12), Evans (+19), Guilford (+29), Sweet (+55).

References

External links USGA Championship Database USOpen.com - 1924