The 1941 U.S. Open was the 45th U.S. Open, held June 5–7 at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Craig Wood, who had lost in a playoff at the U.S. Open two years earlier, finally broke through and claimed his first U.S. Open title, three strokes ahead of runner-up Denny Shute in sweltering heat. Eight years earlier, Shute had defeated him in a playoff at the 1933 British Open.
Wood opened the tournament with a 73 in the first round and followed that up with a 71 in the rain-delayed second. Part of a four-way tie for the lead after 36 holes, Wood shot a pair of 70s in the final two rounds, capped by a birdie on the 72nd, to post a 284 total. Only Fort Worth's Ben Hogan managed better than Wood in the final two rounds, but he finished five behind in a tie for third. Denny Shute shot a 287 total to finish three strokes behind Wood in second.
Wood, age 39, was almost forced to miss the tournament due to a nagging back injury he aggravated two weeks earlier. After recording a double-bogey 7 on his first hole of the championship, he considered withdrawing but was convinced to continue by playing partner Tommy Armour. With his win here, Wood became the first to win the first two majors in a season; he won the Masters two months earlier. Prior to 1941, he had several near misses, and had lost all four majors in extra holes.
Tyrrell Garth, a month shy of his 16th birthday, established a new tournament record for youngest competitor. He shot an 80 in the first round and withdrew during the second; his record stood for 65 years, until 2006 (Tadd Fujikawa).
This was the last U.S. Open played for five years, until 1946, due to World War II. Colonial has hosted an annual PGA Tour event since 1946, now known as the Fort Worth Invitational.
Course layout
Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotalYards5693954682504693954181983433,5054035934001924554472074064273,5307,035 Par544344434354543443443570 Source:
Round summaries First round Thursday, June 5, 1941 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Denny Shute 69 −1T2 Vic Ghezzi 70 E Dutch Harrison T4 Gene Kunes 71 +1 Lawson Little Jug McSpaden Dick Metz Jack Ryan T9 Clayton Heafner 72 +2 Bill Kaiser Ted Kroll Johnny Morris Henry Ransom Harry Todd (a) Bunny Torpey Source:
Second round Friday, June 6, 1941
Thunderstorms caused delays in the morning and afternoon, but only a few players did not complete the second round on Friday. PlacePlayerScoreTo parT1 Clayton Heafner 72-72=144 +4 Lawson Little 71-73=144 Denny Shute 69-75=144 Craig Wood 73-71=144 T5 Dick Metz 71-74=145 +5 Paul Runyan 73-72=145 T7 Herman Barron 75-71=146 +6 Johnny Bulla 75-71=146 Harold McSpaden 71-75=146 Byron Nelson 73-73=146 Henry Ransom 72-74=146 Sam Snead 76-70=146 Source:
Third round Saturday, June 7, 1941 (morning) PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Craig Wood 73-71-70=214 +4T2 Paul Runyan 73-72-71=216 +6 Denny Shute 69-75-72=216 4 Johnny Bulla 75-71-72=218 +8 T5 Ben Hogan 74-77-68=219 +9 Lloyd Mangrum 73-74-72=219 Gene Sarazen 74-73-72=219T8 Herman Barron 75-71-74=220 +10 Jug McSpaden 71-75-74=220 Byron Nelson 73-73-74=220 Source:
Final round Saturday, June 7, 1941 (afternoon) PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)1 Craig Wood 73-71-70-70=284 +4 1,0002 Denny Shute 69-75-72-71=287 +7 800T3 Johnny Bulla 75-71-72-71=289 +9 650 Ben Hogan 74-77-68-70=289T5 Herman Barron 75-71-74-71=291 +11 413 Paul Runyan 73-72-71-75=291T7 Dutch Harrison 70-82-71-71=294 +14 216 Jug McSpaden 71-75-74-74=294 Gene Sarazen 74-73-72-75=294T10 Ed Dudley 74-74-74-73=295 +15 125 Lloyd Mangrum 73-74-72-76=295 Dick Metz 71-74-76-74=295 Source:
References
External links
USGA Championship Database
2015 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Media Guide (page 77)