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) PlacePlayerScore1 Willie Smith 772 Alex Smith 803 John Jones81 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) PlacePlayerScore1 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=166T7 Jack Hobens 86-81=167 Tom McNamara 85-82=167T9 Laurie Auchterlonie 85-83=168 Alex Campbell 85-83=168 Source:

Third round Friday, August 28, 1908 (morning) PlacePlayerScore1 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=250T6 Willie Anderson 85-86-80=251 Laurie Auchterlonie 85-83-83=2518 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

Friday, August 28, 1908 (afternoon) PlacePlayerScoreMoney ($)T1 Fred McLeod 82-82-81-77=322 Playoff Willie Smith 77-82-85-78=322 3 Alex Smith 80-83-83-81=327 1004 Willie Anderson 85-86-80-79=330 805 John Jones 81-81-87-82=331 70T6 Jack Hobens 86-81-85-81=333 45 Peter Robertson 89-84-77-83=333T8 Percy Barrett 94-80-86-78=338 28 Jock Hutchison 82-84-87-85=338T10 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 PlacePlayerScoreMoney ($)1 Fred McLeod 39-38=77 3002 Willie Smith 38-45=83 150 Source:

References

External links USGA Championship Database