The 1902 U.S. Open was the eighth U.S. Open, held October 10–11 at Garden City Golf Club in Garden City, New York, on Long Island, east of New York City. Laurie Auchterlonie established a new 72-hole U.S. Open scoring record to win his only major title, six strokes ahead of Stewart Gardner and amateur Walter Travis.
Auchterlonie posted rounds of 78-78-74-77 and became the first in U.S. Open history to card four sub-80 rounds. His 307 total was six shots better than the previous championship record, set by Harry Vardon in 1900.
Clear skies greeted the field on Friday for the first two rounds. The weather worsened on Saturday, with cloudy skies in the morning and a pouring rain in the afternoon. The adverse playing conditions didn't seem to affect the scoring; in fact many players played well in the final round in the rain. John Shippen, playing out of Marine Field Club in New York, became the first American-born player to finish in the money in a U.S. Open.
The improvement in scores were in large part due to the introduction of the Haskell golf ball, which soon replaced the gutta-percha ball as the prominent golf ball in use.
Round summaries First round Friday, October 10, 1902 (morning) PlacePlayerScore1 Jack Campbell 772 Laurie Auchterlonie 78 T3 Willie Anderson 79 Arthur Griffiths Jack Park Alex Smith Harry Turpie T8 David Brown 80 Donald Ross Charles Thorn Source:
Second round Friday, October 10, 1902 (afternoon) PlacePlayerScore1 Laurie Auchterlonie 78-78=156 2 Stewart Gardner 82-76=1583 Alex Ross 80-83=160T4 Willie Anderson 79-82=161 Willie Smith 82-79=1616 Charles Thorn 80-82=1627 Donald Ross 80-83=163T8 David Hunter 83-81=164 John Shippen 83-81=164 Walter Travis (a) 82-82=164 Harry Turpie 79-85=164 Source:
Third round Saturday, October 11, 1902 (morning) PlacePlayerScore1 Laurie Auchterlonie 78-78-74=230 2 Stewart Gardner 82-76-77=235 3 Willie Anderson 79-82-76=237T4 John Shippen 83-81-75=239 Walter Travis (a) 82-82-75=239T6 Donald Ross 80-83-78=241 Willie Smith 82-79-80=241T8 Jack Campbell 77-87-79=243 Charles Thorn 80-82-80=242 Harry Turpie 79-85-78=242 Source:
Final round Saturday, October 11, 1902 (afternoon) PlacePlayerScoreMoney ($)1 Laurie Auchterlonie 78-78-74-77=307 200T2 Stewart Gardner 82-76-77-78=313 150 Walter Travis (a) 82-82-75-74=313 04 Willie Smith 82-79-80-75=316 125T5 Willie Anderson 79-82-76-81=318 90 John Shippen 83-81-75-79=3187 Charles Thorn 80-82-80-77=319 708 Harry Turpie 79-85-78-78=320 509 Donald Ross 80-83-78-81=322 4010 Alex Ross 83-77-84-79=323 30 Source:
Amateurs: Travis (313), Murphy (341), Watson (345), Livingston (348), Seeley (353),Lockwood (356), Macdonald (357), Croker (360).
References
External links USGA Championship Database