1951 U.S. Open

1951 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	June 14–16, 1951
Location	Birmingham, Michigan
Course(s)	Oakland Hills Country Club
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	70
Length	6,927
Field	160, 55 after cut
Cut	152 (+12)
Winner's share	$4,000
Champion
Ben Hogan
287 (+7)

The 1951 U.S. Open was the 51st U.S. Open. The golf tournament was held June 14–16, 1951, at Oakland Hills Country Club in Birmingham, Michigan. Ben Hogan won his second consecutive, and third overall, U.S. Open title with a two-stroke victory over Clayton Heafner.

Oakland Hills, dubbed "The Monster," played exceptionally tough for the first three rounds. No player shot an under par round, and Jimmy Demaret's 70 in the third round was the only score to equal par. Sam Snead owned the first round lead after a 71, while Bobby Locke led after the second round and shared the lead with Demaret after the third. But in the final round, Ben Hogan played one of the finest rounds in tournament history. After making the turn in even-par 35, he birdied the 10th and 13th. After a bogey at 14, he responded with another birdie at 15. At the par-4 last, he hit his approach shot to 20-feet and holed the putt to post a 67, the lowest round of the week and just one of two under-par rounds in the tournament. Hogan's total of 287 was good enough for a two-stroke victory over Clayton Heafner, who shot the only other sub-70 round by recording a 69. At the trophy presentation, Hogan uttered the famous quote: "I'm glad I brought this course—this monster—to its knees."

Final leaderboard

#	Player	Country	Score	To par	Winnings ($)
1	Ben Hogan	United States	76-73-71-67=287	+7	4,000
2	Clayton Heafner	United States	72-75-73-69=289	+9	2,000
3	Bobby Locke	South Africa	73-71-74-73=291	+11	1,500
T4	Julius Boros	United States	74-74-71-74=293	+13	700
	Lloyd Mangrum	United States	75-74-74-70=293
T6	Al Besselink	United States	72-77-72-73=294	+14	387
	Dave Douglas	United States	75-70-75-74=294
	Fred Hawkins	United States	76-72-75-71=294
	Paul Runyan	United States	73-74-72-75=294
T10	Al Brosch	United States	73-74-76-72=295	+15	187
	Smiley Quick	United States	73-76-74-72=295
	Skee Riegel	United States	75-76-71-73=295
	Sam Snead	United States	71-78-72-74=295

External links

• 1951 U.S. Open
• USGA Championship Database