| 1910 U.S. Open | |
| Dates: | June 17–20, 1910 |
| Location: | Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Course: | Philadelphia Cricket Club |
| Org: | USGA |
| Format: | Stroke play − 72 holes |
| Par: | 73 |
| Field: | 73, 52 after cut |
| Cut: | 167 (+21) |
| Winners Share: | $300 |
| Champion: | Alex Smith |
| Score: | 298 (+6) |
| Previous: | 1909 |
| Next: | 1911 |
The 1910 U.S. Open was the sixteenth U.S. Open, held June 17–20 at Philadelphia Cricket Club in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, a neighborhood of northwest Philadelphia. Alex Smith, the champion four years earlier, prevailed in an 18-hole playoff over his younger brother Macdonald Smith and 18-year-old John McDermott to win his second U.S. Open.[1] [2]
On Friday, Alex Smith opened with a pair of 73's to take the 36-hole lead by two shots ahead of McDermott, Gilbert Nicholls, Fred McLeod, and Tom Anderson.[3]
Smith carded a 79 in the third round on Saturday morning that left him two behind McDermott, who shot a 75 for 223. In the final round that afternoon, McDermott was the first to finish and posted another 75 and a 298 total. Macdonald Smith shot 71 that also placed him at 298. McLeod had a chance to also post 298 after driving the final hole, but his putt for a two stayed out and he finished a shot back. Alex Smith also drove the green at the last needing only a two-putt to win, but he missed from 18 inches (45 cm) and tied with McDermott and his brother.[4] Alex was not fazed by the near-miss; in the Monday playoff, his 71 beat McDermott by four and Macdonald by six.
McDermott won the next two U.S. Opens; he was the first American-born winner and remains the youngest champion (19) through 2016. Four-time champion Willie Anderson played in his final U.S. Open and finished eleventh; he died four months later of epilepsy at age 31.
The course also hosted in 1907 and is the present-day St. Martin's course, now nine holes.[5]
Friday, June 17, 1910 (morning)
| Place | Player | Score | To par | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 72 | −1 | ||||
| align=center rowspan=3 | T2 | align=center rowspan=3 | 73 | align=center rowspan=3 | E | |
| T5 | align=center rowspan=4 | 74 | align=center rowspan=4 | +1 | ||
| James R. Thomson | ||||||
| align=center rowspan=2 | T9 | align=center rowspan=2 | 75 | align=center rowspan=2 | +2 | |
Friday, June 17, 1910 (afternoon)
| Place | Player | Score | To par | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 73-73=146 | E | ||
| align=center rowspan=4 | T2 | 72-76=148 | +2 | |
| 74-74=148 | ||||
| Fred McLeod | 78-70=148 | |||
| 73-75=148 | ||||
| align=center rowspan=2 | T6 | 74-77=151 | +5 | |
| 73-78=151 | ||||
| T8 | 74-78=152 | +9 | ||
| 75-77=152 | ||||
| 74-78=152 | ||||
| Chay Thom | 80-72=152 |
Saturday, June 18, 1910 (morning)
| Place | Player | Score | To par | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 74-74-75=223 | +4 | ||
| 2 | 73-78-73=224 | +5 | ||
| align=center rowspan=3 | T3 | 74-77-74=225 | +6 | |
| Gilbert Nicholls | 73-75-77=225 | |||
| 73-73-79=225 | ||||
| 6 | Fred McLeod | 78-70-78=226 | +7 | |
| align=center rowspan=2 | T7 | Tom Bonnar | 74-78-75=227 | +8 |
| 74-78-75=227 | ||||
| T9 | 74-78-76=228 | +9 | ||
| 77-76-75=228 |
Saturday, June 18, 1910 (afternoon)
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=center rowspan=3 | T1 | 73-73-79-73=298 | +6 | align=center rowspan=3 | Playoff | |
| 74-74-75-75=298 | ||||||
| 74-78-75-71=298 | ||||||
| 4 | Fred McLeod | 78-70-78-73=299 | +7 | 80 | ||
| T5 | 73-78-73-76=300 | +8 | 65 | |||
| Gilbert Nicholls | 73-75-77-75=300 | |||||
| 7 | 74-77-74-76=301 | +9 | 50 | |||
| T8 | Tom Anderson | 72-76-81-73=302 | +10 | 30 | ||
| 75-78-77-72=302 | ||||||
| 77-76-75-74=302 |
Monday, June 20, 1910
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Smith | 71 | −2 | 300 | |
| 2 | 75 | +2 | 150 | ||
| 3 | 77 | +4 | 100 |