| 1947 U.S. Open | |
Lew Worsham defeated Sam Snead in an 18-hole playoff to win the 1947 U.S. Open. It was Worsham's only major, and Snead once again was denied in the only major championship he failed to win during his career.
This was the second of Worsham's six career PGA Tour wins, and it was the second of Snead's four career runner-up finishes in the U.S. Open.
That led to an 18-hole playoff the following day. Snead seemed in control of the playoff, leading his lesser-known foe by two strokes with three holes to play. But after a Worsham birdie and Snead bogey over the next two holes, they reached the 18th tied.
On the final green, both had lengthy putts. Worsham lagged his up close to the hole, then Snead did the same thing. Snead stepped in to finish off the short putt that remained, but Worsham stopped him. Worsham wanted to know who was away, and a rules official was called in to measure. It was determined that Snead was out by a very small margin.
Was it gamesmanship by Worsham, or just something that happened in the heat of the moment? No way to know, but when Snead finally stepped over the 2 1/2-foot putt, he missed. Worsham made, carding 69 to Snead's 70 to win the playoff and the 1947 U.S. Open.
In the second round, amateur James McHale shot 65 to tie the then-tournament scoring record, and he set a new U.S. Open record with a 30 over nine holes. That 9-hole record wasn't bettered until 1995.
1947 U.S. Open Golf Tournament Scores
Results from the 1947 U.S. Open golf tournament played at the par-71 St. Louis Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri (x-won playoff; a-amateur):
| x-Lew Worsham | 70-70-71-71--282 | $2,000 |
| Sam Snead | 72-70-70-70--282 | $1,500 |
| Bobby Locke | 68-74-70-73--285 | $900 |
| Ed "Porky" Oliver | 73-70-71-71--285 | $900 |
| a-Bud Ward | 69-72-73-73--287 | |
| Jim Ferrier | 71-70-74-74--289 | $400 |
| Vic Ghezzi | 74-73-73-69--289 | $400 |
| Leland Gibson | 69-76-73-71--289 | $400 |
| Ben Hogan | 70-75-70-74--289 | $400 |
| Johnny Palmer | 72-70-75-72--289 | $400 |
| Paul Runyan | 71-74-72-72--289 | $400 |
| Chick Harbert | 67-72-81-70--290 | $200 |
| Ed Furgol | 70-75-72-74--291 | $140 |
| Dutch Harrison | 76-72-70-73--291 | $140 |
| Dick Metz | 69-70-78-74--291 | $140 |
| Bill Nary | 77-71-70-73--291 | $140 |
| a-Frank Stranahan | 73-74-72-72--291 | |
| Harry Todd | 67-75-77-72--291 | $140 |
| Claude Harmon | 74-72-74-72--292 | $100 |
| Gene Kunes | 71-77-72-72--292 | $100 |
| George Payton | 71-75-75-71--292 | $100 |
| Alfred Smith | 70-73-76-73--292 | $100 |
| Sam Byrd | 72-74-70-77--293 | $100 |
| Joe Kirkwood Sr. | 72-73-70-78--293 | $100 |
| Lloyd Mangrum | 77-72-69-75--293 | $100 |
| James McHale Jr. | 79-72-65-77--293 | |
| Herman Barron | 74-71-75-74--294 | $100 |
| Billy Burke | 74-75-71-74--294 | $100 |
| Bob Hamilton | 75-71-75-74--295 | $100 |
| Henry Ransom | 67-74-79-75--295 | $100 |
| Fred Haas | 74-73-76-73--296 | $75 |
| Bob Kepler | 76-72-69-79--296 | $75 |
| Lawson Little | 75-73-75-73--296 | $75 |
| Toney Penna | 74-73-74-75--296 | $75 |
| Johnny Bulla | 74-77-73-73--297 | |
| Pete Cooper | 76-71-72-78--297 | |
| Lloyd Wadkins | 76-73-74-74--297 | |
| Herschel Spears | 73-75-75-75--298 | |
| Al Brosch | 73-73-76-78--300 | |
| Jimmy Demaret | 76-69-74-81--300 | |
| Dave Douglas | 71-80-76-73--300 | |
| Gene Sarazen | 72-75-74-79--300 | |
| Jimmy Thomson | 74-75-75-76--300 | |
| Jim Turnesa | 74-74-80-72--300 | |
| Patrick Abbott | 75-71-80-75--301 | |
| Frank Moore | 75-73-77-76--301 | |
| Harold West | 77-72-75-77--301 | |
| Mike DeMassey | 76-75-75-76--302 | |
| Art Doering | 73-76-77-76--302 | |
| Otto Greiner | 69-77-77-79--302 | |
| Skip Alexander | 75-76-78-74--303 | |
| Jack Grout | 71-80-78-74--303 | |
| a-Thomas Sheehan | 73-74-78-78--303 | |
| Ellsworth Vines | 76-74-74-79--303 | |
| Ralph Guldahl | 74-77-76-77--304 | |
| Toby Lyons | 77-74-76-77--304 | |
| John O'Donnell | 74-74-81-75--304 | |
| Herman Scharlau | 71-77-80-76--304 | |
| Fred Annon | 77-73-80-75--305 | |
| George Fazio | 76-75-74-80--305 | |
| a-Skee Riegel | 75-75-73-82--305 | |
| Mike Turnesa | 75-73-78-79--305 | |
| a-Jack Coyle | 76-75-76-80--307 | |
| a-Robert Cochran | 74-77-78-79--308 | |
| a-Robert Willits | 75-76-79-79--309 | |
| a-Felice Torza | 72-78-80-80--310 | |
| a-Frank Stafaci | 72-79-81-79--311 |
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