The 1926 U.S. Open was the 30th U.S. Open, held July 8–10 at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. Noted amateur Bobby Jones, winner of the British Open two weeks earlier, won the second of his four U.S. Opens, one stroke ahead of runner-up Joe Turnesa.

After rounds of 70-79-71, Jones was three strokes behind third round leader Turnesa, who unraveled on the last nine on Saturday afternoon, with five bogeys in six holes. He managed to birdie the final hole for a 77 and 294 total for solo second (and the winner's share of the purse). Jones got off to a slow start, with bogeys at three of his first five holes, then birdied the 7th and ran off a streak of nine consecutive fours. Needing a par on the par-5 18th to tie (and force a playoff round), Jones hit a tee shot, then followed with an approach to the green, leaving for eagle. Two-putting for birdie, Jones carded a one-over 73 to best Turnesa by a stroke. Bill Mehlhorn opened with 68 on Thursday, and led after both of the first two rounds, but was ten over par on Saturday and was four strokes back, in a four-way tie for third.

Jones became the first player to win the U.S. Open and British Open in the same year, and he won both again four years later in 1930, during his grand slam year. Later double Open winners were Gene Sarazen (1932), Ben Hogan (1953), Lee Trevino (1971), Tom Watson (1982), and Tiger Woods (2000). While Turnesa never won a major, he did finish second twice and his brother Jim won the PGA Championship in 1952. Another brother, Willie, won the U.S. Amateur twice and the British Amateur once. In total, eight Turnesa brothers played on the PGA Tour.

This was also the first year since 1919 that the tournament was extended to three days, because of the number of entries and the size of the gallery. The first two rounds were now played over two days, Thursday and Friday, with a 36-hole cut. The final two rounds continued to be played on one day, Saturday. This format continued through 1964, except for the following year in 1927, when it was held Tuesday through Thursday (with a Friday playoff). The final round in 1959 was on Sunday due to weather delays.

Scioto was only ten years old at the time, and its club pro was George Sargent, the 1909 champion, who did not compete. It later hosted the Ryder Cup in 1931 and the PGA Championship in 1950. Scioto is also noteworthy as the club where Jack Nicklaus learned to play as a youth in the 1950s, under the tutelage of Jack Grout.

Round summaries First round Thursday, July 8, 1926 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Bill Mehlhorn 68 −4T2 Bobby Jones (a) 70 −2 John Junor T4 Al Espinosa 71 −1 Joe Turnesa T6 J.G. Collins 72 E Pat Doyle Leo Diegel Willie Macfarlane Dan Williams Source:

Second round Friday, July 9, 1926 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Bill Mehlhorn 68-75=143 −12 Joe Turnesa 71-74=145 +1 3 Dan Williams 72-74=146 +2T4 Leo Diegel 72-76=148 +4 George McLean 74-74=148 T6 Jack Forrester 76-73=149 +5 Bobby Jones (a) 70-79=149T8 Al Espinosa 71-79=150 +6 Chick Evans (a) 75-75=150 Walter Hagen 73-77=150 John Junor 70-80=150 Willie Klein 76-74=150 Source:

Third round Saturday, July 10, 1926 (morning) PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Joe Turnesa 71-74-72=217 +1 2 Bill Mehlhorn 68-75-76=219 +3 3 Bobby Jones (a) 70-79-71=220 +4 4 Willie Hunter 75-77-69=221 +55 Leo Diegel 72-76-75=223 +7 T6 Johnny Farrell 76-79-69=224 +8 Walter Hagen 73-77-74=2248 Willie Klein 76-74-75=225 +9T9 Tommy Armour 76-76-74=226 +10 Macdonald Smith 82-76-68=226 Dan Williams 72-74-80=226 Source:

Final round Saturday, July 10, 1926 (afternoon) PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)1 Bobby Jones (a) 70-79-71-73=293 +5 02 Joe Turnesa 71-74-72-77=294 +6 500T3 Leo Diegel 72-76-75-74=297 +9 188 Johnny Farrell 76-79-69-73=297 Bill Mehlhorn 68-75-76-78=297 Gene Sarazen 78-77-72-70=2977 Walter Hagen 73-77-74-74=298 +10 908 Willie Hunter 75-77-69-79=300 +12 80T9 Tommy Armour 76-76-74-75=301 +13 68 Willie Klein 76-74-75-76=301 Macdonald Smith 82-76-68-75=301 Dan Williams 72-74-80-75=301 Source:

Amateurs: Jones (+5), Evans (+14), Johnston (+21), MacDonald (+22), Shute (+28), Westland (+28).

Scorecard Final round Hole123456789101112131415161718Par444345453 445434435 Jones +5+5+6+6+7+7+6+6+6+6+6+5+5+6+6+6+6+5 Turnesa +2+2+3+3+4+4+3+3+2+2+2+3+4+5+5+6+7+6 Melhorn +3+3+4+5+6+6+6+6+6+6+7+9+8+8+8+9+9+9 Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par Double Eagle -->EagleBirdieBogeyDouble bogeyTriple bogey+ Source:

References

External links USGA Championship Database USOpen.com - 1926