The 1934 U.S. Open was the 38th U.S. Open, held June 7–9 at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia. Olin Dutra won his only U.S. Open, a stroke ahead of runner-up Gene Sarazen on the East Course. Dutra overcame an eight-stroke deficit after 36 holes to win his second major title; he won the PGA Championship in 1932.

Bobby Cruickshank opened the tournament with a pair of 71s, and had a three-stroke lead over Sarazen at the midway point. Sarazen shot a 73 in the third round to take a one-shot lead over Cruickshank. In the final round on Saturday afternoon, however, both Sarazen and Cruickshank were surpassed by Dutra, who took the lead with birdies at the 10th and 15th holes. Sarazen recorded a triple bogey on the 11th hole, while Cruickshank bogeyed five of the final seven holes. Despite a pair of bogeys to finish the round, Dutra's 72 (+2) and total of 293 (+13) was enough to secure the victory.

Dutra's victory was especially remarkable, as he had fallen ill before the tournament and spent three days confined to his hotel room. He lost and could not practice for ten days. He was about to withdraw until his brother Mortie, who finished in 28th place, convinced him to play on. His 36-hole comeback from eight shots down was the largest in U.S. Open history until Arnold Palmer equaled it in 1960. From California, Dutra was the first U.S. Open champion born in the western United States.

Former caddies in Texas at the same course in Fort Worth, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson played in their first major championship, and both missed the cut, shooting 158 and 162, respectively. Lawson Little finished as low amateur in 25th place; he won the title six years later in 1940 as a professional.

Merion Golf Club was affiliated with the Merion Cricket Club until 1941. This was the first U.S. Open at Merion, which hosted its fifth in 2013, all on the East Course.

Course

East Course Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotalYards3605551955954254353603671853,4773353784001334433954452304583,2176,694 Par453544443364443444343470 Source:

Round summaries First round Thursday, June 7, 1934 PlacePlayerScoreTo parT1 Wiffy Cox 71 +1 Bobby Cruickshank Charles Lacey4 Gene Sarazen 73 +3 T5 Rodney Bliss 74 +4 Henry Ciuci Mortie Dutra Willie Goggin Paul Runyan Jimmy Thomson Horton Smith George Von Elm Source:

Second round Friday, June 8, 1934 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Bobby Cruickshank 71-71=142 +2 2 Gene Sarazen 73-72=145 +5 3 Wiffy Cox 71-75=146 +6 T4 Leo Diegel 76-71=147 +7 Rodney Bliss 74-73=147 Billy Burke 76-71=147 Horton Smith 74-73=147 T8 Henry Ciuci 74-74=148 +8 Joe Kirkwood 75-73=148 Macdonald Smith 75-73=148 Source:

Third round Saturday, June 9, 1934 (morning) PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Gene Sarazen 73-72-73=218 +8 2 Bobby Cruickshank 71-71-77=219 +9 3 Wiffy Cox 71-75-74=220 +10 T4 Olin Dutra 76-74-71=221 +11 Ralph Guldahl 78-73-70=221T6 Harry Cooper 76-74-74=224 +14 Billy Burke 76-71-77=224 T8 Leo Diegel 76-71-78=225 +15 Johnny Golden 75-76-74=225 T10 Al Espinosa 76-74-76=226 +16 Joe Kirkwood 75-73-78=226 Butch Krueger 76-75-75=226 Johnny Revolta 76-73-77=226 Macdonald Smith 75-73-78=226 Source:

Final round Saturday, June 9, 1934 (afternoon) PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)1 Olin Dutra 76-74-71-72=293 +13 1,0002 Gene Sarazen 73-72-73-76=294 +14 750T3 Harry Cooper 76-74-74-71=295 +15 400 Wiffy Cox 71-75-74-75=295 Bobby Cruickshank 71-71-77-76=295T6 Billy Burke 76-71-77-72=296 +16 300 Macdonald Smith 75-73-78-70=296T8 Tom Creavy 79-76-78-66=299 +19 116 Ralph Guldahl 78-73-70-78=299 Jimmy Hines 80-70-77-72=299 Johnny Revolta 76-73-77-73=299 Source:

Scorecard Hole123456789101112131415161718Par453544443 444344434 Dutra +11+11+11+11+11+12+12+12+13+12+12+12+12+12+11+11+12+13 Sarazen +8+8+9+9+9+9+9+10+10+10+13+13+12+13+13+13+13+14 Cruickshank +9+9+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+11+11+12+13+14+14+15 Cox +10+10+9+10+10+11+12+12+12+12+12+14+14+14+14+14+14+15 Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par {|class="wikitable" span = 50 style="font-size:85%; |- |style="background: Pink;" width=10| |Birdie |style="background: PaleGreen;" width=10| |Bogey |style="background: Green;" width=10| |Double bogey |style="background: Olive;" width=10| |Triple bogey+ |} Source:

References

External links USGA Championship Database USOpen.com - 1934 Trenham Golf History – 1934 U.S. Open USGA – Looking back: 1934 U.S. Open