The 1947 U.S. Open was the 47th U.S. Open, held June 12–15 at St. Louis Country Club in Ladue, Missouri, a suburb west of St. Louis. Lew Worsham denied Sam Snead his elusive U.S. Open title by prevailing in an 18-hole playoff. For Snead, it was his second of four career runner-up finishes at the Open. In the third round, amateur Jim McHale Jr. tied the tournament record with a 65, and he established a new nine-hole record with a 30 on the front nine. That mark was equaled fifteen times before it was broken in 1995 by Neal Lancaster, who carded a 29 on the back nine in the final round. Worsham's win marked the 17th consecutive victory in a major championship for an American-born golfer. This remains the longest stretch ever for American golfers. A significant reason this occurred is because the British Open, which is usually won by international golfers, was cancelled for most of the 1940s due to World War II. The purse was $10,000 with a winner's share of $2,000 and $1,500 for the runner-up. In addition, both playoff participants received a $500 bonus.
Saturday, June 14, 1947 Worsham began the final round with a stroke lead over Snead and Bobby Locke. A front-nine 33 kept him in the lead, but after three bogeys on the back he had to settle for a 71 and a 282 total. Snead overcame two early bogeys with birdies at 5, 6, and 15. After a bogey at 17, Snead needed a birdie on the 72nd hole to tie Worsham and force a playoff the next day. His approach shot left him away, which he rolled in for final-round 70. Locke shot 73 to finish three strokes back, in a tie for third place.
Place
Player
Country
Score
To par
Money
T1
Lew Worsham
70-70-71-71=282
−2
Playoff
T1
Sam Snead
72-70-70-70=282
−2
Playoff
T3
Bobby Locke
68-74-70-73=285
+1
900
T3
Ed Oliver
73-70-71-71=285
+1
900
5
Bud Ward
69-72-73-73=287
+3
0
T6
Jim Ferrier
71-70-74-74=289
+5
400
T6
Vic Ghezzi
74-73-73-69=289
+5
400
T6
Leland Gibson
69-76-73-71=289
+5
400
T6
Ben Hogan
70-75-70-74=289
+5
400
T6
Johnny Palmer
72-70-75-72=289
+5
400
T6
Paul Runyan
71-74-72-72=289
+5
400
Source:
Playoff
Sunday, June 15, 1947 In the 18-hole playoff on Sunday morning, Snead led Worsham by two strokes with just three holes remaining. Worsham birdied the par-3 16th with a putt and Snead bogeyed 17 after he missed the fairway and overshot the green from the rough. The match was all-even at the tee of the 90th hole, a par-4 of. Both put lengthy drives in the fairway, and Snead's approach shot stopped pin-high and left of the hole. Worsham was long and lay feet past the cup on the apron of the green. His downhill chip hit the hole without dropping, and ended up away, leaving Snead his birdie putt for the win. Snead left it well short and as he prepared to hole out in continuation, Worsham called for an official to determine who was further away. With a tape measure, it was determined that it remained Snead's turn, who was visibly flustered with the unnecessary interruption and delay. Snead missed the putt. Worsham then rolled in his par-saving putt for a 69 and the title, which averted an additional 18-hole playoff in the afternoon.
