| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | October 10–11, 1902 | 
| Location | Garden City, New York | 
| Course(s) | Garden City Golf Club | 
| Organized by | USGA | 
| Format | Stroke play − 72 holes | 
| Statistics | |
| Field | 83 | 
| Cut | none | 
| Winner's share | $200 | 
| Champion | |
|  Laurie Auchterlonie | |
| 307 | |




The 1902 U.S. Open was the eighth U.S. Open, held October 10–11 at Garden City Golf Club in Garden City, New York, on Long Island, east of New York City.[1] Laurie Auchterlonie established a new 72-hole U.S. Open scoring record to win his only major title, six strokes ahead of Stewart Gardner and amateur Walter Travis.[2][3][4]
Auchterlonie posted rounds of 78-78-74-77 and became the first in U.S. Open history to card four sub-80 rounds. His 307 total was six shots better than the previous championship record, set by Harry Vardon in 1900.[4]
Clear skies greeted the field on Friday for the first two rounds.[5] The weather worsened on Saturday, with cloudy skies in the morning and a pouring rain in the afternoon. The adverse playing conditions didn't seem to affect the scoring; in fact many players played well in the final round in the rain. John Shippen, playing out of Marine Field Club in New York, became the first American-born player to finish in the money in a U.S. Open.[6]
The improvement in scores were in large part due to the introduction of the Haskell golf ball, which soon replaced the gutta-percha ball as the prominent golf ball in use.
Round summaries
First round
Friday, October 10, 1902 (morning)
| Place | Player | Score | 
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jack Campbell | 77 | 
| 2 |  Laurie Auchterlonie | 78 | 
| T3 |  Willie Anderson | 79 | 
|  Arthur Griffiths | ||
|  Jack Park | ||
|  Alex Smith | ||
|  Harry Turpie | ||
| T8 |  David Brown | 80 | 
|  Donald Ross | ||
|  Charles Thorn | 
Second round
Friday, October 10, 1902 (afternoon)
| Place | Player | Score | 
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Laurie Auchterlonie | 78-78=156 | 
| 2 |  Stewart Gardner | 82-76=158 | 
| 3 |  Alex Ross | 80-83=160 | 
| T4 |  Willie Anderson | 79-82=161 | 
|  Willie Smith | 82-79=161 | |
| 6 |  Charles Thorn | 80-82=162 | 
| 7 |  Donald Ross | 80-83=163 | 
| T8 |  David Hunter[7] | 83-81=164 | 
| .svg.png.webp) John Shippen | 83-81=164 | |
| .svg.png.webp) Walter Travis (a) | 82-82=164 | |
|  Harry Turpie | 79-85=164 | 
Third round
Saturday, October 11, 1902 (morning)
| Place | Player | Score | 
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Laurie Auchterlonie | 78-78-74=230 | 
| 2 |  Stewart Gardner | 82-76-77=235 | 
| 3 |  Willie Anderson | 79-82-76=237 | 
| T4 | .svg.png.webp) John Shippen | 83-81-75=239 | 
| .svg.png.webp) Walter Travis (a) | 82-82-75=239 | |
| T6 |  Donald Ross | 80-83-78=241 | 
|  Willie Smith | 82-79-80=241 | |
| T8 |  Jack Campbell | 77-87-79=243 | 
|  Charles Thorn | 80-82-80=242 | |
|  Harry Turpie | 79-85-78=242 | 
Final round
Saturday, October 11, 1902 (afternoon)
| Place | Player | Score | Money ($) | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Laurie Auchterlonie | 78-78-74-77=307 | 200 | 
| T2 |  Stewart Gardner | 82-76-77-78=313 | 150 | 
| .svg.png.webp) Walter Travis (a) | 82-82-75-74=313 | 0 | |
| 4 |  Willie Smith | 82-79-80-75=316 | 125 | 
| T5 |  Willie Anderson | 79-82-76-81=318 | 90 | 
| .svg.png.webp) John Shippen | 83-81-75-79=318 | ||
| 7 |  Charles Thorn | 80-82-80-77=319 | 70 | 
| 8 |  Harry Turpie | 79-85-78-78=320 | 50 | 
| 9 |  Donald Ross | 80-83-78-81=322 | 40 | 
| 10 |  Alex Ross | 83-77-84-79=323 | 30 | 
Amateurs: Travis (313), Murphy (341), Watson (345), Livingston (348), Seeley (353),
                 Lockwood (356), Macdonald (357), Croker (360).
References
- ↑ "Pros to tee off today". Chicago Daily Tribune. October 10, 1902. p. 7.
- 1 2 3 "Auchterlonie is Open champion". Chicago Sunday Tribune. October 12, 1902. p. 1, sec. 2.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Brenner, Morgan G. (2009). The Majors of Golf: Complete Results of The Open, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters, 1860-2008. pp. 204–5. ISBN 9780786453955. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- 1 2 "Auchterlonie Wins Open Championship at Garden City – Travis Ties for Second Place". The Fitchburg Sentinel. Fitchburg, Massachusetts. October 13, 1902. p. 1.
- 1 2 3 "Best score by Glen View pro". Chicago Daily Tribune. October 11, 1902. p. 6.
- ↑ "Open Golf Champion". The Saint Paul Globe. Minnesota. October 12, 1902. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
- ↑ "Antique Golf Clubs from Scotland: Clubmakers".