1899_U.S._Open_(golf)
1899 U.S. Open (golf)
Golf tournament
The 1899 U.S. Open was the fifth U.S. Open, held September 14–15 at Baltimore Country Club in Baltimore, Maryland.[1] Willie Smith won his only major title, a record eleven strokes ahead of three runners-up.[2][3]
On Thursday, Smith and future four-time champion Willie Anderson co-led with 77 in the morning and Anderson took the lead in the afternoon at 158, with Smith a stroke back.[4] In the third round on Friday morning, Anderson's 85 allowed Smith to take a four-stroke lead over Alex Campbell, and his 77 in the afternoon distanced him from the field; Campbell ballooned to 94 and fell to twelfth.
Playing out of Midlothian Country Club in Chicago,[2] Smith was the only player to record three sub-80 rounds, and did not score higher than a seven on any hole in the championship. Val Fitzjohn, George Low, and Bert Way tied for second, eleven strokes behind.[3][5] Smith's margin of victory was the largest in the U.S. Open for 101 years, until Tiger Woods won by fifteen shots in 2000. Smith's brother Alex, a future two-time champion, finished seventh.
Smith won a gold medal and was given custody of the Championship Cup for a year.[6]
