The 1951 U.S. Open was the 51st U.S. Open, held June 14–16 at the South Course of Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb northwest of Detroit. Ben Hogan won his second consecutive U.S. Open title, two strokes ahead of runner-up Clayton Heafner. Hogan missed the 1949 U.S. Open due to an automobile accident; this was his third title in his last three attempts.
The South Course, dubbed "The Monster," played exceptionally tough for the first three rounds. No player was able to break par the first two days, and Jimmy Demaret's 70 was the only score to equal par in Saturday morning's third round. Sam Snead owned the first round lead at 71 (+1), while Bobby Locke led after the second round at 144 (+4) and shared the lead with Demaret after the third at 218 (+8).
Two strokes back after a 71 in the third round on Saturday morning, Hogan played one of the finest rounds in U.S. Open history that afternoon. Even-par on the front nine, he birdied the 10th and 13th holes. After a bogey at 14, he responded with another birdie at 15. At the 72nd hole, Hogan hit his approach shot on the par-4 to and sank the birdie putt to post a 67 (−3), the lowest round of the week, one of two sub-par rounds for the round (and championship). His 287 (+7) was two ahead of Heafner, who shot 69, the only other round under 70. At the trophy presentation, Hogan uttered the famous quote: "I'm glad I brought this course—this monster—to its knees."
This was the first U.S. Open that was notably toughened up by the USGA with narrow fairways and deep rough, attributing to "The Monster" nickname. The course also underwent a redesign by Robert Trent Jones prior to the championship, modifying the original Donald Ross design.
The South Course previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1924 and 1937; the winning score in 1937 was 281, sixteen strokes less than in 1924. It later hosted in 1961, 1985, and 1996, and the PGA Championship in 1972, 1979, and 2008.
Since Hogan repeated as champion in 1951, only Curtis Strange (1988, 1989) and Brooks Koepka (2017, 2018) have won consecutive U.S. Open titles.
Course layout Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotalYards4405102004484373503814582163,4404484075661694473924051944593,4876,927Par453444443354453444343570
Round summaries First round Thursday, June 14, 1951 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Sam Snead 71 +1 T2 Al Besselink 72 +2 Clayton HeafnerT4 Sam Bernardi 73 +3 Al Brosch Sammy Byrd Dutch Harrison Charles Klein Bobby Locke Johnny Palmer Smiley Quick Paul Runyan Denny Shute Source:
Second round Friday, June 15, 1951 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Bobby Locke 73-71=144 +4 2 Dave Douglas 75-70=145 +5 3 Bo Wininger (a) 75-71=146 +6 T4 Al Brosch 73-74=147 +7 Clayton Heafner 72-75=147 Charles Klein 73-74=147 Paul Runyan 73-74=147 Lew Worsham 76-71=147T9 Julius Boros 74-74=148 +8 Jimmy Demaret 74-74=148 Fred Hawkins 76-72=148 George Kinsman 75-73=148 Henry Ransom 74-74=148 Earl Stewart 74-74=148 Craig Wood 76-72=148 Source:
Third round Saturday, June 16, 1951 (morning) PlacePlayerScoreTo parT1 Jimmy Demaret 74-74-70=218 +8 Bobby Locke 73-71-74=218T3 Julius Boros 74-74-71=219 +9 Paul Runyan 73-74-72=219T5 Dave Douglas 75-70-75=220 +10 Clayton Heafner 72-75-73=220 Ben Hogan 76-73-71=220 8 Al Besselink 72-77-72=221 +11 T9 Johnny Revolta 78-72-72=222 +12 Skee Riegel 75-76-71=222 Source:
Final round Saturday, June 16, 1951 (afternoon) PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)1 Ben Hogan 76-73-71-67=287 +7 4,0002 Clayton Heafner 72-75-73-69=289 +9 2,0003 Bobby Locke 73-71-74-73=291 +11 1,500T4 Julius Boros 74-74-71-74=293 +13 700 Lloyd Mangrum 75-74-74-70=293T6 Al Besselink 72-77-72-73=294 +14 387 Dave Douglas 75-70-75-74=294 Fred Hawkins 76-72-75-71=294 Paul Runyan 73-74-72-75=294T10 Al Brosch 73-74-76-72=295 +15 187 Smiley Quick 73-76-74-72=295 Skee Riegel 75-76-71-73=295 Sam Snead 71-78-72-74=295 Source:
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