The 1949 U.S. Open was the 49th U.S. Open, held June 9–11 at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois, a suburb northwest of Chicago. Cary Middlecoff won the first of his two U.S. Open titles, one stroke ahead of runners-up Clayton Heafner and Sam Snead. For Snead, it was the third of four second-place finishes at the only major championship he never won. Middlecoff, a dentist, won his second U.S. Open in 1956.
Middlecoff began the championship with a 75, but rebounded with scores of 67-69 in the next two rounds to take a one-shot lead over Buck White after 54 holes. In the final round, Middlecoff was paired with Heafner, and the two exchanged the lead several times during the round. Heafner went ahead by one after the 11th, then double-bogeyed 12 to give Middlecoff the lead. After a Heafner birdie at 13, the two were tied again. Heafner then bogeyed 14 to fall one behind, a deficit he would not be able to overcome after missing a 6-footer for birdie at 18 that would have forced a Sunday playoff. Snead also had a chance to force a playoff with a birdie at the last, but his approach shot missed the green and he could only save par.
Byron Nelson, the 1939 champion, came out of retirement but missed the cut. He played the U.S. Open six years later in 1955, then retired for good. Two-time champion Ralph Guldahl played in his final U.S. Open. Defending champion Ben Hogan missed the tournament after being severely injured in an automobile accident in February. He returned the following year and won three of the next four U.S. Opens.
This was the first U.S. Open at Medinah, which returned in 1975 and 1990, both ending in 18-hole playoffs. It later hosted the PGA Championship in 1999 and 2006, both won by Tiger Woods, and the Ryder Cup in 2012.
Round summaries First round Friday, June 9, 1949 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Les Kennedy 69 −2 T2 Herman Barron 70 −1 Al Brosch Charles Farlow Chick Harbert T6 Pete Cooper 71 E Bobby Cruickshank Ralph Guldahl Claude Harmon Johnny Palmer Bus Peele Lew Worsham Source:
Second round Saturday, June 10, 1949 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Al Brosch 70-71=141 −1 T2 Cary Middlecoff 75-67=142 E Buck White 74-68=142 T4 Claude Harmon 71-72=143 +1 Clayton Heafner 72-71=143 Les Kennedy 69-74=1437 Pete Cooper 71-73=144 +2 T8 Bob Harris 76-69=145 +3 Bobby Locke 74-71=145 Ellsworth Vines 73-72=145 Source:
Third round Saturday, June 11, 1949 (morning) PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Cary Middlecoff 75-67-69=211 −2 2 Buck White 74-68-70=212 −1T3 Al Brosch 70-71-73=214 +1 Clayton Heafner 72-71-71=214 5 Ellsworth Vines 73-72-71=216 +3T6 Dave Douglas 74-73-70=217 +4 Claude Harmon 71-72-74=217 Eric Monti 75-72-70=217 Sam Snead 73-73-71=217 Jim Turnesa 78-69-70=217 Source:
Final round Saturday, June 11, 1949 (afternoon) PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)1 Cary Middlecoff 75-67-69-75=286 +2 2,000T2 Clayton Heafner 72-71-71-73=287 +3 1,250 Sam Snead 73-73-71-70=287T4 Bobby Locke 74-71-73-71=289 +5 700 Jim Turnesa 78-69-70-72=289T6 Dave Douglas 74-73-70-73=290 +6 450 Buck White 74-68-70-78=290T8 Pete Cooper 71-73-74-73=291 +7 300 Claude Harmon 71-72-74-74=291 Johnny Palmer 71-75-72-73=291 Source:
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