The 35th U.S. Open Championship Programme
Inverness Club: U.S.G.A., 1931. 96p. Illustrated from photographs, drawings, course maps (one for each hole and a full-page of the entire course) and ads, including pages "Former National Open Champions" with photos of Bobby Jones featured, colour pictorial wrappers.
First US Open to be won with steel shafts.
In 1931, Inverness Club hosted the U.S. Open for the second time. Once again, Inverness played a significant role in the history of championship golf. This championship featured many firsts, and an important last. The 1931 U.S. Open was the first to be won by a player using steel shafted clubs. It was the first to be nationally broadcast – on radio, of course. Also, the "American" golf ball, measuring 1.68 inches in diameter debuted at the 1931 U.S. Open; now the game's standard. But, this Open is most remembered for being the longest in major golf history. It took 144 holes to settle – eight rounds of golf. The USGA installed the 18-hole playoff after this tournament, which remains the format to present day.
The tournament came down to a contest between a former amateur standout whose status was somewhat murky and a little known club professional. That duo, George Von Elm and Billy Burke, played an unprecedented 144 holes in an early-July heat wave, before the championship was determined. They played the equivalent of two full tournaments.
The scheduled three days of play featured eighteen-hole rounds on July 2nd and 3rd with a thirty-six hole finish on Saturday July 4th. After four rounds, Burke and Von Elm were tied at 4-over 292. Von Elm, a first-year pro who had stunned Bobby Jones in the finals of the 1926 U.S. Amateur at Baltusrol in New Jersey, forged the tie with a ten-foot putt on the final hole, thereby forcing a thirty-six hole playoff on Sunday. The next day, was nearly a repeat, with Von Elm getting a birdie on the final hole to force a second 36-hole playoff. Burke won by one shot, after the second 36-hole playoff, to win the marathon championship. Item #14296
Price: £999.00