1898 U.S. Open Results
Winner: Fred Herd, 328
Where it was played: Myopia Hunt Club in South Hamilton, Massachussetts
Tournament dates: June 17-18, 1898
Leader after first round: Alex Smith, 78
Leader after second round: Willie Anderson, 163
Leader after third round: Fred Herd, 244
What Happened in the 1898 U.S. Open
The fourth U.S. Open was the first one played over 72 holes — four rounds of 18 holes each became established at this point as the tournament format. (The golf course was only nine holes, so one round consisted of playing the course twice.) And the first winner at 72 holes was a golfer who was nearly completely unknown in the United States, Fred Herd. Herd had only been in the U.S. for a few months, having arrived on a ship from Scotland on which Alex Smith, who finished second to Herd, also traveled."You wer'na known twa weeks ago," wrote a poet whose poem about the 1898 U.S. Open appeared in an issue of an early golf magazine (you can read the poem below, after the tournament scores).
Herd's 75 in the third round was the low round of the tournament, and one of only two sub-80 rounds. The other (a 78) was carded by runner-up Smith in the first round. This was the first of three runner-up finishes in a U.S. Open by Smith, but Smith also won twice (1906 and 1910). (Smith's brother Willie Smith, who won the next year in 1899, made his tournament debut here.)
According to the USGA's tournament history, Herd's reputation as a hard drinker was such that before he was allowed to take possession of the championship trophy, the USGA required Herd to leave a cash deposit. The USGA was worried Herd might pawn the trophy to get money for liquor.
Fred Herd played in only three other U.S. Opens, with no other Top 10 finishes. His brother Sandy Herd won the 1902 British Open.
1898 U.S. Open Final Scores
| Fred Herd | 84-85-75-84—328 |
| Alex Smith | 78-86-86-85—335 |
| Willie Anderson | 81-82-87-86—336 |
| Joe Lloyd | 87-80-86-86—339 |
| Willie Smith | 82-91-85-82—340 |
| William Hoare | 84-84-87-87—342 |
| Willie Dunn | 85-87-87-85—344 |
| John Jones | 83-84-90-90—347 |
| a-Herbert Leeds | 81-84-93-89—347 |
| Robert McAndrew | 85-90-86-86—347 |
| Bernard Nicholls | 86-87-88-86—347 |
| Harry Turpie | 85-87-86-91—349 |
| Alex Findlay | 89-88-84-89—350 |
| John Lister | 92-88-90-85—355 |
| Willie Tucker | 90-89-87-89—355 |
| a-James Curtis | 87-88-88-93—356 |
| John Harland | 84-93-93-87—357 |
| William Davis | 91-88-95-85—359 |
| Horace Rawlins | 91-90-92-88—361 |
| a-James Tyng | 92-91-88-90—361 |
| a-Quincy Shaw | 88-85-93-98—364 |
| Jack Youds | 92-90-92-90—364 |
| J.H. Mercer | 85-95-93-93—366 |
| Gilbert Nicholls | 91-92-91-92—366 |
| John Dunn | 91-88-91-97—367 |
| Willie Campbell | 93-91-97-101—382 |
| a-H.R. Sweny | 92-97-96-99—384 |
| a-Winthrop Rutherford | 100-99-98-91—388 |
| Walter Stoddard | 103-95-97-96—391 |
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1897 U.S. Open - 1899 U.S. Open
The 1898 U.S. Open Poem
Shortly after the 1898 U.S. Open finished, the following poem about it appeared in an issue of Golf magazine (not the same as today's Golf magazine), written by R.A. Shand:
