1897 U.S. Open Golf Tournament Winner and Scores
Winner: Joe Lloyd, 162
Where it was played: Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Illinois
Tournament dates: September 17, 1897
Leader after first round: Willie Anderson, 79
What Happened in the 1897 U.S. Open
English golfer Joe Lloyd eagled — sort of — the final hole to win the 1897 U.S. Open.The first three U.S. Opens were played over 36 holes rather than 72, so Lloyd's great finish happened on the 36th hole. It was a 461-yarder, and Lloyd scored a 3 on it.
Why do we say he "sort of" eagled? The lexicon of "birdies" and "eagles" was not yet established in golf; in fact, par was not even in use yet at the 1897 U.S. Open. So that hole had no given par rating. Was it a par-4? A par-5? It was neither — it had no par. But given the state of the game at the time, and the distance that hole covered, we can confidently say that the hole was the equivalent of a modern par-5. And so Lloyd's closing 3 was the equivalent of a modern eagle.
The runner-up was Willie Anderson, a future 4-time winner of the U.S. Open who was playing the tournament for the first time.
Charles B. Macdonald, one of the most important figures in the early history of golf in America, finished 11th playing as an amateur. It was his highest finish in the three U.S. Opens that he completed. The 1897 U.S. Open was played at Chicago Golf Club, which Macdonald designed and built, and which was the first 18-hole golf course in the United States (and one of the five founding clubs of the USGA). Macdonald was the first winner of the U.S. Amateur championship and played a key role in the creation of the USGA. And he was one of the most influential golf course architects in the history of the field, importing ideas from Scottish links to American courses.
The champion, Lloyd, today is one of the most-obscure major winners ever. His specific date of birth remains unknown, and nobody even knows the year of his death. He is not known to have won any other significant tournaments. But Lloyd led the U.S. Open at the halfway mark before tying for seventh in 1896, won in 1897, and was solo fourth in 1898.
1897 U.S. Open Final Scores
| Joe Lloyd | 83-79—162 |
| Willie Anderson | 79-84—163 |
| Willie Dunn | 87-81—168 |
| James Foulis | 80-88—168 |
| William Hoare | 82-87—169 |
| Bernard Nicholls | 87-85—172 |
| Alfred Ricketts | 91-81—172 |
| David Foulis | 86-87—173 |
| Horace Rawlins | 91-82—173 |
| a-Henry Whigham | 87-86—173 |
| a-Charles Macdonald | 85-89—174 |
| William Marshall | 87-87—174 |
| Buff Wilson | 83-91—174 |
| Harry Turpie | 85-90—175 |
| W.F. Davis | 88-89—177 |
| Robert Foulis | 88-89—177 |
| Willie Tucker | 90-87—177 |
| a-James Tyng | 86-91—177 |
| a-S. Findlay Douglas | 89-91—180 |
| a-W.G. Stewart | 91-90—181 |
| Richard Leslie | 90-92—182 |
| Robert McAndrew | 90-92—182 |
| George Pearson | 93-89—182 |
| John Harrison | 97-87—184 |
| Samuel Tucker | 87-98—185 |
| Bert Way | 89-96—185 |
| Robert White | 89-97—186 |
| a-Devereux Emmet | 98-90—188 |
| a-W.B. Smith | 98-91—189 |
| Arner Tolifson | 91-100—191 |
| John Duncan | 98-94—192 |
| a-Foxhall Keene | 93-99—192 |
| a-John Reid | 98-96—194 |
| a-H.R. Sweny | 96-98—194 |
| a-S.D. Bowers | 101-98—199 |
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