1906 U.S. Open Winner and Scores

The 1906 U.S. Open was the 12th time the tournament was played and brothers finished one-two in the final standings.

Winner: Alex Smith, 295

Where it was played: Onwentsia Club in Lake Forest, Illinois

Tournament dates: June 28-29, 1906

Leader after first round: Alex Smith, Willie Smith, Willie Anderson, 73

Leader after second round: Alex Smith, 147

Leader after third round: Alex Smith, 220

What Happened at the 1906 U.S. Open

Alex Smith carded four rounds of 75 or below — a significant achievement in this era — to beat his brother Willie Smith by seven shots. Willie had won the 1899 U.S. Open, but this time finished second to Alex. Willie Anderson, trying to win his fourth U.S. Open in a row, was only three strokes off the lead entering the final round, but shot 84 and finished 12 behind Alex Smith.

Alex went on to win the 1910 U.S. Open, there winning a playoff that included a third Smith brother, Macdonald Smith. So in both of his U.S. Open wins, Alex had one of his brothers as a runner-up. But the family connections aren't over: Alex's brother-in-law, James Maiden, shared third place in 1906 with 1902 U.S. Open champ Laurie Auchterlonie.

Smith's winning total of 295 was the first sub-300 score in tournament history. He carded a pair of 73s (first and third rounds), a 74 in Round 2, and a 75 in the final round. Smith's 295 scoring record only stood until 1909. Smith led start to finish in this event, the second (after Anderson in 1903) wire-to-wire winner in tournament history. He was tied with Anderson for the first-round lead, held a two-stroke edge after 36 holes, and a three-stroke edge after 54 holes.

For Willie Anderson, winner in 1903, 1904, 1905, this tournament wasn't just the end of his winning streak, but also the final year of his Top 5 streak. Anderson finished in the Top 5 of six consecutive U.S. Opens, 1901-06. That is a tournament record he still holds (sharing with Bobby Jones, 1921-26).

Another streak that didn't continue beyond the 1906 U.S. Open: Stewart Gardner's Top 10 streak. Gardner, who never won a U.S. Open, finished in the Top 10 from 1900-06, seven consecutive years. He finished in seventh place this year, but was out of the Top 10 in 1907. Seven Top 10s in a row in the U.S. Open has never been beaten, and only Jones (1920-26) and Ben Hogan (1950-56) have matched it.

1906 U.S. Open Scores

Alex Smith	73-74-73-75—295
Willie Smith	73-81-74-74—302
Laurie Auchterlonie	76-78-75-76—305
James Maiden	80-73-77-75—305
Willie Anderson	73-76-74-84—307
Alex Ross	76-79-75-80—310
Stewart Gardner	80-76-77-78—311
a-H. Chandler Egan	79-78-76-80—313
Gilbert Nicholls	79-81-77-79—316
Jack Hobens	75-84-76-79—314
George Low	79-82-76-79—316
Bernard Nicholls	79-77-79-81—316
Harry Turpie	80-80-76-83—319
Walter Fovargue	77-84-78-81—320
Jack Jolly	78-82-79-81—320
Peter Robertson	79-78-80-83—320
Alex Baxter	83-81-81-76—321
Fred Brand	78-78-85-81—322
Alex Campbell	76-84-76-86—322
George Cummings	79-76-84-83—322
George Smith	79-76-82-85—322
James Foulis	83-86-79-76—324
Otto Hackbarth	82-82-82-78—324
Bim Lovekin	77-85-78-84—324
William Marshall	85-77-81-81—324
David McIntosh	79-79-81-85—324
James Watson	76-80-81-88—325
Ernest Way	83-81-80-81—325
George O'Neil	84-82-82-78—326
David Robertson	82-79-81-84—326
a-Warren Wood	78-85-81-83—327
Charles Rowe	83-80-84-81—328
Percy Barrett	81-75-82-91—329
Alex Gourlay	82-81-81-85—329
Fred McLeod	81-79-78-92—330
Robert Taylor	81-80-83-86—330
Isaac Mackie	87-81-82-81—331
David White	81-81-83-87—332
William Hoare	86-81-82-83—332
a-R.E. Hunter	79-83-83-87—332
Thomas O'Neil	84-82-83-84—333
A.G. Herr	86-81-82-85—334
Robert White	81-87-80-86—334
Chester Horton	81-82-88-84—335
John Reid	82-86-85-82—335
a-John Sellers	79-84-81-93—337
James Simpson	81-77-87-92—337
a-Orrin Potter Jr.	81-84-86-91—342
Mike Brady	81-87-83-92—343

Photo credit: Golfer Alex Smith photographed by Bain News Service/via the Library of Congress, public domain