Longest Matches in U.S. Amateur History

Matches at the U.S. Amateur Championship are either 18 holes or 36 holes in scheduled length, depending on the round being played. But which matches in the tournament's history have extended beyond that, into "extra holes," by the largest amount?

Today, all matches prior to the championship match are scheduled for 18 holes. The championship match is 36 holes, and in the past some other preliminary rounds also used 36-hole matches.

A U.S. Amateur match that completes its scheduled length but remains tied continues into extra holes. As soon as one of the golfers wins one of those playoff holes, the match is over.

Longest 18-Hole Matches in U.S. Amateur

28 holes — Maurice McCarthy def. George Von Elm, second round, 1930
26 holes — John Cook def. Lennie Clements, third round, 1979
25 holes — Luke Barnes def. William C. Campbell, third round, 1947
25 holes — Donald Albert def. Frank Strafaci, second round, 1952
25 holes — William C. Campbell def. Warren Choate, second round, 1974
25 holes — Robert Burk def. Vance Heafner, third round, 1978
25 holes — J.J. Henry def. Tom Johnson, second round, 1998

The record-holder, McCarthy, also needed extra holes to win his first-round match in 1930 — but only one extra hole in that case. But in the second round, McCarthy and Von Elm (who won the title in 1926) played eight extra holes and were still tied. The McCarthy finally won it on the ninth extra hole, the 28th overall. (McCarthy lost to Jess Sweetser in the following round.)

Second on the list is the 1979 match between two future PGA Tour players, Jeff Cook and Lennie Clements. They needed seven extra holes before Cook won. And Cook advanced all the way to the championship match before falling to Mark O'Meara.

Longest 36-Hole Matches in U.S. Amateur

The championship match has always been 36 holes in the U.S. Amateur, but so were some other rounds in earlier parts of the tournament's history. These are the longest overall 36-hole matches, all of which happened early in U.S. Amateur history and all of which happened prior to the championship match:

41 holes — Walter Travis def. H.H. Wilder, second round, 1908
41 holes — Chick Evans def. Reginald Lewis, second round, 1920
40 holes — Walter Fairbanks def. James Curtis, first round, 1899
40 holes — A.G. Lockwood def. John Reid Jr., third round, 1900
40 holes — Eben Byers def. John Ward, second round, 1908

The two record-holders, Travis and Evans, are both legends of amateur golf. Travis won the U.S. Amateur three times (1900, 1901 and 1903). After his 41-holer (he won it on the fifth extra hole) in 1908, he advanced to the semifinals before losing.

Evans won both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open in 1916. Then, in 1920, the year of his 41-hole victory, Evans won the U.S. Amateur again.

U.S. Amateur's Longest Championship Matches

As noted above, championship matches have always been scheduled for 36-holes (except for several years in the late 1960s/early 1970s when the tournament used a stroke-play format). Since 1979, the championship match has been the only 36-hole match played in the U.S. Amateur.

39 holes — Sam Urzetta def. Frank Stranahan, 1950
39 holes — Jeff Quinney def. James Driscoll, 2000
38 holes — Max Marston def. Jess Sweetser, 1923
38 holes — Tiger Woods def. Steve Scott, 1996

These are the only four championship matches in U.S. Amateur history (which dates to 1895) so far that have required more than a single playoff hole.

Related articles:

Sources:
United States Golf Association. "Championship Formats," https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/media/online-media-center/usga-records/championship-formats.html.
United States Golf Association. "U.S. Amateur Records," https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/media/online-media-center/usga-records/u-s--amateur-records.html.
United States Golf Association. Official USGA Record Book, 1895-1990 (affiliate link, commissions earned), Triumph Books, 1992.

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