1906 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	June 28–29, 1906
Location	Lake Forest, Illinois
Course(s)	Onwentsia Club
Organized by	USGA
Format	Stroke play − 72 holes
Statistics
Length	6,107 yards (5,584 m)
Field	66, 55 after cut
Cut	171
Winner's share	$300
Champion
Alex Smith
295
← 1905 1907 →

Lake Forest 

Location in the United States

Lake Forest 

Location in Illinois

The 1906 U.S. Open was the twelfth U.S. Open, held June 28–29 at Onwentsia Club in Lake Forest, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago. Alex Smith won the first of his two U.S. Open titles, seven strokes ahead of runner-up Willie Smith, his younger brother and the 1899 champion.^[1][2]

Willie Anderson, three-time defending champion and club pro at Onwentsia, was the heavy favorite.^[3] He trailed Alex Smith by two strokes after the first 36 holes on Thursday,^[4] and by three after the third round on Friday morning, but an 84 that afternoon dropped him to a distant fifth. Smith posted rounds of 73-74-73-75 for 295, a U.S. Open record and the first sub-300 winning score. Not only did his brother Willie finish in second, his brother-in-law James Maiden tied for third.^[1]

Smith's win marked the end of a streak where Scottish-born players won seven consecutive major championships.

For the first time, no player from the inaugural U.S. Open in 1895 participated. Horace Rawlins, the first champion, had played in every edition until this year.

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 28, 1906 (morning)

Place	Player	Score
T1	Willie Anderson	73
	Alex Smith
	Willie Smith
4	Jack Hobens	75
T5	Laurie Auchterlonie	76
	Alex Campbell
	Gilbert Nicholls
	Alex Ross
	James Watson
T10	Walter Fovargue	77
	William "Bim" Lovekin

Source:^[2][4]

Second round

Thursday, June 28, 1906 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Score
1	Alex Smith	73-74=147
2	Willie Anderson	73-76=149
3	James Maiden	80-73=153
T4	Laurie Auchterlonie	76-78=154
	Willie Smith	73-81=154
T6	George Cumming	79-76=155
	Alex Ross	76-79=155
	George Smith	79-76=155
T9	Fred Brand	78-78=156
	Stewart Gardner	80-76=156
	Bernard Nicholls	79-77=156

Source:^[2][4]

Third round

Friday, June 29, 1906 (morning)

Place	Player	Score
1	Alex Smith	73-74-73=220
2	Willie Anderson	73-76-74=223
3	Willie Smith	73-81-74=228
4	Laurie Auchterlonie	76-78-75=229
T5	James Maiden	80-73-77=230
	Alex Ross	76-79-75=230
T7	Chandler Egan (a)	79-78-76=233
	Stewart Gardner	80-76-77=233
9	Gilbert Nicholls	76-81-77=234
10	Jack Hobens	75-84-76=235

Source:^[1][2]

Final round

Friday, June 29, 1906 (afternoon)

Place	Player	Score	Money ($)
1	Alex Smith	73-74-73-75=295	300
2	Willie Smith	73-81-74-74=302	150
T3	Laurie Auchterlonie	76-78-75-76=305	90
	James Maiden	80-73-77-75=305
5	Willie Anderson	73-76-74-84=307	70
6	Alex Ross	76-79-75-80=310	60
7	Stewart Gardner	80-76-77-78=311	50
T8	Chandler Egan (a)	79-78-76-80=313	0
	Gilbert Nicholls	76-81-77-79=313	40
10	Jack Hobens	75-84-76-79=314	30

Source:^[1][2]

Amateurs: Egan (313), Wood (327), Hunter (332), Sellers (337), Potter (342).