This Day in Golf--Oct. 4

The first U.S. Open ended on this date in 1895, but that inaugural playing took a backseat to the U.S. Amateur, which was played first and had a bigger field, 32 players to 11. The National Open was also played at nine-hole Newport Country Club in Rhode Island as the Amateur was, and the 10 pros and 1 amateur went around four times to play 36 holes all in one day. The winner, using a gutta-percha ball, was Horace Rawlins, 19, an English professional who had come over to Newport to work as an assistant pro. Rawlins' score of 173 was two better than Willie Dunn and was an average of 43.25 for the nine-hole layout. The top prize was $150, and Rawlins also received a $50 gold medal.