This Day in Golf--July 6

The longest day of the year is June 21. Nearly coinciding with that extra sun time 86 years ago was the longest playoff in U.S. Open history. There was a huge need for daylight when Billy Burke and George Von Elm tied after regulation on July 4, 1931, at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. This was the year after Bobby Jones had won the Grand Slam, and then retired from competition. So the 1,141 entries must have had high hopes for success with Jones out of the picture. When Burke and Von Elm played the 36-hole playoff on July 5, they ended in a 149-all tie. They played 36 more on July 6, and incredibly Von Elm shot 149 again, but this time Burke went just one shot better to win. So after 144 holes, the two were only separated by one stroke!