2024 U.S. Open: Typical Winner According to More than 100 Years of Data

Ahead of the 124th U.S. Open Golf Championship, Sportshandle analyzed all of the past winners of the U.S. Open since its inception in 1895 to determine what are the typical traits of a U.S. Open winner – from average age, nationality, height, place of birth, and name to dress code and education.

If you want plan on placing a bet for the upcoming U.S. Open, check out our section on the best betting apps, and should you need some information on how to properly read the odds, here’s a breakdown of what moneyline means in the realms of betting

Year of U.S. Open Victory	Champion	Place of birth – Country	Place of birth – City	Date of Birth	Astrological sign	First Name Initial	Age at the time of the U.S. Open Win
1895	Horace Rawlins	UK – England	Shanklin	05-08-1874	Leo	H	21
1896	James Foulis	UK – Scotland	St Andrews	22-08-1871	Leo	J	24
1897	Joe Lloyd	UK – England	Hoylake	1905	Unknown	J	32-33
1898	Fred Herd	UK – Scotland	St Andrews	26-11-1873	Sagittarius	F	24
1899	Willie Smith	UK – Scotland	Dundee	08-10-1876	Libra	W	22
1900	Harry Vardon	Jersey	Grouville	09-05-1870	Taurus	H	30
1901 & 1903 & 1904 & 1905	Willie Anderson	UK – Scotland	North Berwick	21-10-1879	Libra	W	21
1902	Laurie Auchterlonie	UK – Scotland	St Andrews	08-12-1867	Sagittarius	L	34
1906 & 1910	Alex Smith	UK – Scotland	Angus	28-01-1874	Aquarius	A	32
1907	Alec Ross	UK – Scotland	Dernoch	15-09-1879	Virgo	A	27
1908	Fred McLeod	UK – Scotland	North Berwick	25-04-1882	Taurus	F	26
1909	George Sargent	UK – England	Surrey	02-08-1882	Leo	G	26
1911 & 1912	John McDermott	USA	Philadelphia	12-08-1891	Leo	J	19
1913	Francis Ouimet	USA	Brookline	08-05-1893	Taurus	F	20
1914 & 1919	Walter Hagen	USA	Rochester	21-12-1892	Sagittarius	W	21
1915	Jerome Travers	USA	New York City	19-05-1887	Taurus	J	28
1916	Chick Evans	USA	Indianapolis	18-07-1890	Cancer	C	25
1920	Ted Ray	Jersey	Unknown	06-04-1877	Aries	T	43
1921	Jim Barnes	UK – England	Lelant	08-04-1886	Aries	J	35
1922 & 1932	Gene Sarazen	USA	Harrison	27-02-1902	Pisces	G	20
1923 & 1926 & 1929 & 1930	Bobby Jones	USA	Atlanta	17-03-1902	Pisces	B	21
1924	Cyril Walker	UK – England	Manchester	18-09-1892	Virgo	C	31
1925	Willie Macfarlane	UK – Scotland	Aberdeen	29-06-1889	Cancer	W	35
1927	Tommy Armour	UK – Scotland	Edinburgh	24-09-1896	Libra	T	30
1928	Johnny Farrell	USA	White Plains	01-04-1901	Aries	J	27
1931	Billy Burke	USA	Naugatuck	14-12-1902	Sagittarius	B	28
1933	Johnny Goodman	USA	South Omaha	28-12-1909	Capricorn	J	23
1934	Olin Dutra	USA	Monterey	17-01-1901	Capricorn	O	33
1935	Sam Parks, Jr.	USA	Bellevue	23-06-1909	Cancer	S	25
1936	Tony Manero	USA	New York City	04-04-1905	Aries	T	31
1937 & 1938	Ralph Guldahl	USA	Dallas	22-11-1911	Scorpio	R	25
1939	Byron Nelson	USA	Waxahachie	04-02-1912	Aquarius	B	27
1940	Lawson Little	USA	Newport	23-06-1910	Cancer	L	30
1941	Craig Wood	USA	Lake Placid	18-11-1901	Scorpio	C	39
1946	Lloyd Mangrum	USA	Trenton	01-08-1914	Leo	L	31
1947	Lew Worsham	USA	Pittsylvania County	05-10-1917	Libra	L	29
1948 & 1950 & 1951 & 1953	Ben Hogan	USA	Stephenville	13-08-1912	Leo	B	35
1949 & 1956	Cary Middlecoff	USA	Halls	06-01-1921	Capricorn	C	28
1952 & 1963	Julius Boros	USA	Fairfield	03-03-1920	Pisces	J	32
1954	Ed Furgol	USA	New York Mills	24-03-1917	Aries	E	37
1955	Jack Fleck	USA	Bettendorf	07-11-1921	Scorpio	J	33
1957	Dick Mayer	USA	Stamford	28-08-1924	Virgo	D	32
1958	Tommy Bolt	USA	Haworth	31-03-1916	Aries	T	42
1959 & 1966	Billy Casper	USA	San Diego	24-06-1931	Cancer	B	28
1960	Arnold Palmer	USA	Latrobe	10-09-1929	Virgo	A	30
1961	Gene Littler	USA	San Diego	21-07-1930	Cancer	G	30
1962 & 1967 & 1972 & 1980	Jack Nicklaus	USA	Columbus	21-01-1940	Aquarius	J	22
1964	Ken Venturi	USA	San Francisco	15-05-1931	Taurus	K	33
1965	Gary Player	South Africa	Johannesburg	01-11-1935	Scorpio	G	29
1968 & 1971	Lee Trevino	USA	Garland	01-12-1939	Sagittarius	L	28
1969	Orville Moody	USA	Chickasha	09-12-1933	Sagittarius	O	35
1970	Tony Jacklin	UK – England	Lincolnshire	07-07-1944	Cancer	T	25
1973	Johnny Miller	USA	San Francisco	29-04-1947	Taurus	J	26
1974 & 1979 & 1990	Hale Irwin	USA	Joplin	03-06-1945	Gemini	H	29
1975	Lou Graham	USA	Nashville	07-01-1938	Capricorn	L	37
1976	Jerry Pate	USA	Macon	16-09-1953	Virgo	J	22
1977	Hubert Green	USA	Birmingham	28-12-1946	Capricorn	H	30
1978 & 1985	Andy North	USA	Thorp	09-03-1950	Pisces	A	28
1981	David Graham	Australia	Melbourne	23-05-1946	Gemini	D	35
1982	Tom Watson	USA	Kansas City	04-09-1949	Virgo	T	32
1983	Larry Nelson	USA	Fort Payne	10-09-1947	Virgo	L	35
1984	Fuzzy Zoeller	USA	New Albany	11-11-1951	Scorpio	F	32
1986	Raymond Floyd	USA	Fort Bragg	04-09-1942	Virgo	R	43
1987	Scott Simpson	USA	San Diego	17-09-1955	Virgo	S	31
1988 & 1989	Curtis Strange	USA	Norfolk	30-01-1955	Aquarius	C	33
1991 & 1999	Payne Stewart	USA	Springfield	30-01-1957	Aquarius	P	34
1992	Tom Kite	USA	McKinney	09-12-1949	Sagittarius	T	42
1993 & 1998	Lee Janzen	USA	Austin	28-08-1964	Virgo	L	28
1994 & 1997	Ernie Els	South Africa	Johannesburg	17-10-1969	Libra	E	24
1995	Corey Pavin	USA	Oxnard	16-11-1959	Scorpio	C	35
1996	Steve Jones	USA	Artesia	27-12-1958	Capricorn	S	37
2000 & 2002 & 2008	Tiger Woods	USA	Cypress	30-12-1975	Capricorn	T	24
2001 & 2004	Retief Goosen	South Africa	Pietersburg	03-02-1969	Aquarius	R	32
2003	Jim Furyk	USA	West Chester	12-05-1970	Taurus	J	33
2005	Michael Campbell	New Zealand	Hāwera	23-02-1969	Pisces	M	36
2006	Geoff Ogilvy	Australia	Adelaide	11-06-1977	Gemini	G	29
2007	Ángel Cabrera	Argentina	Córdoba	12-09-1969	Virgo	Á	37
2009	Lucas Glover	USA	Greenville	12-11-1979	Scorpio	L	29
2010	Graeme McDowell	UK – Northern Ireland	Portrush	30-07-1979	Leo	G	30
2011	Rory McIlroy	UK – Northern Ireland	County Down	04-05-1989	Taurus	R	22
2012	Webb Simpson	USA	Raleigh	08-08-1985	Leo	W	26
2013	Justin Rose	South Africa	Johannesburg	30-07-1980	Leo	J	32
2014	Martin Kaymer	Germany	Düsseldorf	28-12-1984	Capricorn	M	29
2015	Jordan Spieth	USA	Dallas	27-07-1993	Leo	J	21
2016	Dustin Johnson	USA	Columbia	22-06-1984	Cancer	D	32
2017 & 2018	Brooks Koepka	USA	West Palm Beach	03-05-1990	Taurus	B	27
2019	Gary Woodland	USA	Topeka	21-05-1984	Gemini	G	35
2020	Bryson DeChambeau	USA	Modesto	16-09-1993	Virgo	B	27
2021	Jon Rahm	Spain	Biscay	10-11-1994	Scorpio	J	26
2022	Matt Fitzpatrick	UK – England	South Yorkshire	01-09-1994	Virgo	M	27
2023	Wyndham Clark	USA	Denver	09-12-1993	Sagittarius	W	29

 

AGE  

The average age of the winner is 30.146, the median age is 30.  

John McDermott is the youngest U.S. Open winner – he won at the age of 19 in 1911.

Hale Irwin is the oldest U.S. Open winner – he won at the age of 45 in 1990. 

Additionally, 22.546 is the average age of the U.S. Open winners turning professional. 

PLACE OF BIRTH 

Most of the U.S. Open winners were born in the USA – 60 winners were born in the United States (65.9%), followed by the United Kingdom, where 19 U.S.Open winners were born (20.9%).  

When it comes to the US-born winners, California is the state that has produced the most U.S. Open winners – 9 (15%) – followed by New York and Texas – 7 of the winners (11.7%) were born in Texas and 7 of them were born in New York.  

Additionally, 3 cities have produced 3 U.S. Open championship winners: 

• Johannesburg, South Africa (Ernie Els, Gary Player, Justin Rose)
• San Diego, California, USA (Gene Littler, Scott Simpson, Johnny Miller) 
• St Andrews, Scotland, UK (Fred Herd, James Foulis, Laurie Auchterlonie)

HEIGHT AND WEIGHT 

6 feet 0.24 inches (= 183.75 cm) is the average height of a U.S. Open champion, and 6 feet 0.64 inches (= 184.5 cm) is the median height of a U.S. Open winner.  

Fred McLeod (5 ft 4 inches = 163 cm) is the shortest U.S. Open winner ever, while Steve Jones, Dustin Johnson, Jim Barnes & Andy North are the tallest winners (6 ft 4 inches = 193 cm). 

175.964 pounds (=79.75 kg) is the average weight of a U.S. Open champion. 

 FIRST NAME INITIAL  

The first name initial with the most individual U.S Open winners is “J” – 17.6% of them have a name starting with “J” – 16 individual winners. Namely: Justin Rose, Jon Rahm, Johnny Farrell, Johnny Goodman, Jack Fleck, Jordan Spieth, Jerry Pate, Jim Furyk, Johnny Miller, Julius Boros, Jack Nicklaus, Jim Barnes, Joe Lloyd, Jerome Travers, John McDermott & James Foulis. 

The initials with the second and third most U.S. Open winners are “L” – 9.9% – 9 individuals – and “T” – 8.8% – 8 individual winners.  

BIRTHDAYS

December and September are tied for the most common birth month of a U.S. Open winner – 12 winners (13.3%) of them were born in December and 12 in September. August, November and May are tied for the third most common birth month of a U.S. Open winner – 9 of the winners were born in each of the mentioned months (10% of winners each month). 

Most of the winners were born on Thursday (18.9% of winners – 17 individuals) or Friday (17.8% of winners – 16 individuals).  

Virgo is the most common star sign of U.S. Open winners – 14.4% of them are Virgos (13 winners), followed by Leo (11.1% of winners – 10) and Taurus (10% of winners – 9). 

EDUCATION  

47.25% of the U.S. Open winners went to college – 43 in total. 

MULTIPLE VICTORIES  

24.18% of the U.S. Open winners won the championship on multiple occasions – 16 of them won 2 times, 2 of them 3 times and 4 of them 4 times. 4-time champions are: Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan & Willie Anderson.  

DRESS CODE  

Due to the lack of photographs in colour, unlike the rest of the analysis which goes all the way back to 1895, the dress code of the players was analyzed only for the last 60 years, after 1964. According to the results of the analysis:  

76.7% of the winners (46) wore short-sleeved golf polo shirts on the day of the final tournament.  

White was the most popular color worn on the day of the final (23.3% – 14 winners), followed by red (16.7% – 10 winners).  

58.3% of the winners (35) wore plain one-color shirts / T-shirts / long-sleeves / sweaters / vests (no motives) on the day of their final U.S. Open win. Meanwhile, 30% of the winners (18) wore stripes.  

Sponsorships and brand deals have become much more prevalent in the late 20th century, however, since 1964, Nike has been the most popular brand worn by the U.S. Open champions – 9 winners in total, 5 individual winners wore Nike on the day of their win. However, it has to be kept in mind that Tiger Woods who won 3 times wore Nike every time he won (2000, 2002 & 2008).  

Lacoste is the second most popular brand worn on the day of the U.S. Open win – no less than 6 winners wore Lacoste.  

When it comes to hats worn during the final tournament, 48.3% of the winners (29) wore white hats, while 15% of the winners (9) wore black hats. Type-wise, 58.3% of the winners (35) wore baseball caps, while 10% of the winners (6) wore visor hats.  

METHODOLOGY

• Winners (from 1895 to 2023) of the U.S. Open were collected from the official U.S. Open website and amended with missing information from their respective Wikipedia pages 
• Years in which U.S. Open did not take place were omitted from the analysis: 1917, 1918, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945
• The dress code of the winners was analyzed only after 1964 due to the lack of photographs in colour from the earlier years
• The main source of the dress code analysis were videos of the U.S Open tournament on YouTube as well as Google Images
• If a given metric was not available for a winner that player was omitted from the analysis in that specific category and is not part of the % results 
• Winners who won U.S. Open on multiple occasions were counted only once in each of the categories apart from the categories: age at the time of victory and the dress code data