The Four Golfers Who Share the Record for Most U.S. Open Wins

One of golf’s four major championships, the U.S. Open has been held every year since 1895. It is the second major championship on the PGA Tour calendar, and also includes amateur participants as well as golfers from the European and Asian professional tours. Horace Rawlins won the first U.S. Open in 1895, and four players – Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus – share the record for most U.S. Open championships with four.

Anderson, a native of Scotland who moved to the US when he was 16 and worked as a club pro, won the U.S. Open for the first time in 1901 at Myopia Hunt Club in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. He finished the tournament with a score of 331, which remains the highest score of a U.S. Open winner. He beat Alex Smith in a playoff, which was played on Monday as, back then, Sundays were reserved for club members.

After fellow Scot Laurie Auchterlonie won the U.S. Open in 1902, Anderson won his first of three consecutive titles in 1903 with a score of 307. He shot 303 and 314 at the U.S. Open in 1904 and 1905, respectively. He is the only golfer in history to win the tournament in three consecutive years. He finished 11th at his last U.S. Open in 1910, and died a few months later at just 31 years of age.

Bobby Jones won his first of four U.S. Opens in 1923. He won again in 1926, 1929, and 1930. One of only five amateur golfers to win the U.S. Open, he also won the low amateur medal in every tournament from 1922 to 1930. Jones finished in the top-five in six of his eight starts at the U.S. Open. He was runner-up in 1922, 1924, 1925, and 1928.

Jones won the calendar Grand Slam in 1930. He secured the third leg of the impressive accomplishment with his two-stroke victory over Macdonald Smith at the U.S. Open at Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minnesota. The highlight of his tournament was his 40-foot birdie putt on hole No. 18 in the final round.

Ben Hogan had a run of dominance similar to both Jones and Anderson. One of only five players to win each of the four major championships, Hogan won the U.S. Open in 1948, 1950, 1951, and 1953. Some golf historians suggest he should be credited with five titles, as he finished first in the 1942 Hale America National Open, played in place of the U.S. Open, which was canceled due to the United States entering World War II.

Hogan’s signature win came in 1950. His impressive 1-iron approach shot to the green on the last hole of the tournament was captured in a now iconic image by photographer Hy Peskin. Hogan saved par on the hole and went on to beat George Fazio and Lloyd Mangrum by four strokes in a playoff.

Nicklaus’ four U.S. Open titles are more spread out than those of Hogan, Jones, and Anderson. His win in 1962 was his first tournament victory as a professional. He won again in 1967 and 1972, and captured his final U.S. Open title in 1980, with a then-record score of 272, breaking the prior record he set of 275 in 1967.

Nicklaus was runner-up at the U.S. Open in 1960, 1968, 1971, and 1982. He is also the all-time major championship wins leader with 18.

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An Overview of Condominium Conversions

Condominiums and rental apartments share similarities in the size of units and the buildings in which they’re located, but have one key difference: ownership. Apartment dwellers pay monthly rent to the building’s landlord to live in the unit, whereas condo units are owned by the occupants. For a variety of reasons, including to cash out of the property, building owners may look into converting apartment buildings or other shared tenant properties into condos.

In addition to being an exit strategy for the owner of the property, converting existing residential or commercial buildings into condominiums can be a cost-effective and quicker approach for developers to create housing than constructing new homes or buildings. In some cases, converting buildings into condominiums provides more affordable housing. These conversions are also often initiated due to a scarcity of land and high demand for housing.

Condo conversions can benefit tenants in a variety of ways, including the opportunity to own housing, sometimes at a relatively affordable price, as the cost to insiders’ is usually lower than what similar properties on the open market sell for. Moreover, owning a condo unit can be easier to manage than home ownership, as common spaces, including pools and fitness facilities, are usually cared for by a condo owners association. Condo owners in the building, however, will likely have to pay monthly condo fees for the upkeep of these areas.

Tax savings and equity retrieval are among the benefits for landlords and owners who facilitate condo conversions. In some jurisdictions, owners could receive a property tax reduction of up to 40 percent. Moreover, the property, once officially converted, is considered single family dwelling units as opposed to a multi-residential building, which is often taxed at a higher level. The added value of condo buildings also allows owners to borrow more against the property.

There are, however, also possible disadvantages to tenants during condo conversions. The purchase price may be outside of their price range, and building management could decline depending on the experience and commitment of members of the condo owners’ association. Conversions could displace rental tenants, but many states have laws in place to protect renters. Some states even give renters a vote in whether the building owner can transform the property into condominiums. In New York, 51 percent of a building’s tenants need to vote in favor of a condo conversion.

Chicago is considered the birthplace of condo conversions, as the notion was conceived by area attorneys Joseph Moss and Harold Miller. Moss and Miller completed the first-ever condo conversion in the US in 1964, transforming a three-story, 16-unit building in the Hyde Park neighborhood into a condominium complex. The two attorneys pitched to the building’s tenants that they could own their unit while paying the same or less than their current rent each month, and also receive a tax deduction.

Following the success of their first conversion, Moss and Miller recognized there was a surplus of similar properties owned by banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions. They also realized these institutional owners had trouble earning a profit on selling residential properties as rental apartment buildings. They continued to convert apartment buildings in Hyde Park during the next few years and, by the 1970s, condo conversions had become common throughout the US

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A Look at Three of Illinois’ Top Golfers

The state of Illinois has been the home of several highly accomplished professional golfers, including Bob Goalby and Bill Mehlhorn. One of the earliest greats of Illinois golf, Bill Mehlhorn was an Elgin native born in 1898. He was a pioneer of the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) tour and enjoyed his strongest results during the 1920s.

Nicknamed Wild Bill after the recognizable cowboy hats he wore on the course, Mehlhorn won 19 tournaments during his career, though he did not win one of the sports major championships. That said, he was a runner up to Walter Hagen at the 1925 PGA Championship and finished third at the United States Open in both 1924 and 1926. Overall, he had 14 top 10 finishes at majors.

Other significant achievements for Mehlhorn included participating in the first ever Ryder Cup tie in 1927 and the inaugural Masters Tournaments in 1934. He won five PGA events in 1926, six in 1928, and four in 1929. He also designed a number of golf courses and, following his retirement as a competitor, coached golf at Florida International University.

Mehlhorn may have been an Illinois golf inspiration, but Belleville native Bob Goalby did one better when he won the 1968 Masters Tournament in memorable fashion. Goalby turned pro in 1958 and won 11 titles, including the 1969 Robinson Open Golf Classic in Robinson, Illinois.

Goalby began the 1968 Masters Tournament with seven tournament wins to his name, but with no tour victories in over a year. On the final day of play he faced Robert De Vicenzo, winner of that year’s British Open, for the championship. At the conclusion of play, Goalby had a total score of 11 strokes under par, which seemed to tie De Vicenzo’s score and setup an 18 hole playoff for the championship.

Unfortunately, De Vicenzo’s playing partner incorrectly recorded his birdie on the 17th hole and De Vicenzo signed off on the error and handed it in before a correction could be made. Official rules dictate that the highest written score on a card must be taken, so De Vicenzo lost a stroke, giving Goalby the win. Interestingly, Goalby had to correct a scoring error he made for his playing partner, a correction he submitted in time.

Woodson native Jerry Barber turned pro nearly two decades before Goalby. He only managed seven wins on the PGA tour, two coming on the senior tour, but he managed a memorable win at the 1961 PGA Championship, which was played in Chicago. Rain plagued the weekend and Barber found himself trailing Don January by four shots with only three holes to play, having led the field earlier in the competition.

Barber overcome the rain and humid conditions to make a series of challenging putts, including a sixty foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to force a playoff the following morning. Barber won the 18 hole playoff by a single stroke after January made an error on the last hole. At the time, he was the oldest winner of a major PGA tournament.

While she was not a professional golfer, a special acknowledgment must be made for women’s baseball legend Joanne Winter. Born in Maywood in 1924, Winter was among the original players of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She retired with more than 100 wins and a 2.06 earned run average. Following her retirement, she became a golf instructor in Illinois for three decades.

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