Olin Dutra
American professional golfer
title: "Olin Dutra" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-male-golfers", "pga-tour-golfers", "ryder-cup-competitors-for-the-united-states", "winners-of-men's-major-golf-championships", "golfers-from-monterey-county,-california", "sportspeople-from-monterey,-california", "sportspeople-from-stanislaus-county,-california", "1901-births", "1983-deaths", "20th-century-american-sportsmen"] description: "American professional golfer" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olin_Dutra" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American professional golfer ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox golfer"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Olin Dutra |
| image | Olin Dutra at 1934 LA Open.jpg |
| imagesize | |
| caption | Dutra in 1934 |
| fullname | Olin Dutra |
| nickname | King Kong |
| Slammin' Spaniard | |
| Golden Basque | |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Monterey, California, U.S. |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Newman, California, U.S. |
| height | 6 ft 3 in |
| weight | 230 lb |
| nationality | |
| spouse | Gladys M. Dutra |
| children | 1 son, 1 daughter |
| yearpro | 1924 |
| retired | |
| extour | PGA Tour |
| prowins | 20 |
| pgawins | 10 |
| otherwins | 10 |
| majorwins | 2 |
| masters | 3rd: 1935 |
| usopen | Won: 1934 |
| open | 6th: 1933 |
| pga | Won: 1932 |
| :: |
| name = Olin Dutra | image = Olin Dutra at 1934 LA Open.jpg | imagesize = | caption = Dutra in 1934 | fullname = Olin Dutra | nickname = King Kong Slammin' Spaniard Golden Basque | birth_date = | birth_place = Monterey, California, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Newman, California, U.S. | height = 6 ft 3 in | weight = 230 lb | nationality = | spouse = Gladys M. Dutra | children = 1 son, 1 daughter | yearpro = 1924 | retired = | extour = PGA Tour | prowins = 20 | pgawins = 10 | otherwins = 10 | majorwins = 2 | masters = 3rd: 1935 | usopen = Won: 1934 | open = 6th: 1933 | pga = Won: 1932 | awardssection =
Olin A. Dutra (January 17, 1901 – May 5, 1983) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1920s and 1930s. He won two major titles, the PGA Championship in 1932 and the U.S. Open in 1934, and was the first major champion born in the western United States.
Early life
Born in Monterey, California, Dutra was a descendant of early Spanish settlers in California. At age nine, he and his older brother Mortimer were introduced to golf as a caddies at the country club in Del Monte, where the club professional was Macdonald Smith. For years, they woke up very early to practice golf before going to work. Early in his career, Dutra worked at a hardware store for five years.
Professional career
In 1923, Dutra resigned from a job at his father's hardware store to become a golf professional. His best years as a golf professional were in the early 1930s, when he won his two majors and played on the 1933 and 1935 Ryder Cup teams. In the 1932 PGA Championship in St. Paul, Dutra played 196 holes and finished an astounding 19-under-par. He was the medalist in the 36-hole qualifier and won his five matches by comfortable margins (9 & 8, 5 & 3, 5 & 4, 3 & 2, and 4 & 3).
Dutra is best remembered for his performance at the 1934 U.S. Open at Merion near Philadelphia. More than a year earlier, Dutra became afflicted with amoebic dysentery, an often uncomfortable and painful intestinal infection. While traveling east from Los Angeles, Dutra stopped in the Detroit area to meet up with his brother Mortie, as both were entered in the Open, and began to feel very ill. He spent a short time in the hospital, casting doubt whether he could even play in the tournament. He resorted to unusual measures to cope with the infection, and lost close to 20 lb off his , 230 lb frame. (Mortie Dutra finished tied for 28th.)
Dutra began his career as a club pro in Fresno, California at Fort Washington Country Club for several years and then was at Sunnyside Country Club for a year. He won his two majors as the pro at Brentwood Country Club in Los Angeles, and moved over to Wilshire Country Club in 1935. While at Brentwood in 1932, he gave Babe Didrickson a two-minute lesson before she played her "first" round of golf, shortly after the 1932 Olympics; her first tee shot was 240 yd, outdriving her male playing partners. (It was later revealed she had previous golf experience.) Dutra later worked in Mexico City, then back in California in Avila Beach and Watsonville.
Death
Dutra died after an extended illness at age 82 in Newman in Stanislaus County. He and his wife Gladys are buried in the Hills Ferry Cemetery in Newman.
Awards and honors
In 1966, Dutra was inducted into the Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame
Professional wins (20)
PGA Tour wins (10)
- 1929 (1) National Orange Open
- 1930 (2) Long Beach Open (tie with Joe Kirkwood, Sr.), Southern California Pro
- 1932 (3) Metropolitan Open, North Shore Chicago Open, PGA Championship
- 1934 (2) U.S. Open, Miami Biltmore Open
- 1936 (2) Sunset Fields Open, True Temper Open Source:
Other wins (10)
- 1922 Del Monte Match Play
- 1930 Southern California PGA Championship
- 1931 Southern California PGA Championship, California State Match Play, Pacific Southwest PGA
- 1932 Southern California PGA Championship
- 1933 Southern California PGA Championship
- 1938 Southern California PGA Championship
- 1940 Southern California PGA Championship, California State Open
Major championships
Wins (2)
::data[format=table]
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | PGA Championship | n/a | 4 & 3 | USA Frank Walsh | |
| 1934 | U.S. Open | 3 shot deficit | +13 (76-74-72-71=293) | 1 stroke | USA Gene Sarazen |
| :: |
The PGA Championship was match play until 1958.
Results timeline
::data[format=table]
| Tournament | 1928 | 1929 |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Open | ||
| The Open Championship | ||
| PGA Championship | R32 | |
| :: |
::data[format=table]
| Tournament | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | 3 | |||||
| U.S. Open | T25 | T21 | T7 | T7 | 1 | T12 | T45 | T55 | T16 | T16 |
| The Open Championship | 6 | |||||||||
| PGA Championship | 1 | R16 | DNQ | R32 | ||||||
| :: |
::data[format=table]
| Tournament | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | NT | NT | NT | |||||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | WD | NT | NT | NT | NT | CUT | |||
| The Open Championship | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| PGA Championship | NT | |||||||||
| :: |
::data[format=table]
| Tournament | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 63 | |||
| U.S. Open | ||||
| The Open Championship | ||||
| PGA Championship | ||||
| :: |
NYF = tournament not yet founded
NT = no tournament
WD = withdrew
DNQ = did not qualify for match play portion
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Summary
::data[format=table]
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made | Totals | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||
| U.S. Open | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 10 | |||||||||
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| PGA Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | |||||||||
| :: |
- Longest streak of top-10s – 7 (1932 U.S. Open – 1935 Masters)
Inaccurate statistics - Dutra DNQ in 1934 PGA 78-73=153 (+9) http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1934/07/25/page/18/article/how-professional-golfers-scored-in-qualifying-round
References
References
- Beers, Joel. (December 2010). "2010 Hall of Fame: Olin Dutra".
- "Olin Dutra". Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame.
- (May 7, 1983). "Obituaries: Olin Dutra". Toledo Blade.
- Alvarez, Robert. (January 13, 2011). "Museum Moment: Olin Dutra's Gritty 1934 U.S. Open Victory". USGA Museum.
- (May 7, 1983). "Olin Dutra, Golf Star in 30's; Won the United States Open". [[The New York Times]].
- June 10, 1934. "Golf triumph for West". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
- Darsie, Darsie L.. (May 21, 1931). "Olin Dutra is West's leading candidate for Ryder Cup team". Milwaukee Sentinel.
- (September 1935). "Photo-Biography—No.40". LA 84 Foundation.
- "The Brooklyn Daily Eagle 12 Jun 1934, page 19".
- Barkow, Al. (November 1989). "The History of the PGA TOUR". [[Doubleday (publisher).
- (August 31, 1932). "Olin Dutra takes qualifying medal". Montreal Gazette.
- "Tournament Info for: 1932 PGA Championship". PGA of America.
- (September 5, 1932). "Olin Dutra wins pro golf title". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- link. (January 20, 2012)
- Glick, Shav. (February 2, 1986). "Robinson and Dutra newest inductees into Southland Hall of Fame". Los Angeles Times.
- Considine, Bob. (August 7, 1956). "No obstacle too big". Milwaukee Sentinel.
- Johnson, William Oscar. (October 13, 1975). "Babe Part 2".
- "Olin Dutra – Golf – 1966". Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame.
- "Olin Dutra PGA TOUR Player Profile, Stats, Bio, Career".
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