Golf Network News ← Back to the clubhouseClubhouse

Olin Dutra

United States · born , Monterey, California, USA · died

2major championships

Summary

  • First major 1932 PGA Championship
  • Last major 1934 U.S. Open
  • Ryder Cup 2 Cups · 1-3-0 · 1 points (25.0%)

Wins

  1. 1932 PGA Championship Keller Golf Course · won the final 4 & 3 against Frank Walsh
  2. 1934 U.S. Open Merion Cricket Club · 293 (+13) · by 1 stroke from Gene Sarazen

Near misses

  1. 1933 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished 6 · 294 (+2)

Ryder Cup

2 Cups, 4 matches: 1 won, 3 lost, 0 halved, 1 points. Foursomes 0-2-0, four-ball 0-0-0, singles 1-1-0.

  1. 1933 Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club USA · GB won 6.5–5.5 · 0-2-0, 0 points
  2. 1935 Ridgewood Country Club USA · USA won 9–3 · 1-1-0, 1 point

Rivals

Beaten in finals and playoffs

Frank WalshLost the 1932 PGA Championship final to Olin Dutra

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Denny Shute's rivals →

Moments

  1. 1932 PGA Championship Frank Walsh beat defending champion Tom Creavy on the 38th hole in the semifinals.
  2. 1932 PGA Championship Dutra, the stroke-play qualifying medalist, beat Walsh 4 & 3 in the final.
  3. 1933 Ryder Cup In the singles Olin Dutra, stymied at the 18th by Abe Mitchell, chipped over and knocked Mitchell's ball into the hole; Mitchell won 9 & 8.
  4. 1935 Ryder Cup Three Whitcombe brothers (Charles, Ernest, Reg) were on the GB team; Charles and Ernest beat Olin Dutra and Ky Laffoon 1 up for GB's only foursomes point.

Records and firsts

  1. — PGA Championship medalists who went on to win · 4 players (Walter Hagen (1926, 1927), Olin Dutra (1932), Byron Nelson (1945, shared medal) and Doug Ford (1955); Golf Compendium calls Ford "one of four medalists" to win)

Results by championship

    Best day

    1934 U.S. Open

    Merion Cricket Club, Ardmore, PA · 293 (+13) · by 1 stroke from Gene Sarazen

    Chosen by rule: his widest winning margin in a major. Year page: 1934.

    Career line, 1932–1935

    PGA Championship
    1932 PGA Championship: won
    U.S. Open
    1934 U.S. Open: won
    The Open
    1933 The Open: finished 6
    Ryder Cup
    1933 Ryder Cup (USA): 0-2-01935 Ryder Cup (USA): 1-1-0
    193219341936

    5 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Major win
    • Top 10
    • Ryder Cup, USA

    Olin Dutra was born on January 17, 1901, in Monterey, California, USA. Dutra won 2 major championships: 1 PGA Championship (1932) and 1 U.S. Open (1934). Dutra played in 2 Ryder Cups for USA (1933, 1935), winning 1, losing 3 and halving 0 of 4 matches for 1 point.

    See Olin Dutra in our rooms: U.S. Open, The Open, Greatest Golfer by State and Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Wins in the majors (2)

    1. 1932 PGA Championship Keller Golf Course, Maplewood, Minnesota · won the final 4 & 3 against Frank Walsh
    2. 1934 U.S. Open Merion Cricket Club, Ardmore, PA · 293 (+13) · by 1 stroke from Gene Sarazen

    Near misses

    Top-10 finishes are listed for The Open, the one championship with a full top 10 every year.

    1. 1933 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished 6 · 294 (+2)

    U.S. Open top-10 finishes in his career: 3 (GNN U.S. Open room data).

    Ryder Cup

    Dutra played 2 Ryder Cups for USA: 4 matches, 1 won, 3 lost, 0 halved, 1 points (25.0% of those available). By format: foursomes 0-2-0, four-ball 0-0-0, singles 1-1-0 (won-lost-halved).

    1. 1933 Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club USA · GB won 6.5–5.5 · 0-2-0, 0 points
    2. 1935 Ridgewood Country Club USA · USA won 9–3 · 1-1-0, 1 point

    Partners, with matches played together: Denny Shute (1), Ky Laffoon (1).

    PGA Championship match play

    Every recorded match in our bracket file, 1916–1957: 7 won, 3 lost, including 1 of 1 finals.

    1. 1928 Round of 32 lost to Al Watrous 2 & 1
    2. 1932 Round of 32 beat George Smith 9 & 8
    3. 1932 Round of 16 beat Reggie Myles 5 & 3
    4. 1932 Quarterfinal beat Herman Barron 5 & 4
    5. 1932 Semifinal beat Ed Dudley 3 & 2
    6. 1932 Final beat Frank Walsh 4 & 3
    7. 1933 Round of 32 beat Reggie Myles 4 & 3
    8. 1933 Round of 16 lost to Johnny Farrell 1 up
    9. 1937 Round of 64 beat Clarence Doser 3 & 2
    10. 1937 Round of 32 lost to Denny Shute 3 & 2

    Records and firsts

    Rows from our record tables that name this player, worded as the tables word them.

    1. — PGA Championship medalists who went on to win · 4 players (Walter Hagen (1926, 1927), Olin Dutra (1932), Byron Nelson (1945, shared medal) and Doug Ford (1955); Golf Compendium calls Ford "one of four medalists" to win)

    Sources

    Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

    1. where2golf
    2. PGA Tour
    3. Golf Compendium PGA Tour career wins
    4. Golf Compendium winners list
    5. WP: List of American Ryder Cup golfers
    6. PGA of America winners & venues
    7. Golf Compendium 1932
    8. The Golf News Net history table (2026)
    9. Today's Golfer purse history
    10. Trenham, Philadelphia PGA history 1930–1939
    11. Golf Compendium biggest comebacks
    12. PGA of America 2013 media guide, p. 99
    13. GNN U.S. Open room (champions data)
    14. R&A 1933
    15. Golf Compendium 1933
    16. GC: 1933 ryder cup
    17. Wikipedia: 1933 Ryder Cup
    18. GC: 1935 ryder cup
    19. Wikipedia: 1935 Ryder Cup
    20. Golf Compendium 1955
    21. PGA of America, Nelson 1945
    22. Trenham, Philadelphia PGA history 1921–1929