1948 U.S. Amateur: Willie Turnesa wins at Memphis Country Club
Willie Turnesa won the 1948 U.S. Amateur at Memphis Country Club in Memphis, Tennessee, beating Ray Billows 2 & 1 in the final.
Updated October 22, 2026
Walk this draw in the U.S. Amateur room.
- Edition
- 48th
- Dates
- August 30, 1948 to September 4, 1948
- Course
- Memphis Country Club, Memphis, Tennessee
- Format
- match play (sectional qualifying only)
- Champion
- Willie Turnesa · age 34 · United States
- Champion's title
- 2nd U.S. Amateur
- Runner-up
- Ray Billows · age 34
- Final
- 2 & 1
- Losing semifinalists
- Gene Dahlbender and Charles Coe
- Defending champion
- Skee Riegel · lost in round of 64
- Entries
- 1,220
What happened at the 1948 U.S. Amateur
Billows rallied with a par, an eagle on the 465-yard 29th and a win at the 30th to lead, but Turnesa won the 31st, 32nd and 33rd to win 2 & 1 in the rain.
Ray Billows beat Frank Stranahan 7 & 5 in the quarterfinals, ending Stranahan's bid to sweep the British, Canadian and U.S. Amateurs.
Final, Willie Turnesa v. Ray Billows, 2 & 1. Turnesa (74 in the morning) was 1 up at lunch and 2 up after 27; Billows won the 241-yard 28th with a par, holed a 10-foot putt for an eagle on the 465-yard 29th and won the 30th when Turnesa missed an 18-inch putt; Turnesa answered with a par on the 31st and a birdie 3 on the 32nd, Billows took 5 on the 33rd, and halves on the 34th and 35th ended it in drizzling rain.
Quarterfinal, Ray Billows v. Frank Stranahan, 7 & 5. Billows handed Stranahan, chasing a sweep of the British, Canadian and U.S. Amateurs, one of the worst beatings of his career; Stranahan was 5 over par when they shook hands on the 13th green.
Round of 64, Gene Dahlbender v. Skee Riegel. Southern Amateur champion Dahlbender led all the way (4 up at the turn) to eliminate the defending champion in the third round.
The draw
Every match is recorded through the quarterfinal; earlier rounds are partial (round of 16 (6 of 8 matches with players and result; 8 rows); round of 32 (1 of 16 matches with players and result; 2 rows); round of 64 (1 of 32 matches with players and result; 3 rows)).
The final, 1948 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willie Turnesa | def. | Ray Billows | 2 & 1 |
Semifinals, 1948 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willie Turnesa | def. | Gene Dahlbender | 8 & 6 |
| Ray Billows | def. | Charles Coe | 6 & 5 |
Quarterfinals, 1948 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willie Turnesa | def. | Bruce McCormick | 2 & 1 |
| Ray Billows | def. | Frank Stranahan | 7 & 5 |
| Charles Coe | def. | Arthur Armstrong | 4 & 3 |
| Gene Dahlbender | def. | James McGonagill | won on 19th hole |
Round of 16, 1948 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willie Turnesa | def. | Bud Ward | 3 & 1 |
| Bruce McCormick | def. | John Kraft | 4 & 3 |
| Frank Stranahan | def. | Chuck Kocsis | unknown |
| Ray Billows | def. | William Barrett | 5 & 4 |
| Arthur Armstrong | def. | John Levinson | 3 & 2 |
| Charles Coe | def. | Julius Boros | 4 & 3 |
| Gene Dahlbender | def. | Louis Cass | 6 & 4 |
| James McGonagill | def. | Ham Carothers | unknown |
Round of 32, 1948 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Coe | def. | Clarke Hardwicke | 6 & 4 |
| Gene Dahlbender | def. | Robert Harris | unknown |
Round of 64, 1948 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gene Dahlbender | def. | Skee Riegel | unknown |
| Clarke Hardwicke | def. | Bobby Brownell | 3 & 2 |
| James McGonagill | def. | Bobby Riegel | unknown |
How this was built
Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's U.S. Amateur data set (research collected through October 20, 2026). "unknown" means no source confirmed it; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the USGA's own record is used.
Data: us-amateur.json.