1955 U.S. Amateur: Harvie Ward wins at Country Club of Virginia (James River Course)
Harvie Ward won the 1955 U.S. Amateur at Country Club of Virginia (James River Course) in Richmond, Virginia, beating Bill Hyndman 9 & 8 in the final.
Updated October 22, 2026
Walk this draw in the U.S. Amateur room.
- Edition
- 55th
- Dates
- September 12, 1955 to September 17, 1955
- Course
- Country Club of Virginia (James River Course), Richmond, Virginia
- Format
- match play (sectional qualifying only)
- Champion
- Harvie Ward · age 29 · United States
- Champion's title
- 1st U.S. Amateur
- Runner-up
- Bill Hyndman · age 39
- Final
- 9 & 8
- Losing semifinalists
- Bill Booe and Hillman Robbins
- Defending champion
- Arnold Palmer
- Entries
- 1,493
- What winning earned
- Masters invitation (U.S. Amateur quarterfinalists were invited)
What happened at the 1955 U.S. Amateur
Ward was 8 up after a morning 66 and won 9 & 8; Hyndman's 75-ft putt on the 20th was the only hole he won
Bill Hyndman ended Joe Campbell's 40-match winning streak in the quarterfinals, 2 up
Final, Harvie Ward v. Bill Hyndman, 9 & 8. Ward shot a four-under 66 in the morning to go 8 up, went 9 up at the 19th; Hyndman (treated for foot blisters at lunch) holed a 75-ft putt on the 20th for the only hole he won, and Ward closed it out with a halved 4 on the 28th
Quarterfinal, Hillman Robbins v. Ed Hopkins Jr., 1 up. Robbins shot 67 but won only 1 up: Hopkins squared the match on the 16th and Robbins chipped in from 55 ft on the 17th to regain the lead
Quarterfinal, Bill Hyndman v. Joe Campbell, 2 up. Hyndman ended Joe Campbell's streak of 40 consecutive match-play victories; reaching the quarterfinals earned the 39-year-old Hyndman a Masters invitation
Quarterfinal, Bill Booe v. Charles Kunkle Jr., 1 up. Booe, a former Yale place-kicker, won his quarterfinal despite shooting a 12-over-par 82 (Kunkle had beaten Little Slam seeker Joe Conrad that morning)
The draw
Every match is recorded through the round of 16; earlier rounds are partial (round of 32 (15 of 16 matches with players and result; 16 rows)).
The final, 1955 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvie Ward | def. | Bill Hyndman | 9 & 8 |
Semifinals, 1955 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvie Ward | def. | Bill Booe | 4 & 2 |
| Bill Hyndman | def. | Hillman Robbins | 4 & 3 |
Quarterfinals, 1955 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Hyndman | def. | Joe Campbell | 2 up |
| Hillman Robbins | def. | Ed Hopkins Jr. | 1 up |
| Bill Booe | def. | Charles Kunkle Jr. | 1 up |
| Harvie Ward | def. | Jimmy McCoy | 6 & 4 |
Round of 16, 1955 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Campbell | def. | Jake Howard Jr. | 6 & 4 |
| Bill Hyndman | def. | Jimmy McHale | 2 & 1 |
| Bill Booe | def. | William Waryan | 6 & 4 |
| Hillman Robbins | def. | John G. Miles | 2 & 1 |
| Ed Hopkins Jr. | def. | George P. Swift Jr. | 3 & 1 |
| Charles Kunkle Jr. | def. | Joe Conrad | 3 & 2 |
| Harvie Ward | def. | Bob McCall | 3 & 2 |
| Jimmy McCoy | def. | Robert J. Jordan | 4 & 2 |
Round of 32, 1955 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Campbell | def. | Ed Meister | 4 & 3 |
| Hillman Robbins | def. | Ray Billows | 9 & 7 |
| Jake Howard Jr. | def. | Eley (Annapolis, Md.; first name illegible) | 4 & 2 |
| George P. Swift Jr. | def. | Fred L. Gordon | 5 & 4 |
| Jimmy McHale | def. | Walter E. Beckjord | unknown |
| Bill Hyndman | def. | Ben L. Goodes | won on 19th hole |
| Ed Hopkins Jr. | def. | John E. Wagner | 6 & 5 |
| John G. Miles | def. | Claude Wild Jr. | 2 & 1 |
| Charles Kunkle Jr. | def. | John W. Veghte | 2 & 1 |
| Joe Conrad | def. | Robert Gardner (West Orange, N.J.) | 3 & 1 |
| Harvie Ward | def. | Rex Baxter Jr. | 6 & 4 |
| William Waryan | def. | Tom Draper | 3 & 2 |
| Bill Booe | def. | Arthur P. Butler | 5 & 4 |
| Bob McCall | def. | Willie Turnesa | 4 & 3 |
| Jimmy McCoy | def. | Frederick Paine | 3 & 2 |
| Robert J. Jordan | def. | Gene Andrews | 2 & 1 |
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.