No player won more PGA Tour titles without capturing a major than Harry "Lighthorse" Cooper, who won 29 times. The U.S. Open is the major that haunted him more than the others.
Cooper was a two-time runner-up in the U.S. Open, and both times he had the lead going into the final round.
In 1927 at Oakmont, he was one shot ahead of Tommy Armour, closed with a 77 and lost to Armour by three shots in an 18-hole playoff. Nine years later at Baltusrol, Cooper had a two-shot lead over Vic Ghezzi. Tony Manero came out of nowhere with a 67 on the final day to win by one shot over Cooper, who shot 73. What made the 1936 U.S. Open particularly painful for Cooper was that only two months later, Horton Smith rallied on the last day to beat him in the Masters.
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