1969 U.S. Open (golf)
Tournament information | |
---|---|
Dates | June 12–15, 1969 |
Location | Houston, Texas |
Course(s) |
Champions Golf Club Cypress Creek Course |
Organized by | USGA |
Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
Statistics | |
Par | 70 |
Length | 6,967 yards (6,371 m)[1] |
Field | 149 players, 68 after cut |
Cut | 148 (+8) |
Prize fund | $205,300[2] |
Winner's share | $30,000 |
Champion | |
![]() | |
281 (+1) | |
«1968 1970» |


Golf Club
The 1969 U.S. Open was the 69th U.S. Open, held June 12–15 at the Cypress Creek Course of Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas. Orville Moody won his only PGA Tour title, one stroke ahead of runners-up Deane Beman, Bob Rosburg, and Al Geiberger.[3][4]
A 14-year veteran of the U.S. Army,[5] Moody entered the final round in second place, three shots behind Miller Barber.[6] At age 35, Moody advanced through both local and sectional qualifying in 1969, the last champion to do so. It was his only win on the PGA Tour, with only one additional top-10 finish in a major, two months later at the PGA Championship.
The Cypress Creek Course hosted the Houston Champions International event on the PGA Tour, today's Shell Houston Open, from 1966 through 1971, and the Ryder Cup in 1967. It later hosted The Tour Championship five times (1990, 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2003) and the U.S. Amateur in 1993.
Past champions in the field
Made the cut
Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arnold Palmer | ![]() | 1960 | 70 | 73 | 69 | 72 | 284 | +4 | T6 |
Julius Boros | ![]() | 1952, 1963 | 71 | 73 | 70 | 73 | 287 | +7 | T13 |
Jack Nicklaus | ![]() | 1962 | 74 | 67 | 75 | 73 | 289 | +9 | T25 |
Billy Casper | ![]() | 1959, 1966 | 74 | 73 | 72 | 74 | 293 | +13 | T40 |
Gary Player | ![]() | 1965 | 71 | 75 | 72 | 77 | 295 | +15 | T48 |
Missed the cut
Player | Country | Year won | R1 | R2 | Total | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lee Trevino | ![]() | 1968 | 74 | 75 | 149 | +9 |
Gene Littler | ![]() | 1961 | 72 | 80 | 152 | +12 |
Ken Venturi | ![]() | 1964 | 76 | 77 | 153 | +13 |
Source:[1]
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, June 12, 1969
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bob Murphy | ![]() | 66 | –4 |
2 | Miller Barber | ![]() | 67 | –3 |
T3 | Deane Beman | ![]() | 68 | –2 |
Al Geiberger | ![]() | |||
T5 | George Archer | ![]() | 69 | –1 |
Dean Refram | ![]() | |||
Tom Weiskopf | ![]() | |||
T8 | Dick Crawford | ![]() | 70 | E |
Jack Ewing | ![]() | |||
Bunky Henry | ![]() | |||
George Knudson | ![]() | |||
Arnold Palmer | ![]() | |||
Bob Rosburg | ![]() |
Source:[7]
Second round
Friday, June 13, 1969
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Deane Beman | ![]() | 68-69=137 | –3 |
T2 | Miller Barber | ![]() | 67-71=138 | –2 |
Bob Murphy | ![]() | 66-72=138 | ||
4 | Bob Rosburg | ![]() | 70-69=139 | –1 |
T5 | Charles Coody | ![]() | 72-68=140 | E |
Al Geiberger | ![]() | 68-72=140 | ||
George Knudson | ![]() | 70-70=140 | ||
T8 | Tony Jacklin | ![]() | 71-70=141 | +1 |
Johnny Miller | ![]() | 71-70=141 | ||
Orville Moody | ![]() | 71-70=141 | ||
Jack Nicklaus | ![]() | 74-67=141 |
Source:[1]
Third round
Saturday, June 14, 1969
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Miller Barber | ![]() | 67-71-68=206 | –4 |
2 | Orville Moody | ![]() | 71-70-68=209 | –1 |
T3 | Deane Beman | ![]() | 68-69-73=210 | E |
Bunky Henry | ![]() | 70-72-68=210 | ||
5 | Bob Rosburg | ![]() | 70-69-72=211 | +1 |
T6 | Charles Coody | ![]() | 72-68-72=212 | +2 |
Al Geiberger | ![]() | 68-72-72=212 | ||
Bobby Mitchell | ![]() | 72-74-66=212 | ||
Bob Murphy | ![]() | 66-72-74=212 | ||
Arnold Palmer | ![]() | 70-73-69=212 |
Source:[6]
Final round
Sunday, June 15, 1969
Miller Barber began the final round with a three-stroke lead,[6] but it vanished after he bogeyed five of the first eight holes. He struggled to a 78 (+8) and dropped into a tie for sixth place, which allowed Moody to take the lead. At one point on the back nine, eight competitors were separated by just two shots.[3] Bob Rosburg saved par from the sand at 17 to stay tied with Moody, but after a drive into the rough on 18, he again found a greenside bunker. Another sand shot got him to 3 feet (0.9 m), but he missed the putt for par to force an 18-hole Monday playoff. Playing in the final pairing with Barber, Moody had four consecutive pars to finish and preserved the one-stroke advantage for the championship. Barber needed only a 75 (+5) on Sunday to force a playoff, but finished three strokes back.[3][4]
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Orville Moody | ![]() | 71-70-68-72=281 | +1 | 30,000 |
T2 | Deane Beman | ![]() | 68-69-73-72=282 | +2 | 11,000 |
Al Geiberger | ![]() | 68-72-72-70=282 | |||
Bob Rosburg | ![]() | 70-69-72-71=282 | |||
5 | Bob Murphy | ![]() | 66-72-74-71=283 | +3 | 7,000 |
T6 | Miller Barber | ![]() | 67-71-68-78=284 | +4 | 5,000 |
Bruce Crampton | ![]() | 73-72-68-71=284 | |||
Arnold Palmer | ![]() | 70-73-69-72=284 | |||
9 | Bunky Henry | ![]() | 70-72-68-75=285 | +5 | 3,500 |
T10 | George Archer | ![]() | 69-74-73-70=286 | +6 | 2,800 |
Bruce Devlin | ![]() | 73-74-70-69=286 | |||
Dave Marr | ![]() | 75-69-71-71=286 |
Source:[4]
Scorecard
Final round
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
Source:[4]
References
- 1 2 3 "Beman slips through beef trust to take one-stroke Open lead". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. June 14, 1969. p. 14.
- ↑ "U.S. Open history: 1969". USGA. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- 1 2 3 Jenkins, Dan (June 23, 1969). "Old Sarge cools it". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
- 1 2 3 4 "Orville Moody wins heartbreak U.S. Open". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. June 16, 1969. p. 10.
- ↑ Jauss, Bill (June 16, 1969). "Salute the 'Sarge,' golf king Moody". Toledo Blade. CDN. p. 19.
- 1 2 3 "Barber leads by 3 in 'blow-up' Open". Toledo Blade. Associated Press. June 15, 1969. p. D1.
- ↑ "Murphy leads Open; Pamer shoots par". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. June 13, 1969. p. 16.
External links
Preceded by 1969 Masters |
Major Championships | Succeeded by 1969 Open Championship |
Coordinates: 29°58′59″N 95°31′52″W / 29.983°N 95.531°W