1973 U.S. Open (golf)

1973 U.S. Open
Tournament information
Dates June 14–17, 1973
Location Oakmont, Pennsylvania
Course(s) Oakmont Country Club
Organized by USGA
Tour(s) PGA Tour
Statistics
Par 71
Length 6,921 yards (6,329 m)[1]
Field 149 players, 65 after cut
Cut 150 (+8)
Prize fund $219,400[2]
Winner's share $35,000
Champion
United States Johnny Miller
279 (–5)
«1972
1974»
Oakmont CC
Location in the United States

The 1973 U.S. Open was the 73rd U.S. Open. The golf tournament was held June 14–17, 1973, at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. In one of the finest performances in tournament history, Johnny Miller fired a record 63 in the final round to win his first major championship, one stroke ahead of runner-up John Schlee.[3][4][5]

Course layout

Oakmont Country Club[6]

Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards4693434255493791953952444803,4794623716031853604532303224563,4426,921
Par444543435364453443443571

Lengths of the course for previous major championships:

Before 1962, the 1st hole was played as a par 5.

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Player Country Year(s) won R1 R2 R3 R4 Total To par Finish
Jack Nicklaus  United States 1962, 1967, 1972 71 69 74 68 282 –2 T4
Arnold Palmer  United States 1960 71 71 68 72 282 –2 T4
Lee Trevino  United States 1968, 1971 70 72 70 70 282 –2 T4
Julius Boros  United States 1952, 1963 73 69 68 73 283 –1 T7
Gary Player  South Africa 1965 67 70 77 73 287 +3 12
Gene Littler  United States 1961 71 74 70 76 291 +7 T18
Tony Jacklin  England 1970 75 75 73 77 300 +16 T52

Missed the cut

Player Country Year(s) won R1 R2 Total To par
Orville Moody  United States 1969 78 73 151 +9
Billy Casper  United States 1959, 1966 79 79 158 +16

Source:[7]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 14, 1973

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1 Gary Player  South Africa 67 –4
T2 Lee Trevino  United States 70 –1
Jim Colbert  United States
Raymond Floyd  United States
T5 Jack Nicklaus  United States 71 E
Johnny Miller  United States
Arnold Palmer  United States
Gene Littler  United States
Bob Charles  New Zealand
Ralph Johnston  United States

Second round

Friday, June 15, 1973

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1 Gary Player  South Africa 67-70=137 –5
2 Jim Colbert  United States 70-68=138 –4
T3 Jack Nicklaus  United States 71-69=140 –2
Johnny Miller  United States 71-69=140
Bob Charles  New Zealand 71-69=140
T6 Gene Borek  United States 77-65=142 E
Julius Boros  United States 73-69=142
Tom Weiskopf  United States 73-69=142
Arnold Palmer  United States 71-71=142
Lee Trevino  United States 70-72=142

Third round

Saturday, June 16, 1973

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1 Jerry Heard  United States 74-70-66=210 –3
John Schlee  United States 73-70-67=210
Arnold Palmer  United States 71-71-68=210
Julius Boros  United States 73-69-68=210
5 Tom Weiskopf  United States 73-69-69=211 –2
T6 Lee Trevino  United States 70-72-70=212 –1
Bob Charles  New Zealand 71-69-72=212
Jim Colbert  United States 70-68-74=212
T9 Jack Nicklaus  United States 71-69-74=214 +1
Gary Player  South Africa 67-70-77=214

Source:[8]

Final round

Sunday, June 17, 1973

After overnight rains, four players shared the 54-hole lead: Schlee, Jerry Heard, 1963 champion Julius Boros, and 1960 winner Arnold Palmer. After a 76 (+5) on Saturday, Miller started the final round six strokes back, in a tie for 13th place at three strokes over par,[8] and few gave him any chance of winning. Miller birdied the first four holes, but after a bogey at the eighth, it certainly did not appear like he was on the brink of the greatest round in U.S. Open history. But he then birdied four of the next five holes, and after a par at 14 he found himself tied for the lead with Palmer, Boros, and Tom Weiskopf. At the 15th hole, Miller hit his approach to 10 feet (3 m) and converted for birdie to take solo possession of the lead. After just missing a birdie at 18 for a 62, Miller carded the first round of 63 in major championship history. Finishing well ahead of the last groups, Miller then waited to see if anyone would match him. Palmer fell out of contention with three consecutive bogeys to finish in a tie for fourth. Boros and Heard both shot 73 and finished in a tie for seventh. Only Schlee had a chance to tie Miller, but his 40-footer for birdie at the last stayed out.

In shooting 63, Miller hit all 18 greens in regulation and needed 29 putts. Ten of his approach shots wound up within 15 feet (5 m), while five were within 6 feet. His score was even more remarkable given that only three other players managed to even break 70 on the day.

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney ($)
1 Johnny Miller  United States 71-69-76-63=279 –5 35,000
2 John Schlee  United States 73-70-67-70=280 –4 18,000
3 Tom Weiskopf  United States 73-69-69-70=281 –3 13,000
T4 Jack Nicklaus  United States 71-69-74-68=282 –2 9,000
Arnold Palmer  United States 71-71-68-72=282
Lee Trevino  United States 70-72-70-70=282
T7 Julius Boros  United States 73-69-68-73=283 –1 6,000
Jerry Heard  United States 74-70-66-73=283
Lanny Wadkins  United States 74-69-75-65=283
10 Jim Colbert  United States 70-68-74-72=284 E 4,000

Source:[1][7]

Scorecard

Final round

Hole 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 101112131415161718
Par444543435445344344
United States Miller +2+1E−1−1−1−1E−1 −1−2 −3 −4−4 −5 −5−5−5
United States Schlee −1−1−1−3−2−3−3−2−3−3−3−4−3−3−3−4−4−4
United States Weiskopf −2−3−3−3−3−3−3−3−4−3−3−3−3−2−2−3−3−3
United States Nicklaus +1EEEEEE+1EEEEEEE−1−2−2
United States Palmer −3−3−3−4−4−3−3−3−4−4−4−3−2−1−1−1−1−2
United States Trevino E−1−1−2−2−2−2−2−3−3−3−3−3−3−3−3−2−2
United States Wadkins +5+4+4+2+2+3+3+3+1+1+1E−1−1−1−1−2−1

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
Source:[3][9]

Miller's final round

Johnny Miller's 63: club selection and results - June 17, 1973[6]

HoleYardsParClub selectionsScoreResult To par
14694 Driver, 3-iron to 5 feet3birdie–1
23434Driver, 9-iron to 1 foot3birdie–2
34254Driver, 5-iron to 25 feet3birdie–3
45495Driver, 3-wood, bunker shot to 6 inches4birdie–4
53794 Driver, 6-iron to 25 feet, 2 putts4 par–4
61953 3-iron to 25 feet, 2 putts3 par–4
73954 Driver, 9-iron to 6 feet, 2 putts4 par–4
82443 4-wood to 30 feet, 3 putts4bogey–3
94805 Driver, 2-iron to 40 feet, 2 putts4birdie–4
Out3,47936 32 –4
104624 Driver, 5-iron to 25 feet, 2 putts3par–4
113714 Driver, wedge to 14 feet4birdie–5
126035 Driver, 7-iron, 4-iron to 15 feet4birdie–6
131853 4-iron to 5 feet2birdie–7
143604 Driver, wedge to 12 feet, 2 putts4par–7
154534 Driver, 4-iron to 10 feet3birdie–8
162303 2-iron to 45 feet, 2 putts3 par–8
173224 1-iron, wedge to 10 feet, 2 putts4 par–8
184564 Driver, 5-iron to 20 feet, 2 putts4 par–8
In3,44235 31 –4
Total6,92171 63 –8

References

  1. 1 2 "Johnny Miller fires record 63 charging to U.S. Open victory". The Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. June 18, 1973. p. 32.
  2. ↑ "U.S. Open history: 1973". USGA. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  3. 1 2 Grimsley, Will (June 18, 1973). "John Miller fires record 63 in scorching finish to take Open at Oakmont". Youngstown Vindicator (Ohio). Associated Press. p. 14.
  4. ↑ Gundelfinger, Phil (June 18, 1973). "Miller's record 63 wins Open". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 1.
  5. ↑ Jenkins, Dan (June 25, 1973). "Battle of the Ages". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
  6. 1 2 Elling, Steve (June 12, 2007). "Miller's magical 63 in '73 a round to remember". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  7. 1 2 "1973 U.S. Open". databasegolf.com. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  8. 1 2 "The Open with one round left (scores)". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. June 17, 1973. p. 7C.
  9. ↑ "Open scores". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 18, 1973. p. 18.

External links

Preceded by
1973 Masters		 Major Championships Succeeded by
1973 Open Championship

Coordinates: 40°31′34″N 79°49′37″W / 40.526°N 79.827°W / 40.526; -79.827

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, May 26, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.