The U.S. Open is one of the four major professional golf championships held annually. The event, which began in 1895 has a long and rich history. There are many facts, both well-known, and obscure associated with the event.
1 – At the beginning, the U.S. Open was held at the same time as the U.S. Amateur Championship. Horace Rawlins from England won the first event, which consisted of 36 holes played at the Newport Golf and Country Club in Rhode Island.
2 – The U.S. Open was changed to a day-two, 72-hole event in 1898. A total of 49 players entered the tournament. Fred Herd won the event with a score of 328.
3 – Alex Smith shot 33-under par to win the 1906 U.S. Open. His score of 295 would be not great by today’s standards, but the course played to a par 82 that year.
4– The first American to win the U.S. Open was John McDermott in 1911.
5– Francis Ouimet, a 20-year-old amateur from Boston, defeated veterans Ted Ray and Harry Vardon in a playoff to win the 1913 U.S. Open.
6- In 1926, the U.S. Open was played over the course of three days for the first time. The first 36 holes were played over the first two days with a 36-hole finale over the final day.
7– Bobby Jones won his 4th and last U.S. Open in 1930 in the same year that he won the British Open, British Amateur, and the U.S. Amateur.
8 – The last amateur to win the U.S. Open was Johnny Goodman, who won the U.S. Open in 1933 and the U.S. Amateur in 1937.
9 – Ben Hogan won the 1950 U.S. Open following an auto accident that nearly took his life the year before.
10 – Club professional Jack Fleck defeated Ben Hogan in the 1955 U.S. Open playoff using Hogan signature clubs.
11 – Arnold Palmer won his first U.S. Open in 1960, shooting a 65 on the final day, defeating Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus.
12 – Gene Littler, who won the U.S. Open in 1961 said, “to have that title the rest of your life is really, really something.”
13 – Jack Nicklaus took down Arnold Palmer in a playoff in the 1962 U.S. Open to win the first of four Open titles. The only other players to win four are Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones, and Willie Anderson.
14 – In blistering heat, Ken Venturi won the 1964 U.S. Open at Congressional. It was the last Open that ended with 36 holes on the final day.
15 – In the first four-day U.S. Open, Gary Player of South Africa became the first foreign winner of the U.S. Open since 1915. Since that time, foreign players have been much more competitive in the U.S. Open.
16 – Julius Boros won the 1968 U.S. Open at age 48 and still remains the oldest to ever win a major championship.
17 – Orville Moody was told to “get behind the ropes” on the last hole in the final round of the 1969 U.S. Open. The only problem was that Moody was playing in the event and not a patron. In fact, Moody won the event for his only PGA Tour victory.
18 – Johnny Miller came from six shots back after 54 holes to win the 1973 U.S. Open after a final round of 63. For Miller, it was his first of two major championship victories.
19 – Between 1994 and 2010, nearly half of the winners came from other countries. Ernie Els and Retief Goosen of South Africa combined to win four.
20 – Corey Pavin won the 1995 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in the 100th anniversary of the event. It was Pavin’s only major championship victory.
21 – Tiger Woods won the 2000 U.S. Open by an astounding 15 shots at Pebble Beach, setting the record for largest margin of victory. He went on to win the next three major championships. In doing so, he was the only player to ever simultaneously hold all four major championship titles.
22 – Ty Tryon qualified for the U.S. Open in 2001 at the age of 17, along with his high school teammate Christo Greyling. Tryon’s best finish at a U.S. Open was in 2010 when he tied for 80th.
23 – The 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black was so difficult during a stormy second round that few in the field could even reach the 10th fairway from the tee. Hal Sutton noted, “Come hell or high water, that’s how the USGA was going to get it up, and that’s what came.”
24 – Debuting in 2005, the movie “The Greatest Game Ever Played” was about Francis Ouimet’s 1913 U.S. Open win over Harry Vardon.
25 –When Michael Campbell won the 2005 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, he became the first winner to have qualified in another country.
26 – Phil Mickelson double-bogeyed the 18th at the 2006 U.S. Open, finishing tied for second. It is the only major he’s failed to win, finishing second a record six times.
27 – Tiger Woods’ win over Rocco Mediate in 2008 at Torrey Pines in a playoff was even more amazing due to the fact Woods played with a double stress fracture of the left tibia and ruptured anterior crucial ligament in his knee.
28 – In 2011, Sam Saunders qualified for the U.S. Open, 58 years after his grandfather Arnold Palmer first played in the event. Also qualifying in 2011 was Steve Irwin, son of 20 time-PGA Tour Champion and 45-time PGA Tour Champions winner Hale Irwin.
29 – The oldest winner of the U.S. Open was Hale Irwin, winning at age 45 in 1990. The youngest winner was John S. McDermott at age 19 in 1911. The oldest player to make the cut was Sam Snead, at age 61 in 1973.
30 – The lowest 72-hole score in the history of the U.S. Open is 268, shot by Rory McIlroy at Congressional in 2011.
31 – Jack Nicklaus holds the record for most consecutive U.S. Open appearances with 44, followed by Hale Irwin’s 34, and Gene Sarazen and Tom Kite, each with 33.
32 – The U.S. Open is open to any golfer that is a professional or has a handicap index of 1.4 or better.
photo courtesy of Joe Shlabotnik: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/