1974 U.S. Open (golf)
Tournament information | |
---|---|
Dates | June 13–16, 1974 |
Location | Mamaroneck, New York |
Course(s) |
Winged Foot Golf Club West Course |
Organized by | USGA |
Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
Statistics | |
Par | 70 |
Length | 6,961 yards (6,365 m)[1] |
Field | 150 players, 66 after cut |
Cut | 153 (+13) |
Prize fund | $227,700[2] |
Winner's share | $35,000 |
Champion | |
Hale Irwin | |
287 (+7) | |
«1973 1975» |
The 1974 U.S. Open was the 74th U.S. Open, held June 13–16 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, a suburb northeast of New York City. In what became known as the "Massacre at Winged Foot," Hale Irwin's score of 287 (+7) was good enough for the first of his three U.S. Open titles, two strokes ahead of runner-up Forrest Fezler.[3][4][5][6]
Tom Watson shot a third-round 69 to hold a one-stroke lead over Irwin after 54 holes.[7][8] In the final round, Watson bogeyed holes 4, 5, and 8 on the front and six more on the back for a 79 (+9) and fell into a tie for fifth. Still at the beginning of his career, it was the first top ten finish in a major for the future U.S. Open champion. In a week of brutal scoring conditions, Irwin and Fezler were the last players standing. After making long par putts at 16 and 17, Fezler could not convert another par save at the last, missing from fifteen feet (4.6 m). Irwin bogeyed 15 and 16, and needed a 10-footer (3 m) to save par at 17. With a two-shot lead heading to the 18th, Irwin hit his approach to the center of the green and two-putted for par and the championship.
Winged Foot played extremely difficult throughout the tournament, leading sportswriter Dick Schaap to coin the phrase "The Massacre at Winged Foot," the title of his book.[6] Not a single player broke par in the first round, and Irwin's 7-over was the second-highest since World War II (Julius Boros was 9-over in 1963). Many complained that the USGA had intentionally made the course setup treacherous in response to Johnny Miller's record-breaking 63 the year before.
Arnold Palmer finished five strokes back in a tie for fifth, his final top-5 finish in a major championship. Ken Venturi, 1964 champion, played in his final major and missed the cut.
Sam Snead, age 62, broke a rib during practice on Wednesday and withdrew.[9][10]
Past champions in the field
Made the cut
Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arnold Palmer | United States | 1960 | 73 | 70 | 73 | 76 | 292 | +12 | T5 |
Gary Player | South Africa | 1965 | 70 | 73 | 77 | 73 | 293 | +13 | T8 |
Jack Nicklaus | United States | 1962, 1967, 1972 | 75 | 74 | 76 | 69 | 294 | +14 | T10 |
Johnny Miller | United States | 1973 | 76 | 75 | 74 | 77 | 302 | +22 | T35 |
Missed the cut
Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | Total | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tony Jacklin | England | 1970 | 78 | 76 | 154 | +14 |
Gene Littler | United States | 1961 | 80 | 75 | 155 | +15 |
Billy Casper | United States | 1959, 1966 | 80 | 76 | 156 | +16 |
Lee Trevino | United States | 1968, 1971 | 78 | 78 | 156 | +16 |
Ken Venturi | United States | 1964 | 84 | 81 | 165 | +25 |
Julius Boros | United States | 1952, 1963 | 78 | WD |
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, June 13, 1974
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gary Player | South Africa | 70 | E |
T2 | Lou Graham | United States | 71 | +1 |
Mike Reasor | United States | |||
T4 | Jim Colbert | United States | 72 | +2 |
Bruce Crampton | Australia | |||
Raymond Floyd | United States | |||
Bobby Nichols | United States | |||
Barney Thompson | United States | |||
T9 | Arnold Palmer | United States | 73 | +3 |
Tom Watson | United States | |||
Hale Irwin | United States | |||
Rod Funseth | United States | |||
Jerry Heard | United States | |||
David Graham | Australia | |||
Mark Hayes | United States | |||
John Buczek | United States |
Source:[12]
Second round
Friday, June 14, 1974
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
T1 | Arnold Palmer | United States | 73-70=143 | +3 |
Hale Irwin | United States | 73-70=143 | ||
Raymond Floyd | United States | 72-71=143 | ||
Gary Player | South Africa | 70-73=143 | ||
T5 | Tom Kite | United States | 74-70=144 | +4 |
Tom Watson | United States | 73-71=144 | ||
T7 | Bert Yancey | United States | 76-69=145 | +5 |
Forrest Fezler | United States | 75-70=145 | ||
T9 | Larry Ziegler | United States | 78-68=146 | +6 |
Frank Beard | United States | 77-69=146 | ||
Eddie Pearce | United States | 75-71=146 | ||
John Buczek | United States | 73-73=146 | ||
Lou Graham | United States | 71-75=146 |
Source:[12]
Third round
Saturday, June 15, 1974
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tom Watson | United States | 73-71-69=213 | +3 |
2 | Hale Irwin | United States | 73-70-71=214 | +4 |
3 | Arnold Palmer | United States | 73-70-73=216 | +6 |
T4 | Frank Beard | United States | 77-69-72=218 | +8 |
Bert Yancey | United States | 76-69-73=218 | ||
Jim Colbert | United States | 72-77-69=218 | ||
7 | Forrest Fezler | United States | 75-70-74=219 | +9 |
T8 | Lou Graham | United States | 71-75-74=220 | +10 |
Gary Player | South Africa | 70-73-77=220 | ||
T10 | Raymond Floyd | United States | 72-71-78=221 | +11 |
Buddy Allin | United States | 76-71-74=221 | ||
Tom Kite | United States | 74-70-77=221 | ||
Dale Douglass | United States | 77-72-72=221 | ||
Tom Weiskopf | United States | 76-73-72=221 |
Source:[7]
Final round
Sunday, June 16, 1974
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hale Irwin | United States | 73-70-71-73=287 | +7 | 35,000 |
2 | Forrest Fezler | United States | 75-70-74-70=289 | +9 | 18,000 |
T3 | Lou Graham | United States | 71-75-74-70=290 | +10 | 11,500 |
Bert Yancey | United States | 76-69-73-72=290 | |||
T5 | Jim Colbert | United States | 72-77-69-74=292 | +12 | 8,000 |
Arnold Palmer | United States | 73-70-73-76=292 | |||
Tom Watson | United States | 73-71-69-79=292 | |||
T8 | Tom Kite | United States | 74-70-77-72=293 | +13 | 5,500 |
Gary Player | South Africa | 70-73-77-73=293 | |||
T10 | Buddy Allin | United States | 76-71-74-73=294 | +14 | 3,750 |
Jack Nicklaus | United States | 75-74-76-69=294 |
Scorecard
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
Eagle | Birdie | Bogey | Double bogey | Triple bogey+ |
References
- ↑ "For you nostalgia fans – it's the Palmer of old!". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. June 15, 1975. p. 12.
- ↑ "U.S. Open history: 1974". USGA. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 Tomashek, Tom (Jun 17, 1974). "Hail! Irwin wins Open by 2". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
- ↑ Jenkins, Dan (June 24, 1974). "Hale Irwin, sole survivor". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
- 1 2 3 "Irwin finishes with 287, gains two-stroke victory in U.S. Open". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. June 17, 1974. p. 17.
- 1 2 McCleery, Peter (June 8, 2006). "The Massacre of '74 still lingers". ESPN. (Golf Digest). Retrieved May 20, 2014.
- 1 2 Tomashek, Tom (June 16, 1974). "Watson leads by 1 in Open; Arnie 3d". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
- ↑ "Watson takes lead as Arnie, Gary fade". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. June 16, 1974. p. 1B.
- ↑ "Broken rib costs Snead Open berth". Bangor Daily News. (Maine). Associated Press. June 13, 1974. p. 27.
- ↑ "Sam slammed by Open jinx". The Age. (Melbourne, Australia). June 14, 1974. p. 27.
- 1 2 3 "1974 U.S. Open". databasegolf.com. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- 1 2 3 "Arnie's back as he takes share of lead". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. June 15, 1974. p. 1B.
- ↑ "Irwin's final card". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. June 17, 1974. p. 17.
External links
Preceded by 1974 Masters |
Major Championships | Succeeded by 1974 Open Championship |
Coordinates: 40°57′29″N 73°45′14″W / 40.958°N 73.754°W