1962 U.S. Open

1962 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	June 14–17, 1962
Location	Oakmont, Pennsylvania
Course(s)	Oakmont Country Club
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	71
Field	149, 51 after cut
Cut	150 (+8)
Winner's share	$17,500
Champion
Jack Nicklaus
283 (–1)

The 1962 U.S. Open was the 62nd U.S. Open. The golf tournament was held June 14–17, 1962, at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. Jack Nicklaus defeated Arnold Palmer in an 18-hole playoff that marked only the beginning of their legendary rivalry. For Nicklaus, it was his first of four U.S. Open titles and first of a record 18 major championships he would win.

After 54 holes, Arnold Palmer held a share of the lead with Bobby Nichols, with Phil Rodgers and Bob Rosburg a stroke back and Jack Nicklaus two back. Rosburg shot a 79 in the final round and quickly fell out of contention, while Nichols and Rodgers carded scores of 73 and 72, respectively, to share 3rd place. But the story of this day was the duel between Palmer and Nicklaus. Although he bogeyed the 9th, Palmer still led Nicklaus as they made the turn. That would change quickly as Nicklaus birdied 11 and Palmer bogeyed 13, evening up the score. Nicklaus missed a birdie attempt at the last to finish with a 69, while Palmer missed a 12-footer for birdie at 18 that would have won the championship. This set up an 18-hole playoff between golf's most popular player and the game's rising star.

The 10,000 that showed up for the playoff the next day were decidedly pro-Palmer, constantly taunting the 22-year-old upstart. Nicklaus, however, silenced the crowd by going up by four strokes after six holes. Palmer then launched one of his patented charges with birdies at 11 and 12 to close within one. A three-putt bogey at 13, however, proved to be costly for Palmer. Nicklaus held him off from there and prevailed by three strokes, carding a 71 to Palmer's 74. Nicklaus won the championship on the greens; he had just one three-putt the entire week, while Palmer had 10. Nicklaus became the youngest winner of the U.S. Open since Bobby Jones in 1923, and became the first golfer since Jones to hold the Open and the U.S. Amateur championship at the same time; he had won the Amateur the previous year before turning pro. For Palmer, this began a frustrating stretch which would see him finish runner-up in 4 U.S. Opens in six years. His words after the tournament proved prophetic, saying of Nicklaus: "Now that the big guy is out of the cage, everybody better run for cover."

Final leaderboard

#	Player	Country	Score	To par	Winnings ($)
1	Jack Nicklaus	United States	72-70-72-69=283	–1	17,500
2	Arnold Palmer	United States	71-68-73-71=283		10,500
T3	Bobby Nichols	United States	70-72-70-73=285	+1	5,500
	Phil Rodgers	United States	74-70-69-72=285
5	Gay Brewer	United States	73-72-73-69=287	+3	4,000
T6	Tommy Jacobs	United States	74-71-73-70=288	+4	2,750
	Gary Player	South Africa	71-71-72-74=288
T8	Doug Ford	United States	74-75-71-70=290	+6	1,767
	Gene Littler	United States	69-74-72-75=290
	Billy Maxwell	United States	71-70-75-74=290

Nicklaus (71) defeated Palmer (74) in an 18-hole playoff.

External links

• 1962 U.S. Open
• USGA Championship Database