1972 U.S. Open (golf)
Scoring conditions during the final round were extremely difficult; the average was 78.8, the highest in post-war U.S. Open history. Nicklaus' 290 (+2) was the second-highest winning score during that span. It was Nicklaus' eleventh career major championship as a professional, tying the record of Walter Hagen. When combined with his two U.S. Amateur wins, it was his thirteenth major, equaling Bobby Jones for most all-time.
Defending champion Lee Trevino had been hospitalized in Texas for several days for bronchitis and pneumonia; he was released on Tuesday, two days before the first round, and tied for fourth.
It was the second consecutive major title for Nicklaus, who won the Masters in April. Previous winners of the first two majors of the year were Craig Wood (1941), Ben Hogan (1951, 1953), and Arnold Palmer (1960); later champions of both were Tiger Woods (2002) and Jordan Spieth (2015). In addition, Nicklaus held the PGA Championship title from February 1971; four weeks later, he was the runner-up by a single stroke at the Open Championship at Muirfield, Scotland.
Nicklaus won seven additional majors, the last at the Masters fourteen years later in 1986 at age 46.
Course layout
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yards | 385 | 504 | 368 | 325 | 180 | 515 | 120 | 425 | 450 | 3,272 | 436 | 380 | 205 | 400 | 555 | 406 | 400 | 218 | 540 | 3,540 | 6,812 |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 72 |
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, June 15, 1972
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 |  Jack Nicklaus |
71 | −1 |
| Orville Moody
| |||
| Chi-Chi Rodríguez
| |||
| Mason Rudolph
| |||
| Tom Shaw
| |||
| Kermit Zarley
| |||
| T7 |  Bobby Cole |
72 | E |
| Don Massengale
| |||
| Gary Player
| |||
 Cesar Sanudo
|
Source:
Second round
Friday, June 16, 1972
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Jack Nicklaus |
71-73=144 | E |
 Bruce Crampton |
74-70=144 | ||
| Kermit Zarley |
71-73=144 | ||
| Lanny Wadkins |
76-68=144 | ||
| Homero Blancas |
74-70=144 | ||
| Cesar Sanudo |
72-72=144 | ||
| 7 | Arnold Palmer |
77-68=145 | +1 |
| T8 | Lee Trevino |
74-72=146 | +2 |
| Lee Elder |
75-71=146 | ||
| Ralph Johnston |
74-72=146 | ||
| Rod Funseth |
73-73=146 | ||
| Gary Player |
72-74=146 | ||
| Chi-Chi Rodríguez |
71-75=146 |
Source:
Third round
Saturday, June 17, 1972
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus |
71-73-72=216 | E |
| T2 | Bruce Crampton |
74-70-73=217 | +1 |
| Kermit Zarley |
71-73-73=217 | ||
| Lee Trevino |
74-72-71=217 | ||
| T5 | Arnold Palmer |
77-68-73=218 | +2 |
| Johnny Miller |
74-73-71=218 | ||
| T7 | Homero Blancas |
74-70-76=220 | +4 |
| Tom Weiskopf |
73-74-73=220 | ||
| T9 | Don January |
76-71-74=221 | +5 |
| Gary Player |
72-74-75=221 |
Source:
Final round
Sunday, June 18, 1972
In high winds, Nicklaus was even par on the front nine; after a double-bogey at the tenth, Arnold Palmer and Bruce Crampton trailed by just two shots. Palmer had a chance to tie Nicklaus at the 14th, but he missed a 10-footer (3 m) for birdie. Down by one stroke, Palmer bogeyed the next two holes and finished with a final-round 76, four shots behind.
With a three-shot lead over Crampton on the tee of the par-3 17th, Nicklaus hit one of his most famous shots. His 1-iron went directly at the pin, bounced once, struck the flagstick, and settled inches from the hole for a tap-in birdie. With the lead at four strokes on the final tee, he bogeyed for 74 (+2) and the win.
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus |
71-73-72-74=290 | +2 | 30,000 |
| 2 | Bruce Crampton |
74-70-73-76=293 | +5 | 15,000 |
| 3 | Arnold Palmer |
77-68-73-76=294 | +6 | 10,000 |
| T4 | Homero Blancas |
74-70-76-75=295 | +7 | 7,500 |
| Lee Trevino |
74-72-71-78=295 | |||
| 6 | Kermit Zarley |
71-73-73-79=296 | +8 | 6,000 |
| 7 | Johnny Miller |
74-73-71-79=297 | +9 | 5,000 |
| 8 | Tom Weiskopf |
73-74-73-78=298 | +10 | 4,000 |
| T9 | Chi-Chi Rodríguez |
71-75-78-75=299 | +11 | 3,250 |
| Cesar Sanudo |
72-72-78-77=299 |
Source:
Scorecard
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| Nicklaus |
E | −1 | −1 | E | +1 | +1 | E | E | E | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +2 | +2 | +1 | +2 |
| Crampton |
+1 | E | +2 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +6 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +5 |
| Palmer |
+2 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +5 | +6 | +6 | +6 |
| Blancas |
+4 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +6 | +6 | +7 |
| Trevino |
+1 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +5 | +6 | +6 | +7 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +7 | +7 |
| Zarley |
+1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +5 | +6 | +6 | +9 | +9 | +9 | +8 | +8 |
| Miller |
+1 | +1 | +1 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +6 | +7 | +7 | +7 | +7 | +7 | +8 | +9 | +9 | +9 | +9 |
| Weiskopf |
+5 | +4 | +4 | +6 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +6 | +6 | +8 | +8 | +8 | +8 | +9 | +8 | +7 | +8 | +10 |
| Rodriguez |
+8 | +8 | +9 | +8 | +8 | +9 | +9 | +9 | +10 | +10 | +10 | +10 | +10 | +10 | +10 | +11 | +12 | +11 |
| Sanudo |
+12 | +11 | +11 | +12 | +12 | +12 | +11 | +10 | +11 | +11 | +10 | +10 | +10 | +10 | +11 | +11 | +11 | +11 |
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
Birdie Bogey Double bogey Triple bogey+
Source:
References
- ^ "Nicklaus breaks U.S. Open logjam". Toledo Blade. Ohio. Associated Press. June 18, 1972. p. E1.
- ^ "U.S. Open history: 1972". USGA. Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ^ Tomashek, Tom (June 19, 1972). "Nicklaus scores U.S. Open victory". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
- ^ "Nicklaus wins US Open by 3". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. June 19, 1972. p. 1, part 2.
- ^ Jenkins, Dan (June 26, 1972). "The glorius quest". Sports Illustrated. p. 22.
- ^ "Jack Opens his way to a Slam". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). UPI. June 19, 1972. p. 1C.
- ^ Green, Bob (June 19, 1972). "'Super sweep' half complete as Nicklaus wins U.S. Open". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. 10.
- ^ "Nicklaus a wizard in US Open wind". Milwaukee Journal. press dispatches. June 19, 1972. p. 8, part 2.
- ^ "(photo)". Chicago Tribune. UPI. June 13, 1972. p. 2, sec. 3.
- ^ "Lee ready for Open". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. June 14, 1972. p. 38.
- ^ "Golf's greats hobble along to U.S. Open". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. June 14, 1972. p. 25.
- ^ "Ailing Lee Trevino arrives to defend U.S. Open title". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. June 15, 1972. p. 1D.
- ^ Tomashek, Tom (June 16, 1972). "Nicklaus shares lead in U.S. Open". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
- ^ Tomashek, Tom (June 17, 1972). "Logjam at Open: six share first". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 2.
- ^ Tomashek, Tom (June 18, 1972). "Even-par Nicklaus leading Open by 1". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
- ^ Green, Bob (June 19, 1972). "'Super Sweep' half complete as Nicklaus wins U.S. Open". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. 10.
- ^ Loomis, Tom (June 19, 1972). "Jack's mettle stands test on crotchety Pebble Beach". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). p. 16.
- ^ "1972 U.S. Open". databasegolf.com. Retrieved June 19, 2012.