Today's date in Open history makes note of a legend 7 shots back entering the final round of the U.S. Open on June 18, 1960. Arnold Palmer made his famous charge to victory with a 65, having started the final round 7 shots back of the leader Mike Souchak. Arnie boldly drove the green on the first hole, made birdie, and the charge was on, ending in a two-stroke victory over amateur Jack Nicklaus. You can see the view from behind that first hole on the home page; it's the photo used for This Day in Golf History.
One of the sweetest swingers of a golf club had his day in the sun on June 17, 1961. Gene Littler shot 72-68 in the final two rounds and beat Bob Goalby and Doug Sanders by one stroke at Oakland Hills. A San Diego native known for his love of classic cars and surviving cancer, Littler had nearly won the 1954 U.S. Open at Baltusrol, the year after he had won the U.S. Amateur. Known as Gene the Machine, he was enshrined in the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Several players are among those who are considered “the best player to not win a major” starting today at The Country Club in the U.S. Open. A player who went down in history as one of the greatest to never win a major, Harry Cooper, was involved in today’s U.S. Open moment. He was in good shape to win the 1927 championship at Oakmont but shot 77 in the final round on June 16 and then lost the next day to Tommy Armour, 76-79, in a playoff.
In U.S. Open history, June 15 was the start of something good for one player and another sad day for another. In 1901, Willie Anderson and Alex Smith finished in a tie at Myopia Hunt Club in Hamilton, Mass., and two days later had a playoff, won by Anderson by a stroke. He won three in a row in 1903-1905 and is one of four men to win the Open four times. In 1947 at St. Louis Country Club, Sam Snead, never a winner of the Open, had one of his close calls, losing a playoff to Lew Worsham, 69-70. The final hole featured the infamous delayed putt by Snead. The players were tied, with short par putts. Snead was ready to putt a 30-incher when Worsham stopped him to say he felt it was his honor. It was, in fact, Snead’s honor but he was angry at having been stopped and missed the putt. Worsham made his 29-incher to win.
Tommy Bolt was a player who many felt was in the top echelon of all-time greatest ball-strikers. That he didn’t win more big events could likely be attributed to his infamous raging demeanor on the course. But the 1958 U.S. Open was the ultimate Bolt showcase of his talent. He played steadily on a demanding Southern Hills course, shooting 71-71-69-72-283 and winning by four over Gary Player, the South African newly arrived on the major golf stage.
Ben Hogan has one of the greatest records in the U.S. Open, most impressively tied for the most victories with four, discounting the Hale America National Open in 1942, which the USGA doesn't count. Hogan's fourth victory came on June 13, 1953, when he won by six over Sam Snead at Oakmont. During the next seven years, Hogan had finishes of 7th, 2nd, 2nd, 10th, 8th and 9th, but never did win the National Open again.
On this date in 1959, Billy Casper tied for the best score of the day, a two-under-par 68, to take the second-round lead at Winged Foot in the U.S. Open.
On June 11, 1938, Ralph Guldahl became the fourth person to win back-to-back U.S. Opens, following Willie Anderson, John McDermott and Bobby Jones to that point. Guldahl shot a 69 at Cherry Hills to finish six shots ahead of Dick Metz. In 1937 he had finished two shots ahead of Sam Snead at Oakland Hills.
Sam Snead infamously never won the U.S. Open, and one of his closest misses took place in 1939, at Philadelphia Country Club. Snead had led after the first two rounds, but on June 10, thinking he needed to be aggressive on the final hole, took a triple-bogey 8 when all he needed was a par 5 to win. He finished two behind Byron Nelson, Craig Wood and Denny Shute, who went on to decide a champion in a playoff. Nelson and Wood were tied after 18 holes, with Shute dropping out, then Nelson eventually prevailed in a second playoff round, 70-73.
Four years after Bobby Jones clinched the Grand Slam at Merion in 1930, the iconic club near Philadelphia was site of its first U.S. Open. It ended on June 9, with Olin Dutra winning by one shot over Gene Sarazen. Dutra shot a 72 in the final round to edge Sarazen, who was looking good with 18 to go but struggled to 76.
The 39th playing of the U.S. Open in 1935 was unlike any other to that point. Finishing on June 8 and played at tough Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club, Sam Parks Jr. was the surprise winner, beating Jimmy Thomson by two and Walter Hagen by three. Parks was a local favorite who played out of South Hills Country Club in nearby Pittsburgh. Prior to the '35 playing, the championship had first been dominated by foreign players, then American winner Francis Ouimet in 1913 spurred a turnaround by the Yanks. Along came amateur stars Chick Evans and Bobby Jones, plus Hagen and Gene Sarazen.
It took seven tries for the British side to win its first Curtis Cup Match but they finally broke through in 1952. It took place at Muirfield, Scotland, which just five years ago voted to allow women to become members. The final day was June 7, 1952, and it came down to the final match, where Brit Elizabeth Price beat Grace DeMoss, 3 and 2, to give the British Isles a 5-4 victory.
For the second day in a row, we "observe" a Bobby Jones runner-up finish in the U.S. Open. Jones was 21 when he won in 1923, but on June 6, 1924, a fourth-round 78 allowed Cyril Walker to sneak in to win by three shots at Oakland Hills in Birmingham, Mich. As noted yesterday, June 5, Jones lost in a playoff in 1925, but then he won three of the next five National Opens and lost a playoff in a fourth. From 1920 to 1930, Jones missed the top 10 just one time, and that was by a shot.
Willie MacFarlane forever put himself into golf lore on June 5, 1925, when he defeated Bobby Jones in a 36-hole playoff by one stroke at the U.S. Open at Worcester (Mass.) Country Club. MacFarlane shot 75-72 to Jones' 75-73. Jones had won in 1923, and would win again in 1926, 1929 and 1930.
A pair of Sandras was born on this date. Sandra Haynie was born in 1943. The World Golf Hall of Famer won 42 LPGA Tour events, including four majors: the 1974 U.S. Women’s Open, 1965 and 1974 LPGA Championship, and 1982 Peter Jackson Classic. Canadian star Sandra Post was born in 1948. She won nine times on tour, including the 1968 LPGA Championship.
On this date in 1945, three-time U.S. Open winner Hale Irwin was born in Joplin, Missouri. Irwin was an excellent football player, but he transferred that toughness onto the golf course and not only excelled in the U.S. Open but was a great player on tough courses in general. Perhaps his greatest display of toughness was winning the Massacre at Winged Foot in the 1974 U.S. Open with a 7-over-par score.
African-American pioneer and World Golf Hall of Fame member Charlie Sifford was born on this date in 1922, making this his centennial birth year. He won twice on tour: the 1967 Greater Hartford Open and 1969 Los Angeles Open. His lone major victory was the 1975 PGA Seniors’ Championship. Sifford died on Feb. 3, 2015. This week he is the honoree at The Memorial Tournament. Also today, 1982 Masters champion Craig Stadler is 69.
Today brings a baseball-golf hybrid item. On this date in 1925, in a day game against the Washington Senators at Yankee Stadium, the great Iron Horse of baseball, Lou Gehrig, began his streak of 2,130 consecutive games played . Gehrig made an out in pinch-hitting for shortstop Paul (Pee Wee) Wanninger, then started the next game at first base, replacing Wally Pipp, who was in a batting slump. Just 10,000 saw Gehrig’s streak start and the Yankees lose, 5-3. The game only took 1 hour 50 minutes. A golf equivalent to Gehrig’s streak is Tiger Woods’ record of 141 consecutive events without missing the cut, which went from February 1998 to May 2005.
The PGA Championship is mainly associated with being played in August for many years until it switched to a new date in May, but it’s actually been spread throughout the calendar. On this last-day-in-May date in 1949, Sam Snead won the PGA at the Hermitage in Richmond, Va., beating Johnny Palmer, 3 and 2. Snead, “the ageless one,” was 37 years old and had won the Masters earlier in the year. He also won the PGA in 1942 and 1951.
If you count Jim Barnes winning in 1916 and 1919 with the two middle years taken off for World War I, the PGA Championship has been won in consecutive years eight times. Tiger Woods did it twice, and Walter Hagen won not just two in a row but four. On this date in 1937, Denny Shute won a second straight PGA at the Pittsburgh Field Club in Fox Chapel, Pa. He beat Harold (Jug) McSpaden in 37 holes.