Of the many U.S. Opens that ended on this date, two happened in back-to-back years 1961 and 1962. In 1961, Gene Littler won his only pro major at Oakland Hills, and in 1962, the legendary playoff between Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus was played on this day at Oakmont, with Nicklaus winning his first major by three shots as a rookie. Littler, one of the sweetest swingers of a golf club, had his day in the sun on June 17, 1961. He had 72-68 in the final two rounds and beat Bob Goalby and Doug Sanders by one stroke. A San Diego native known for his love of classic cars and beating 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.
There are a few golfers chasing down their first major today at the U.S..Open at Pinehurst No. 2. 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. Also on this date in 1974 the notorious U.S. Open at Winged Foot, called a “massacre” because of the 7-over-par winning score, came to a merciful halt with Hale Irwin winning his first of three U.S. Opens, by two shots over Forrest Fezler. The 36-hole cut came at 13 over par.
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 he was away. 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 shotmakers. That he didn’t win more big events could likely be attributed to his raging demeanor on the course at times. 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. The USGA is holding the 124th U.S. Open this week in Pinehurst on the No. 2 Course. The championship has been held many times at another venerable layout, Winged Foot Golf Club, including on this date in 1959, when Billy Casper won for his first of two National Opens. He finished a shot ahead of Bob Rosburg.
Ben Hogan has one of the greatest records in the U.S. Open, most impressively tied for the most victories with four. That discounts the Hale America National Open in 1942, which the USGA doesn't include. 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. A couple other legendary figures in golf won majors on this date. In 1895, J.H. Taylor won a second straight Open Championship, this at St. Andrews, beating Sandy Herd by four shots. The following year, Taylor had a third straight title halted by Harry Vardon, who won at Muirfield in a 36-hole playoff.
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. One of the U.S. Open championships that concluded on this date was Byron Nelson’s 36-hole playoff victory over Craig Wood and Denny Shute at Philadelphia Cricket Club.
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. Also, a pair of Open Championships ended on this date, with the champion on each occasion winning for the fourth time. In 1903 at Prestwick, Harry Vardon won by six shots over his younger brother Tom. And in 1909, J.H. Taylor won at Royal Cinque Ports, also by six shots, over James Braid and Tom Ball.
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. Also on this date in 1904, The Open Championship was ended at Royal St. George’s Golf club with Jack White the winner by one shot over the legendary twosome and future five-time winners James Braid and J.H. Taylor.
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 in with 76. Also on this date in 1898, Harry Vardon won his second Open Championship, at Prestwick GC, by one shot over Willie Park Jr.
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 been dominated by foreign players at first, 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. Another men’s major in its 39th playing that ended on this date was in 1899 when the Open Championship was won by Harry Vardon for the third time, by five shots over Jack White.
It took seven tries for the British side to win its first Curtis Cup Match but it finally broke through in 1952. It took place at Muirfield, Scotland, which only just in the spring of 2017 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. Also on this date, in 1900, the Open Championship was completed at the Old Course in St. Andrews, won by J.H. Taylor by eight strokes over Harry Vardon. It was Taylor’s third of five Open victories.
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 the 28th playing 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.) C.C. MacFarlane shot 75-72 to Jones' 75-73. Jones had won in 1923, and would win again in 1926, 1929 and 1930. Also, at the Open Championship across the pond, Harry Vardon frittered away a four-shot lead after the first day and lost the 1902 Open on this date to Sandy Herd, who won by a stroke over Vardon and James Braid at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England.
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. Also on this date, in 1927, the first Ryder Cup Match concluded in a United States 9½–2½ victory over Great Britain, held at Worcester Country Club in Worcester, Massachusetts. The U.S. captain Walter Hagen played in two matches and won both his June 3 foursomes match (with Johnny Golden) and his Singles match versus Arthur Havers. The GB captain was Ted Ray, who lost both his matches. The next Ryder Cup is in 2025 at Bethpage Black.
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. The hall-of-fame golfer won the U.S. Open in 1974, 1979 and 1990, plus the U.S. Senior Open in 1998 and 2000.
African-American pioneer and World Golf Hall of Fame member Charlie Sifford was born on this date in 1922 in Charlotte, North Carolina. 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. Also today, 1982 Masters champion Craig Stadler is 71.
Today brings a baseball-golf hybrid item. On this date in 1925, the great Iron Horse of baseball, Lou Gehrig, began his streak of 2,130 consecutive games played in a day game against the Washington Senators at Yankee Stadium. 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. Also on this date, in 1975, the LPGA Championship wrapped up at Pine Ridge Golf Course, with Kathy Whitworth winning it for the third time, by one shot over Sandra Haynie
The PGA Championship historically is associated with being played in August, but it’s actually been spread throughout the calendar and is now settled in May. 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. And also on this date, Bobby Jones got his Grand Slam feat of 94 years ago started on this date in 1930 by winning the British Amateur at St. Andrews. He won a 7-and-6 contest with Englishman Roger Wethered.
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.
On Sunday, Josef Newgarden shook off the Penske cheating scandal and won the Indianapolis 500 for back-to-back titles. On this date in 1960, a Ford won at Indy. Two-time major winner Doug Ford became the first winner of the 500 Festival Open, held on the Speedway Golf Course during Indy 500 week. Ford shot 66-68-68-68-270, 14 under par, to win the $9,000 first prize. Also on this date, in 2011, Tom Watson made a birdie on the first playoff hole with David Eger to win the 72nd Senior PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. It was his second Senior PGA victory. That is a more golfworthy event on this day than an event for another “TW” who attended Stanford: Tiger Woods was arrested in 2017 and charged with DUI in Jupiter, Florida.