1965 U.S. Open (golf)

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1965 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJune 17–21, 1965
LocationTown and Country, Missouri
Course(s)Bellerive Country Club
Organized byUSGA
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par70
Length7,191 yards (6,575 m)[1]
Field150 players, 51 after cut
Cut150 (+10)
Prize fund$123,890[2]
Winner's share$26,000
Champion
South Africa Gary Player
282 (+2), playoff
← 1964
1966 →
Bellerive  Country Club is located in the United States
Bellerive  Country Club
Bellerive 
Country Club
Location in the United States
Bellerive  Country Club is located in Missouri
Bellerive  Country Club
Bellerive 
Country Club
Location in Missouri

The 1965 U.S. Open was the 65th U.S. Open, held June 17–21 at Bellerive Country Club in Town and Country, Missouri, a suburb west of St. Louis. Gary Player of South Africa defeated Kel Nagle of Australia in an 18-hole playoff to win his only U.S. Open title. Player was the first foreign-born winner of the U.S. Open since 1927, and the win completed his career Grand Slam at age 29.[3] It was the fourth of his nine major titles. The 1965 U.S. Open was the first U.S. Open broadcast on color television.[citation needed]

The five-year-old course at Bellerive was the U.S. Open's longest to date at 7,191 yards (6,575 m), and had the potential to reach 7,500 yards (6,860 m).[4] The quality of the young course's turf varied, with burned out or diseased areas which the USGA did not allow relief from.[4] The field consisted of 136 professionals and 14 amateurs, with the top fifty and ties advancing after 36 holes.[1][5] This was the first time that the U.S. Open was scheduled for four days, with the final round on Sunday. Previously the third and fourth rounds were both played on Saturday.[4] The U.S. Women's Open also changed to this format, held two weeks later in early July.

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 435 446 164 470 465 195 401 580 416 3,562 460 373 460 198 405 456 218 606 453 3,629 7,191
Par 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 5 4 35 4 4 4 3 4 4 3 5 4 35 70

Final round and playoff[]

In the final round on Sunday, Player owned a three-stroke lead over Nagle with just three holes to play. But while Player double-bogeyed the par-3 16th hole, Nagle birdied the 17th. As Player reached the 18th tee, he knew he needed a birdie to win outright, as Nagle had parred the final hole for 282 (+2). Player had a 28-foot (8.5 m) putt for birdie, but left it 4 inches (10 cm) short and tapped in for a 72-hole tie.[3][6] In the 18-hole playoff on Monday afternoon, Player built a five-shot lead after eight holes and held on to win by three strokes, 71 to 74. He won the championship with fiberglass-shafted golf clubs.[7]

With his win, Player joined Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan as the only to win all four professional major championships, the career Grand Slam. Jack Nicklaus completed the feat himself the next year at the 1966 British Open. Player was also the first foreign-born winner of the U.S. Open in 38 years, since Scotland's Tommy Armour won in 1927.

Arnold Palmer missed the 36-hole cut by two strokes, the only time from 1962 to 1967 that he placed outside the top-5 at the U.S. Open. Defending champion Ken Venturi was hampered by numbed fingers[4][8] and missed the cut by ten strokes.[9]

Purse donated[]

The winner's share was $25,000 and both playoff participants received a $1,000 bonus, taken from the gate receipts of the Monday gallery of 6,790. Player donated his winner's share to cancer research ($5,000) and junior golf ($20,000) in the United States, fulfilling an earlier pledge to thank the people of America;[10] his mother died of cancer when he was eight years old.[7] Player paid his caddy $2,000 with his playoff bonus and $1,000 from his pocket.[11]

Past champions in the field[]

Made the cut[]

Player Country Year(s) won R1 R2 R3 R4 Total To par Finish
Julius Boros  United States 1952, 1963 72 75 70 70 287 +7 T4
Gene Littler  United States 1961 73 71 73 72 288 +8 T8
Billy Casper  United States 1959 73 73 76 72 294 +14 T17
Jack Nicklaus  United States 1962 78 72 73 76 299 +19 T32

Missed the cut[]

Player Country Year won R1 R2 Total To par
Arnold Palmer  United States 1960 76 76 152 +12
Ed Furgol  United States 1954 80 75 155 +15
Ken Venturi  United States 1964 81 79 160 +20

Source:[12][13]

Round summaries[]

First round[]

Thursday, June 17, 1965

Place Player Country Score To par
1 Kel Nagle  Australia 68 −2
T2 Deane Beman (a)  United States 69 −1
Mason Rudolph  United States
T4 Rex Baxter  United States 70 E
Lou Graham  United States
Gary Player  South Africa
7 Gordon Jones  United States 71 +1
T8 Miller Barber  United States 72 +2
Julius Boros  United States
Gay Brewer  United States
Bruce Devlin  Australia
Raymond Floyd  United States
Ron Howell  United States
Steve Opperman  United States
Dudley Wysong  United States

Source:[14]

Second round[]

Friday, June 18, 1965

Place Player Country Score To par
1 Gary Player  South Africa 70-70=140 E
T2 Kel Nagle  Australia 68-73=141 +1
Mason Rudolph  United States 69-72=141
4 Deane Beman (a)  United States 69-73=142 +2
5 Frank Beard  United States 74-69=143 +3
T6 Raymond Floyd  United States 72-72=144 +3
Gene Littler  United States 73-71=144
T8 Rex Baxter  United States 70-75=145 +5
Bruce Devlin  Australia 72-73=145
Gordon Jones  United States 71-74=145

Source:[12][13]

Third round[]

Saturday, June 19, 1965

Place Player Country Score To par
1 Gary Player  South Africa 70-70-71=211 +1
T2 Frank Beard  United States 74-69-70=213 +3
Kel Nagle  Australia 68-73-72=213
4 Mason Rudolph  United States 69-72-73=214 +4
5 Al Geiberger  United States 70-76-70=216 +6
T6 Julius Boros  United States 72-75-70=217 +7
Gay Brewer  United States 72-74-71=217
Bruce Devlin  Australia 72-73-72=217
Gene Littler  United States 73-71-73=217
Dudley Wysong  United States 72-75-70=217

Source:[9]

Final round[]

Sunday, June 20, 1965

Place Player Country Score To par Money ($)
T1 Gary Player  South Africa 70-70-71-71=282 +2 Playoff
Kel Nagle  Australia 68-73-72-69=282
3 Frank Beard  United States 74-69-70-71=284 +4 9,000
T4 Julius Boros  United States 72-75-70-70=287 +7 6,500
Al Geiberger  United States 70-76-70-71=287
T6 Bruce Devlin  Australia 72-73-72-71=288 +8 4,500
Raymond Floyd  United States 72-72-76-68=288
T8 Tony Lema  United States 72-74-73-70=289 +9 2,500
Gene Littler  United States 73-71-73-72=289
Dudley Wysong  United States 72-75-70-72=289

Scorecard[]

Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 5 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 3 5 4
South Africa Player +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 E E E +1 +1 E E E E +2 +2 +2
Australia Nagle +3 +2 +2 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3 +2 +2 +1 +1 +1 +3 +3 +2 +2

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Birdie Bogey Double bogey

Source:[15]

Playoff[]

Monday, June 21, 1965

Place Player Country Score To par Money ($)
1 Gary Player  South Africa 33-38=71 +1 26,000
2 Kel Nagle  Australia 38-36=74 +4 13,500
  • Included in earnings is a playoff bonus of $1,000 each, from the playoff gate receipts.[11]

Scorecard[]

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 5 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 3 5 4
South Africa Player E −1 −2 −1 −1 −1 −1 −2 −2 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 E +1
Australia Nagle +1 E E E +2 +2 +3 +3 +3 +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 +4
Birdie Bogey Double bogey

Source:[7]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b MacDonald, Jim (June 17, 1965). "Open could become putt, putt, putt, putt". Toledo Blade. p. 40.
  2. ^ "U.S. Open history: 1965". USGA. Archived from the original on April 17, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Wright, Alfred (June 28, 1965). "Two foreign blokes shock the slammers". Sports Illustrated. p. 24.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Gundelfinger, Phil Jr. (June 17, 1965). "Palmer fires 67 in final Open tuneup". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 32.
  5. ^ MacDonald, Jim (June 18, 1965). "Banjo". Toledo Blade. Ohio. p. 40.
  6. ^ Gudelfinger, Phil (June 21, 1965). "Player, Nagle finish in tie for Open". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 25.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c MacDonald, Jim (June 22, 1965). "Foreign aid plan reversed: Player repays 'American kindness' by donating purse". Toledo Blade. Ohio. p. 20.
  8. ^ "Will Venturi ever be right?". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. June 20, 1965. p. 3B.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "South Africa's Black Knight unhorses hungry challengers". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. June 20, 1965. p. 3B.
  10. ^ "Grateful Gary gives $25,000 purse to USGA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. June 22, 1965. p. 18.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Gundelfinger, Phil (June 22, 1965). "Player wins Open playoff by 3 strokes". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 1.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b "Open scores (second round)". Toledo Blade. June 19, 1965. p. 18.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b "National Open golf scoreboard". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 19, 1965. p. 13.
  14. ^ "National Open scores". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 18, 1965. p. 20.
  15. ^ "U.S. Open History". USGA. Retrieved May 21, 2019.

External links[]

Preceded by
1965 Masters 		Major Championships Succeeded by
1965 Open Championship

Coordinates: 38°39′36″N 90°28′59″W / 38.66°N 90.483°W / 38.66; -90.483

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