1967 U.S. Open (golf)

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1967 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJune 15–18, 1967
LocationSpringfield, New Jersey
Course(s)Baltusrol Golf Club
Lower Course
Organized byUSGA
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par70
Length7,015 yards (6,415 m)[1]
Field150 players, 66 after cut
Cut148 (+8)
Prize fund$169,400[2]
Winner's share$30,000
Champion
United States Jack Nicklaus
275 (−5)
← 1966
1968 →
Baltusrol  is located in the United States
Baltusrol 
Baltusrol 
class=notpageimage|
Location in the United States
Baltusrol  is located in New Jersey
Baltusrol 
Baltusrol 
class=notpageimage|
Location in New Jersey
Baltusrol is located in Union County, New Jersey
Baltusrol
Baltusrol
class=notpageimage|
Location in
Union County

The 1967 U.S. Open was the 67th U.S. Open, held June 15–18 at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey, west of New York City. Jack Nicklaus shot a final round 65 and established a new U.S. Open record of 275, four strokes ahead of runner-up Arnold Palmer, the 1960 champion.[3][4][5] It was the second of Nicklaus' four U.S. Open titles and the seventh of his eighteen major championships.

Nicklaus' record score surpassed the 276 of Ben Hogan in 1948 at Riviera. His final round 65 (−5) tied the U.S. Open record for lowest final 18 holes, broken six years later by Johnny Miller at Oakmont. The 275 record stood for thirteen years, when Nicklaus broke it on the same course in 1980. For Palmer, it was his fourth runner-up finish at the U.S. Open in six years; the earlier three were in playoffs (1962, 1963, 1966). Hogan, age 54,[6] played in his final major; he shot 72 in each of the first two rounds and tied for 34th place.[4]

After winning the Masters in 1965 and 1966, Nicklaus missed the cut there two months earlier, which also kept him off the first Ryder Cup team for which he was eligible. (Other than a withdrawal in 1983, it was his only missed cut at Augusta from 1960–1993).

Lee Trevino, then a club pro from El Paso, finished fifth at Baltusrol in only his second major championship; he made the cut in his debut in 1966 at Olympic in San Francisco. The fifth place earnings of $6,000 allowed him to play in enough tournaments the rest of the 1967 season to earn his tour card for 1968. The high finish gave Trevino an exemption into the U.S. Open in 1968 at Oak Hill, which he won.

This was the fifth U.S. Open at Baltusrol and the second on the Lower Course; it previously hosted in 1954. The Upper Course was the site in 1936 and the defunct Old Course in 1903 and 1915. The U.S. Open returned in 1980, also won by Nicklaus, and its most recent appearance was in 1993. The PGA Championship was held at the Lower Course in 2005 and 2016.

With his seventh major won at age 27, Nicklaus went over three years before his next, at The Open Championship in 1970.

Course layout[]

Main article: Baltusrol Golf Club

Lower Course

Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Yards 469 390 438 194 388 470 470 365 206 3,390 449 410 193 383 399 419 214 623 542 3,632 7,022
Par 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 34 4 4 3 4 4 4 3 5 5 36 70

Source:[7]

Lengths of the course for previous major championships:

  • 7,027 yards (6,425 m), par 70 - 1954 U.S. Open
  • 6,866 yards (6,278 m), par 72 - 1936 U.S. Open (Upper Course)
  • 6,212 yards (5,680 m), par 74 - 1915 U.S. Open (Old Course)   The Old Course was plowed under in 1918
  • 6,003 yards (5,489 m), par      - 1903 U.S. Open (Old Course)

Past champions in the field[]

Made the cut[]

Player Country Year(s) won R1 R2 R3 R4 Total To par Finish
Jack Nicklaus  United States 1962 71 67 72 65 275 −5 1
Arnold Palmer  United States 1960 69 68 73 69 279 −1 2
Billy Casper  United States 1959, 1966 69 70 71 72 282 +2 4
Gary Player  South Africa 1965 69 73 73 71 286 +6 T12
Ken Venturi  United States 1964 74 74 72 71 291 +11 T28
Ben Hogan  United States 1948, 1950,
1951, 1953 		72 72 76 72 292 +12 T34
Julius Boros  United States 1952, 1963 75 71 74 WD
  • Boros withdrew from the final round after receiving word of his mother's death.[8]

Missed the cut[]

Player Country Year won R1 R2 Total To par
Jack Fleck  United States 1955 73 76 149 +9
Tommy Bolt  United States 1958 72 77 149 +9
Gene Littler  United States 1961 76 75 151 +11

Source:[1]

Round summaries[]

First round[]

Thursday, June 15, 1967

Marty Fleckman, a 23-year-old amateur from Port Arthur, Texas, shot an opening round 67 to lead the field by two in his first U.S. Open.[9]

Place Player Country Score To par
1 Marty Fleckman (a)  United States 67 −3
T2 Deane Beman  United States 69 −1
Billy Casper  United States
Don January  United States
Arnold Palmer  United States
Gary Player  South Africa
Chi-Chi Rodríguez  United States
Art Wall Jr.  United States
T9 George Archer  United States 70 E
Gardner Dickinson  United States
Dutch Harrison  United States
Dave Marr  United States
Kel Nagle  Australia

Source:[9]

Second round[]

Friday, June 16, 1967

Place Player Country Score To par
1 Arnold Palmer  United States 69-68=137 −3
2 Jack Nicklaus  United States 71-67=138 −2
3 Billy Casper  United States 69-70=139 −1
T4 Deane Beman  United States 69-71=140 E
Bruce Devlin  Australia 72-68=140
Marty Fleckman (a)  United States 67-73=140
7 Don January  United States 69-72=141 +1
T8 George Archer  United States 70-72=142 +2
Miller Barber  United States 71-71=142
Bob Hold  United States 71-71=142
Kel Nagle  Australia 70-72=142
Gary Player  South Africa 69-73=142
Lee Trevino  United States 72-70=142
Art Wall Jr.  United States 69-73=142

Source:[10]

Third round[]

Saturday, June 17, 1967

With a one-under 69 on Saturday, amateur Fleckman was the surprise 54-hole leader, a stroke ahead of defending champion Billy Casper and former champions Nicklaus (1962) and Palmer (1960).[10]

Place Player Country Score To par
1 Marty Fleckman (a)  United States 67-73-69=209 −1
T2 Billy Casper  United States 69-70-71=210 E
Jack Nicklaus  United States 71-67-72=210
Arnold Palmer  United States 69-68-73=210
T5 Miller Barber  United States 71-71-69=211 +1
Deane Beman  United States 69-71-71=211
Gardner Dickinson  United States 70-73-68=211
Don January  United States 69-72-70=211
T9 Wes Ellis  United States 74-69-70=213 +3
Bob Goalby  United States 72-71-70=213
Lee Trevino  United States 72-70-71=213

Source:[10]

Final round[]

Sunday, June 18, 1967

Fleckman wilted under the pressure, shot a final round 80 (+10), and tied for 18th place. Alongside in the final pairing, Casper carded a 72 for 282 (+2), seven strokes behind in fourth place. The championship became a duel between Nicklaus and Palmer, in the penultimate pairing. Nicklaus birdied five of his first eight holes to open up a four-stroke advantage over Palmer, and that is how they finished. At the par-5 18th, Nicklaus played safe with a 1-iron off the tee, but it went right and required a recovery shot from the rough. The third shot was an uphill 230 yards (210 m) from the fairway with another 1-iron, then he sank the birdie putt from 22 feet (7 m) for the record.[3][5][11] Fleckman held on for low amateur by a stroke over Bob Murphy, who shot 69.

Place Player Country Score To par Money ($)
1 Jack Nicklaus  United States 71-67-72-65=275 −5 30,000
2 Arnold Palmer  United States 69-68-73-69=279 −1 15,000
3 Don January  United States 69-72-70-70=281 +1 10,000
4 Billy Casper  United States 69-70-71-72=282 +2 7,500
5 Lee Trevino  United States 72-70-71-70=283 +3 6,000
T6 Deane Beman  United States 69-71-71-73=284 +4 4,166
Gardner Dickinson  United States 70-73-68-73=284
Bob Goalby  United States 72-71-70-71=284
T9 Dave Marr  United States 70-74-70-71=285 +5 2,566
Kel Nagle  Australia 70-72-72-71=285
Art Wall Jr.  United States 69-73-72-71=285

Source:[4]

Scorecard[]

Final round

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 3 5 5
United States Nicklaus E +1 E −1 −2 −1 −2 −3 −3 −2 −2 −2 −3 −4 −4 −4 −4 −5
United States Palmer E E E E E E E +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 E −1

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
Source:[11]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Gen. Palmer grabs Open lead with 68". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. June 17, 1967. p. 12.
  2. ^ "U.S. Open history: 1967". USGA. Archived from the original on June 7, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Wright, Alfred (June 26, 1967). "Jack Delivers the Crusher". Sports Illustrated. p. 22.
  4. ^ a b c "Nicklaus' record 275 wins". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. June 19, 1967. p. 1-part 2.
  5. ^ a b "Nicklaus plays safe, claims Open record". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. June 19, 1967. p. 3B.
  6. ^ Green, Bob (June 11, 1967). "Ben Hogan seen threat in U.S. Open tourney". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. p. 36.
  7. ^ "Baltusrol Golf Club: map and yardages". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. June 11, 1967. p. 36.
  8. ^ "Mom dies, Boros quits". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. June 19, 1967. p. 1, part 2.
  9. ^ a b "Amateur's 67 tops Open". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. June 16, 1967. p. 1, part 2.
  10. ^ a b c Grimsley, Will (June 18, 1967). "Fleckman fires 69, leads U.S. Open by stroke at 209". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. p. D-1.
  11. ^ a b "Leading Open cards". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. UPI. June 19, 1967. p. 15.

External links[]

Preceded by
1967 Masters
 Major Championships Succeeded by

Coordinates: 40°42′18″N 74°19′41″W / 40.705°N 74.328°W / 40.705; -74.328

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