1973 U.S. Open (golf)

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1973 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJune 14–17, 1973
LocationOakmont, Pennsylvania
Course(s)Oakmont Country Club
Organized byUSGA
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par71
Length6,921 yards (6,329 m)[1]
Field149 players, 65 after cut
Cut150 (+8)
Prize fund$219,400[2]
Winner's share$35,000
Champion
United States Johnny Miller
279 (–5)
← 1972
1974 →
Oakmont  is located in the United States
Oakmont 
Oakmont 
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Location in the United States
Oakmont is located in Pennsylvania
Oakmont
Oakmont
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Location in Pennsylvania

The 1973 U.S. Open was the 73rd U.S. Open, held June 14–17 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, a suburb northeast of Pittsburgh. In one of the finest performances in tournament history, Johnny Miller fired a record, 8-under-par 63 in the final round to win his first major championship, one stroke ahead of runner-up John Schlee.[3][4][5][6][7]

Jack Nicklaus, the winner at Oakmont eleven years earlier, was the favorite entering the championship.[8] Daily admission on the weekend was ten dollars.[9]

Course layout[]

Main article: Oakmont Country Club
Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Yards 469 343 425 549 379 195 395 244 480 3,479 462 371 603 185 360 453 230 322 456 3,442 6,921
Par 4 4 4 5 4 3 4 3 5 36 4 4 5 3 4 4 3 4 4 35 71

Source:[10]

Lengths of the course for previous major championships:

Before 1962, the first hole was played as a par 5.

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, 1967, 1972 71 69 74 68 282 −2 T4
Arnold Palmer  United States 1960 71 71 68 72 282 −2 T4
Lee Trevino  United States 1968, 1971 70 72 70 70 282 −2 T4
Julius Boros  United States 1952, 1963 73 69 68 73 283 −1 T7
Gary Player  South Africa 1965 67 70 77 73 287 +3 12
Gene Littler  United States 1961 71 74 70 76 291 +7 T18
Tony Jacklin  England 1970 75 75 73 77 300 +16 T52

Source:[4][5]

Missed the cut[]

Player Country Year(s) won R1 R2 Total To par
Orville Moody  United States 1969 78 73 151 +9
Billy Casper  United States 1959, 1966 79 79 158 +16

Source:[11][12]

Round summaries[]

First round[]

Thursday, June 14, 1973

Underweight from recent surgeries, 1965 champion Gary Player shot 67 to lead by three strokes.[13]

Place Player Country Score To par
1 Gary Player  South Africa 67 −4
T2 Lee Trevino  United States 70 −1
Jim Colbert  United States
Raymond Floyd  United States
T5 Jack Nicklaus  United States 71 E
Johnny Miller  United States
Arnold Palmer  United States
Gene Littler  United States
Bob Charles  New Zealand
Ralph Johnston  United States

Source:[13]

Second round[]

Friday, June 15, 1973

Player shot 70 for 137 to lead by one at the midway point.[14]

Place Player Country Score To par
1 Gary Player  South Africa 67-70=137 −5
2 Jim Colbert  United States 70-68=138 −4
T3 Jack Nicklaus  United States 71-69=140 −2
Johnny Miller  United States 71-69=140
Bob Charles  New Zealand 71-69=140
T6 Gene Borek  United States 77-65=142 E
Julius Boros  United States 73-69=142
Tom Weiskopf  United States 73-69=142
Arnold Palmer  United States 71-71=142
Lee Trevino  United States 70-72=142

Source:[11]

Third round[]

Saturday, June 16, 1973

Place Player Country Score To par
T1 Jerry Heard  United States 74-70-66=210 −3
John Schlee  United States 73-70-67=210
Arnold Palmer  United States 71-71-68=210
Julius Boros  United States 73-69-68=210
5 Tom Weiskopf  United States 73-69-69=211 −2
T6 Lee Trevino  United States 70-72-70=212 −1
Bob Charles  New Zealand 71-69-72=212
Jim Colbert  United States 70-68-74=212
T9 Jack Nicklaus  United States 71-69-74=214 +1
Gary Player  South Africa 67-70-77=214

Source:[15][16]

Final round[]

Sunday, June 17, 1973

Four players shared the 54-hole lead: Schlee, Jerry Heard, 1963 champion Julius Boros, and 1960 winner Arnold Palmer. After a 76 (+5) on Saturday, Miller started the final round six strokes back, in a four-way tie for 13th place at three strokes over par,[17][16][15] and few gave him any chance of winning. Miller birdied the first four holes,[18] but after a bogey at the eighth, it certainly did not appear like he was on the brink of the greatest round in U.S. Open history.

But he then birdied four of the next five holes, and after a par at 14 he was tied for the lead with Palmer, Boros, and Tom Weiskopf. At the 15th hole, Miller hit his approach to ten feet (3 m) and converted for birdie to take solo possession of the lead. After lipping out a twenty-foot (6 m) birdie putt at 18 (for a 62), Miller carded the first round of 63 in major championship history. Finishing over an hour ahead of the last pairing, Miller then waited to see if anyone would match him.[18] Palmer fell out of contention with three consecutive bogeys to finish in a tie for fourth. Boros and Heard both shot 73 and finished in a tie for seventh. Only Schlee had a chance to tie Miller, but his 40-footer (12 m) for birdie at the last stayed out; he opened his round with a double bogey.

In shooting 63, Miller hit all 18 greens in regulation and needed 29 putts. Ten of his approach shots wound up within 15 feet (4.6 m), while five were within 6 feet (1.8 m). His score was even more remarkable given that only three other players managed to even break 70 on the day.[7]

Place Player Country Score To par Money ($)
1 Johnny Miller  United States 71-69-76-63=279 −5 35,000
2 John Schlee  United States 73-70-67-70=280 −4 18,000
3 Tom Weiskopf  United States 73-69-69-70=281 −3 13,000
T4 Jack Nicklaus  United States 71-69-74-68=282 −2 9,000
Arnold Palmer  United States 71-71-68-72=282
Lee Trevino  United States 70-72-70-70=282
T7 Julius Boros  United States 73-69-68-73=283 −1 6,000
Jerry Heard  United States 74-70-66-73=283
Lanny Wadkins  United States 74-69-75-65=283
10 Jim Colbert  United States 70-68-74-72=284 E 4,000

Source:[1][5][12]

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 5 4 3 4 3 5 4 4 5 3 4 4 3 4 4
United States Miller +2 +1 E −1 −1 −1 −1 E −1 −1 −2 −3 −4 −4 −5 −5 −5 −5
United States Schlee −1 −1 −1 −3 −2 −3 −3 −2 −3 −3 −3 −4 −3 −3 −3 −4 −4 −4
United States Weiskopf −2 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −4 −3 −3 −3 −3 −2 −2 −3 −3 −3
United States Nicklaus +1 E E E E E E +1 E E E E E E E −1 −2 −2
United States Palmer −3 −3 −3 −4 −4 −3 −3 −3 −4 −4 −4 −3 −2 −1 −1 −1 −1 −2
United States Trevino E −1 −1 −2 −2 −2 −2 −2 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −2 −2
United States Wadkins +5 +4 +4 +2 +2 +3 +3 +3 +1 +1 +1 E −1 −1 −1 −1 −2 −1

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Eagle Birdie Bogey Double bogey

Source:[3][19][20]

Miller's final round[]

Johnny Miller's 63: club selection and results - June 17, 1973

Hole Yards Par Club selections Score Result To par
1 469 4 Driver, 3-iron to 5 feet 3 birdie −1
2 343 4 Driver, 9-iron to 1 foot 3 birdie −2
3 425 4 Driver, 5-iron to 25 feet 3 birdie −3
4 549 5 Driver, 3-wood, bunker shot to 6 inches 4 birdie −4
5 379 4 Driver, 6-iron to 25 feet, 2 putts 4 par −4
6 195 3 3-iron to 25 feet, 2 putts 3 par −4
7 395 4 Driver, 9-iron to 6 feet, 2 putts 4 par −4
8 244 3 4-wood to 30 feet, 3 putts 4 bogey −3
9 480 5 Driver, 2-iron to 40 feet, 2 putts 4 birdie −4
Out 3,479 36 32 −4
10 462 4 Driver, 5-iron to 25 feet, 2 putts 4 par −4
11 371 4 Driver, wedge to 14 feet 3 birdie −5
12 603 5 Driver, 7-iron, 4-iron to 15 feet 4 birdie −6
13 185 3 4-iron to 5 feet 2 birdie −7
14 360 4 Driver, wedge to 12 feet, 2 putts 4 par −7
15 453 4 Driver, 4-iron to 10 feet 3 birdie −8
16 230 3 2-iron to 45 feet, 2 putts 3 par −8
17 322 4 1-iron, wedge to 10 feet, 2 putts 4 par −8
18 456 4 Driver, 5-iron to 20 feet, 2 putts 4 par −8
In 3,442 35 31 −4
Total 6,921 71 63 −8

Source:[10][17][18]

Video[]

  • You Tube - Miller on 72nd hole - USGA (ABC broadcast)

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Johnny Miller fires record 63 charging to U.S. Open victory". The Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. June 18, 1973. p. 32.
  2. ^ "U.S. Open history: 1973". USGA. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Grimsley, Will (June 18, 1973). "John Miller fires record 63 in scorching finish to take Open at Oakmont". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. p. 14.
  4. ^ a b Gundelfinger, Phil (June 18, 1973). "Miller's record 63 wins Open". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 1.
  5. ^ a b c Tomashek, Tom (June 18, 1973). "Miller wins U.S. Open on record 63". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, section 3.
  6. ^ Jenkins, Dan (June 25, 1973). "Battle of the Ages". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
  7. ^ a b Dulac, Gerry (June 9, 2007). "Johnny Miller: the best round ever". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  8. ^ Grimsley, Will (June 13, 1973). "Palmer aims to redeem himself". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. p. 63.
  9. ^ "Golf fans take beating". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. June 17, 1973. p. 64.
  10. ^ a b Elling, Steve (June 12, 2007). "Miller's magical 63 in '73 a round to remember". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  11. ^ a b Tomashek, Tom (June 15, 1973). "Player keeps lead in Open". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, section 2.
  12. ^ a b "1973 U.S. Open". databasegolf.com. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  13. ^ a b "Ailing Player grabs Open lead". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). Associated Press. June 15, 1973. p. 11.
  14. ^ Green, Bob (June 16, 1973). "Course the opponent, Player says". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). Associated Press. p. 5.
  15. ^ a b "The Open with one round left (scores)". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. June 17, 1973. p. 7C.
  16. ^ a b Tomashek, Tom (June 17, 1973). "A wide-open Open - 4 tied for lead". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, section 3.
  17. ^ a b Driscoll, Ron (May 24, 2016). "1973: Fact and fiction in the U.S. Open's most famous final round". USGA. Archived from the original on May 28, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  18. ^ a b c Rapoport, Ron (June 13, 1983). "Miracle round". Beaver County Times. Pennsylvania. (Chicago Sun Times). p. B1.
  19. ^ "Open scores". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 18, 1973. p. 18.
  20. ^ "How they finished". St. Petersburg Times. Florida. June 18, 1973. p. 1C.

External links[]

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Coordinates: 40°31′34″N 79°49′37″W / 40.526°N 79.827°W / 40.526; -79.827

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