1969 U.S. Open (golf)

The 1969 U.S. Open was the 69th U.S. Open, held June 12–15 at the Cypress Creek Course of Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas. Orville Moody won his only PGA Tour title, one stroke ahead of runners-up Deane Beman, Bob Rosburg, and Al Geiberger.[3][4]

1969 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJune 12–15, 1969
LocationHouston, Texas
Course(s)Champions Golf Club
Cypress Creek Course
Organized byUSGA
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par70
Length6,967 yards (6,371 m)[1]
Field149 players, 68 after cut
Cut148 (+8)
Prize fund$205,300[2]
Winner's share$30,000
Champion
Orville Moody
281 (+1)
Houston
Location in the United States
Houston 
Location in Texas

A 14-year veteran of the U.S. Army,[5] Moody entered the final round in second place, three shots behind Miller Barber.[6] At age 35, Moody advanced through both local and sectional qualifying in 1969, the last champion to do so. It was his only win on the PGA Tour, with only one additional top-10 finish in a major, two months later at the PGA Championship.

Battling an ailing knee, defending champion Lee Trevino (of Texas)[7] missed the cut by a stroke;[8] he won the title again in 1971.

The Cypress Creek Course hosted the Houston Champions International event on the PGA Tour,[7] today's Houston Open, from 1966 through 1971, and the Ryder Cup in 1967. It later hosted The Tour Championship five times (1990, 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2003) and the U.S. Amateur in 1993.

Course layout
Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards4354443791934514184171805053,4224484502135444304181754364313,5456,967
Par444344435354435443443570

Past champions in the field

Made the cut
PlayerCountryYear(s) wonR1R2R3R4TotalTo parFinish
Arnold Palmer United States196070736972284+4T6
Julius Boros United States1952, 196371737073287+7T13
Jack Nicklaus United States1962, 196774677573289+9T25
Billy Casper United States1959, 196674737274293+13T40
Gary Player South Africa196571757277295+15T48

Missed the cut
PlayerCountryYear wonR1R2TotalTo par
Lee Trevino United States19687475149+9
Gene Littler United States19617280152+12
Ken Venturi United States19647677153+13

Source:[1]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 12, 1969

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Bob Murphy United States66–4
2Miller Barber United States67–3
T3Deane Beman United States68–2
Al Geiberger United States
T5George Archer United States69–1
Dean Refram United States
Tom Weiskopf United States
T8Richard Crawford United States70E
Jack Ewing United States
Bunky Henry United States
George Knudson Canada
Arnold Palmer United States
Bob Rosburg United States

Source:[9]

Second round

Friday, June 13, 1969

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Deane Beman United States68-69=137–3
T2Miller Barber United States67-71=138–2
Bob Murphy United States66-72=138
4Bob Rosburg United States70-69=139–1
T5Charles Coody United States72-68=140E
Al Geiberger United States68-72=140
George Knudson Canada70-70=140
T8Tony Jacklin England71-70=141+1
Johnny Miller United States71-70=141
Orville Moody United States71-70=141
Jack Nicklaus United States74-67=141

Source:[1]

Third round

Saturday, June 14, 1969

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Miller Barber United States67-71-68=206–4
2Orville Moody United States71-70-68=209–1
T3Deane Beman United States68-69-73=210E
Bunky Henry United States70-72-68=210
5Bob Rosburg United States70-69-72=211+1
T6Charles Coody United States72-68-72=212+2
Al Geiberger United States68-72-72=212
Bobby Mitchell United States72-74-66=212
Bob Murphy United States66-72-74=212
Arnold Palmer United States70-73-69=212

Source:[6]

Final round

Sunday, June 15, 1969

Miller Barber began the final round with a three-stroke lead,[6] but it vanished after he bogeyed five of the first eight holes. He struggled to a 78 (+8) and dropped into a tie for sixth place, which allowed Moody to take the lead. At one point on the back nine, eight competitors were separated by just two shots.[3] Bob Rosburg saved par from the sand at 17 to stay tied with Moody, but after a drive into the rough on 18, he again found a greenside bunker. Another sand shot got him to 3 feet (0.9 m), but he missed the putt for par to force an 18-hole Monday playoff. Playing in the final pairing with Barber, Moody had four consecutive pars to finish and preserved the one-stroke advantage for the championship. Barber needed only a 75 (+5) on Sunday to force a playoff, but finished three strokes back.[3][4]

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney ($)
1Orville Moody United States71-70-68-72=281+130,000
T2Deane Beman United States68-69-73-72=282+211,000
Al Geiberger United States68-72-72-70=282
Bob Rosburg United States70-69-72-71=282
5Bob Murphy United States66-72-74-71=283+37,000
T6Miller Barber United States67-71-68-78=284+45,000
Bruce Crampton Australia73-72-68-71=284
Arnold Palmer United States70-73-69-72=284
9Bunky Henry United States70-72-68-75=285+53,500
T10George Archer United States69-74-73-70=286+62,800
Bruce Devlin Australia73-74-70-69=286
Dave Marr United States75-69-71-71=286

Source:[4]

Scorecard

Final round

Hole 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 101112131415161718
Par444344435443544344
Moody–1–1–1EEEEE–1EEEE+1+1+1+1+1
Beman+1+2+1+2+4+4+3+3+2+2+2+2+2+3+3+3+3+2
Geiberger+3+4+4+4+6+6+6+5+4+3+3+3+2+2+1+2+2+2
Rosburg+1EEEEEE+1EE+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+2
Murphy+2+2+2+3+3+3+3+3+2+3+2+3+2+3+3+3+3+3
Barber−4−3−2−2−1EE+1EEE+2+3+3+4+3+3+4

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Birdie Bogey Double bogey

Source:[4][10]

References
  1. "Beman slips through beef trust to take one-stroke Open lead". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. June 14, 1969. p. 14.
  2. "U.S. Open history: 1969". USGA. Archived from the original on April 17, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  3. Jenkins, Dan (June 23, 1969). "Old Sarge cools it". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
  4. "Orville Moody wins heartbreak U.S. Open". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. June 16, 1969. p. 10.
  5. Jauss, Bill (June 16, 1969). "Salute the 'Sarge,' golf king Moody". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). (Chicago Daily News). p. 19.
  6. "Barber leads by 3 in 'blow-up' Open". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. June 15, 1969. p. D1.
  7. Jenkins, Dan (June 9, 1969). "Wide-Open eyes are on Texas". Sports Illustrated. p. 42.
  8. "Beman breaks up beef trust". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. June 14, 1969. p. 1B.
  9. "Murphy leads Open; Pamer shoots par". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. June 13, 1969. p. 16.
  10. "U.S. Open History". USGA. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
Preceded by
1969 Masters		 Major Championships Succeeded by
1969 Open Championship

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