1977 U.S. Open (golf)

The 1977 U.S. Open was the 77th U.S. Open, held June 16–19 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hubert Green won the first of his two major titles, one stroke ahead of runner-up Lou Graham, the 1975 champion.[1][3]

1977 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJune 16–19, 1977
LocationTulsa, Oklahoma
Course(s)Southern Hills Country Club
Organized byUSGA
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par70
Length6,873 yards (6,285 m)[1]
Field153 players, 60 after cut
Cut147 (+7) [2]
Winner's share$45,000
Champion
Hubert Green
278 (−2)
Southern Hills Country Club
Location in the United States

Green began the final round with the lead, but 11 players were within three shots. Graham made a charge on the back nine, collecting birdies at 12, 14, 15, and 16 en route to a 68 (−2) and a 279 (−1) total. With four holes to play, Green needed to play even-par to win the championship. As he stepped off the 14th green, however, he was approached by tournament officials and a lieutenant with the Tulsa police, who told him that they had received a phone call threatening to assassinate Green while he played the 15th hole.[4] Green decided to play on, then proceeded to hit his drive into a tree--which probably saved it from going out of bounds. He managed to hit his approach to 35 feet (11 m) and two-putt for par without incident. Green birdied the 16th and took a two-stroke lead to the 18th tee. Although he struggled on the hole, he managed to make a 4-footer for bogey and the victory.[5]

This year marked the final U.S. Open appearance by Sam Snead, two-time champion Julius Boros, and Tommy Bolt, who had won the 1958 Open at Southern Hills. All three received exemptions by the USGA, and all three missed the cut. This was the first time that the television broadcast of the U.S. Open covered all 18 holes of the final round.[6]

It was the third major championship at Southern Hills; it previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1958 and the PGA Championship in 1970. The U.S. Open returned in 2001 and the PGA Championship in 1982, 1994, and 2007.

Course layout

hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards4474594063666141753832153733,4383751654444652074075693544493,4356,873
Par444453434354344345443570

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

PlayerCountryYear(s) wonR1R2R3R4TotalTo parFinish
Lou Graham United States197572716868279−12
Jack Nicklaus United States1962, 1967, 197274687172285+5T10
Gary Player South Africa196572677175285+5T10
Arnold Palmer United States196070727372287+7T19
Lee Trevino United States1968, 197174707373290+10T27
Johnny Miller United States197371737076290+10T27
Hale Irwin United States197473717772293+13T41

Missed the cut

PlayerCountryYear(s) wonR1R2TotalTo par
Jerry Pate United States19767276148+8
Julius Boros United States1952, 19637776153+13
Tommy Bolt United States19587578153+13
Jack Fleck United States19558180161+21

Source:[7]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 16, 1977

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Terry Diehl United States69−1
Rod Funseth United States
Hubert Green United States
Grier Jones United States
Florentino Molina Argentina
Larry Nelson United States
Tom Purtzer United States
T8Sam Adams United States70E
George Burns United States
Al Geiberger United States
Morris Hatalsky United States
Joe Inman United States
Steve Melnyk United States
Mike Morley United States
Don Padgett United States
Arnold Palmer United States
Bob E. Smith United States

Second round

Friday, June 17, 1977

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Hubert Green United States69-67=136−4
2Terry Diehl United States69-68=137−3
3Tom Purtzer United States69-69=138−2
T4Sam Adams United States70-69=139−1
Rod Funseth United States69-70=139
Gary Player South Africa72-67=139
T7Jay Haas United States72-68=140E
Joe Inman United States70-70=140
T9Wally Armstrong United States71-70=141+1
Andy Bean United States71-70=141
Al Geiberger United States70-71=141
Peter Oosterhuis England71-70=141

Amateurs: Miller (+6), Fought (+7), Zabel (+9), Sander (+14), Choate (+15), Sonnier (+15), Cook (+16), King (+16), Gregg (+20), Rheim (+29).

Third round

Saturday, June 18, 1977

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Hubert Green United States69-67-72=208−2
2Andy Bean United States71-70-68=209−1
T3Terry Diehl United States69-68-73=210E
Gary Jacobson United States73-70-67=210
Don Padgett United States70-74-66=210
Gary Player South Africa72-67-71=210
Tom Purtzer United States69-69-72=210
Tom Weiskopf United States71-71-68=210
T9Wally Armstrong United States71-70-70=211+1
Rod Funseth United States69-70-72=211
Lou Graham United States72-71-68=211
Jay Haas United States72-68-71=211

Final round

Sunday, June 19, 1977

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney ($)
1Hubert Green United States69-67-72-70=278−245,000
2Lou Graham United States72-71-68-68=279−123,500
3Tom Weiskopf United States71-71-68-71=281+116,000
4Tom Purtzer United States69-69-72-72=282+213,000
T5Jay Haas United States72-68-71-72=283+310,875
Gary Jacobson United States73-70-67-73=283
T7Terry Diehl United States69-68-73-74=284+48,000
Lyn Lott United States73-73-68-70=284
Tom Watson United States74-72-71-67=284
T10Rod Funseth United States69-70-72-74=285+54,100
Al Geiberger United States70-71-75-69=285
Mike McCullough United States73-73-69-70=285
Jack Nicklaus United States74-68-71-72=285
Peter Oosterhuis England71-70-74-70=285
Gary Player South Africa72-67-71-75=285

Amateurs: Lindy Miller (+19), John Fought (+22)

Scorecard

Final round

Hole123456789101112131415161718
Par444453434434434544
Green−2−2−3−4−4−4−4−4−3−2−2−2−2−2−2−3−3−2
Graham+2+3+3+2+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+2+2+1E−1−1−1
WeiskopfE+1+1+1+1+1+2+2+2+2+3+3+3+2+1EE+1
PurtzerEEEEEEE−1−1−1−1−1−1+1+1+1+1+2
Haas+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+1+1+2+2+2+3+2+3+3
Jacobson+1+1+1+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+1+2+2+2+3
BeanEEEEE+1+2+2+2+2+3+5+6+6+6+7+7+8

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Birdie Bogey Double bogey

Source:[8]

References

  1. "Green meets pressure test en route to first major win". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. June 20, 1977. p. 13.
  2. "U.S. open results (second round)". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. Associated Press. June 18, 1977. p. 8A.
  3. Bunch, Ken (June 20, 1977). "Green beats threats in Open". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.
  4. Grimsley, Will (June 17, 1977). "Analysis: Green death threat macabre and warped". Nashua Telegraph. New Hampshire. Associated Press. p. 22.
  5. Jenkins, Dan (June 27, 1977). "Talk about total pressure". Sports Illustrated. p. 14.
  6. Lasswell, Doug (June 17, 1977). "U.S. Open coverage to include all 18 holes". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida. p. 3E.
  7. "1977 U.S. Open". databasegolf.com. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
  8. "U.S. Open History". USGA. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
Preceded by
1977 Masters
Major Championships Succeeded by
1977 Open Championship

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