Popular Ken Duke won a playoff with Chris Stroud in the 2013 Travelers and earned the nearly $1.1 million payday. A disciple of legendary teacher Bob Toski, Duke shot 65-66 on the weekend to finish at 12 under par.
Kevin Streelman made one of the greatest charges on the weekend in tournament history, putting together back-to-back 64s to edge out Sergio Garcia and K.J. Choi by one shot in 2014.
Davis Love III shot a 64 to tie for the second-round lead in the 2002 Canon Greater Hartford Open with Jonathan Kaye and Briny Baird. The eventual winner, Phil Mickelson, was four behind but would shoot 66-64 on the weekend to win.
Thirty-five years ago today, a shot was played that culminated a dream for Tom Watson and dashed Jack Nicklaus' run at a record. When Watson holed a ridiculously tough birdie chip from the left of the 17th green in the 1982 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, it led to victory in an event and at a location he'd often dreamed about.
Watson's ball runs toward the hole at 17 in the '82 U.S. Open
Like Arnold Palmer, Watson finished his career with one U.S. Open title, no PGA Championship, and an assortment of wins in the Masters and Open Championship. Nicklaus was trying to become the first man to win five National Opens, and was thinking it might happen after seeing where Watson was on 17. But the immortal shot and subsequent birdie on 18 relegated Jack to runner-up.
Ben Hogan was denied his fifth U.S. Open on June 19, 1955, when unheralded Jack Fleck beat him in a playoff, 69-72, at the Olympic Club Lake Course. Fleck played well at the end of regulation to tie Hogan, who had finished ahead of him and seemed secure as the champion. He was so sure, in fact, he gave the USGA's Joe Dey his golf ball after finishing his round and said it was meant to go in the USGA's museum at Golf House.
It's a shame there isn't a player exactly 7 shots back entering the final round of the U.S. Open today at Erin Hills. If so, they could feel karma from today's date in Open history. On June 18, 1960, Arnold Palmer made his famous charge to victory with a 65, having started the final round 7 shots back of the leader Mike Souchak. Arnie boldly drove the green on the first hole, made birdie, and the charge was on, ending in a two-stroke victory over amateur Jack Nicklaus. You can see the view from behind that first hole on the home page; it's the photo used for This Day in U.S. Open Golf.
One of the sweetest swingers of a golf club had his day in the sun on June 17, 1961. Gene Littler shot 72-68 in the final two rounds and beat Bob Goalby and Doug Sanders by one stroke at Oakland Hills. A San Diego native known for his love of classic cars, Littler had nearly won the 1954 U.S. Open at Baltusrol, the year after he had won the U.S. Amateur. Known as Gene the Machine, he was enshrined in the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Rickie Fowler has the first-round lead after play opened at the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills Thursday. He’s looking to win his first major. A player who went down in history as one of the greatest to never win a major, Harry Cooper, was involved in today’s U.S. Open moment. He was in good shape to win the 1927 championship at Oakmont but shot 77 in the final round on June 16 and then lost the next day to Tommy Armour, 76-79, in a playoff.
In U.S. Open history, June 15 was the start of something good for one player and another sad day for someone who famously went winless. In 1901, Willie Anderson and Alex Smith finished in a tie at Myopia Hunt Club in Hamilton, Mass., and two days later had a playoff, won by Anderson by a stroke. He won three in a row in 1903-1905 and is one of four men to win the Open four times. In 1947 at St. Louis Country Club, Sam Snead, never a winner of the Open, had one of his close calls, losing a playoff to Lew Worsham, 69-70. The final hole featured the infamous delayed putt by Snead. The players were tied, with short par putts. Snead was ready to putt a 30-incher when Worsham stopped him to say he felt he was out. It was, in fact, Snead’s honor but he was angry at having been stopped and missed the putt. Worsham made his 29-incher to win.
Tommy Bolt was a player who many felt was in the top echelon of all-time greatest shotmakers. That he didn’t win more big events could likely be attributed to his legendary raging demeanor on the course. But the 1958 U.S. Open was the ultimate Bolt showcase of his talent. He played steadily on a demanding Southern Hills course, shooting 71-71-69-72-283 and won by four over Gary Player, the South African newly arrived on the major golf stage. Bolt never won another major, but he still gained entry into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Ben Hogan has one of the greatest records in the U.S. Open, most impressively tied for the most victories with four, discounting the Hale America National Open in 1942, which the USGA doesn't count. Hogan's fourth victory came on June 13, 1953, when he won by six over Sam Snead at Oakmont. During the next seven years, Hogan had finishes of 7th, 2nd, 2nd, 10th, 8th and 9th, but never did win the National Open again.
World Golf Hall of Fame member and onetime U.S. President George H.W. Bush was born on this date in 1924. He shares a birthday with a famous lass from the Quad Cities, Illinois, USA, Mary Schrock. On the golf course, Ben Hogan won his first of four U.S. Opens, at Riviera in Los Angeles, on June 12, 1948, by two shots over Jimmy Demaret.
On June 11, 1938, Ralph Guldahl became the fourth person to win back-to-back U.S. Opens, following Willie Anderson, John McDermott and Bobby Jones to that point. Guldahl shot a 69 at Cherry Hills to finish six shots ahead of Dick Metz. In 1937 he had finished two shots ahead of Sam Snead at Oakland Hills.
Sam Snead, the all-time victory leader on the PGA Tour, infamously never won the U.S. Open, and one of his closest misses took place in 1939, at Philadelphia Country Club. Snead had led after the first two rounds, but on June 10, thinking he needed to be aggressive on the final hole, took a triple-bogey 8 when all he needed was a par 5 to win. He finished two behind Byron Nelson, Craig Wood and Denny Shute, who went on to decide a champion in a playoff. Nelson and Wood were tied after 18 holes, with Shute dropping out, then Nelson eventually prevailed in a second playoff round, 70-73.
Four years after Bobby Jones clinched the Grand Slam at Merion in 1930, the iconic club near Philadelphia was site to its first U.S. Open. It ended on June 9, with Olin Dutra winning by one shot over Gene Sarazen. Dutra shot a 72 in the final round to edge Sarazen, who was looking good with 18 to go but struggled to 76.
The 39th playing of the U.S. Open in 1935 was unlike any other to that point. Finishing on June 8 and played at tough Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club, Sam Parks Jr. was the surprise winner, beating Jimmy Thomson by two and Walter Hagen by three. Parks was a local favorite who played out of South Hills Country Club in nearby Pittsburgh. Prior to the '35 playing, the championship had been dominated by foreign players at first, then American winner Francis Ouimet in 1913 spurred a turnaround by the Yanks. Along came amateur stars Chick Evans and Bobby Jones, plus Hagen and Gene Sarazen. Today the U.S. Open is well-known for, "Unknown leads Open" headlines, but in 1935, that wasn't a catchphrase yet, so Parks' victory was indeed a win for the little guy.
It took seven tries for the British side to win its first Curtis Cup Match but they finally broke through in 1952. It took place at Muirfield, Scotland, which only this spring voted to allow women to become members. The final day was June 7, 1952, and it came down to the final match, where Brit Elizabeth Price beat Grace DeMoss, 3 and 2, to give the British Isles a 5-4 victory.
For the second day in a row, we "observe" a Bobby Jones runner-up finish in the U.S. Open. Jones was 21 when he won in 1923, but on June 6, 1924, a fourth-round 78 allowed Cyril Walker to sneak in to win by three shots at Oakland Hills in Birmingham, Mich. As noted yesterday, June 5, Jones lost in a playoff in 1925, but then he won three of the next five National Opens and lost a playoff in a fourth. From 1920 to 1930, Jones missed the top 10 just one time, and that was by a shot.
Willie MacFarlane forever put himself into golf lore on June 5, 1925, when he defeated Bobby Jones in a 36-hole playoff by one stroke at the U.S. Open at Worcester (Mass.) CC. MacFarlane shot 75-72 to Jones' 75-73. Jones had won in 1923, and would win again in 1926, 1929 and 1930.
A pair of Sandras was born on this date. Sandra Haynie was born in 1943. The World Golf Hall of Famer won 42 LPGA Tour events, including four majors: the 1974 U.S. Women’s Open, 1965 and 1974 LPGA Championship, and 1982 Peter Jackson Classic. Canadian star Sandra Post was born in 1948. She won nine times on tour, including the 1968 LPGA Championship.