1966 U.S. Open (golf)

February 2019 March 2026 1966 U.S. Open June 16–20, 1966 San Francisco, California Olympic Club, Lake Course PGA Tour USGA 70 6719 ydhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HZIRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IekDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6929%2C536838 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Associated Press Mengert takes Open lead with great first round 67 Grimsley Will June 17, 1966 24 151 players,64 after cut 151 (+11) $147,490http://www.usopen.com/en_US/champ_experience/pastchamps/1966.html https://archive.today/20130205144030/http://www.usopen.com/en_US/champ_experience/pastchamps/1966.html dead February 5, 2013 USGA U.S. Open history: 1966 June 20, 2012 $26,500 USA Billy Casper 278 (−2), playoff 1965 1967 USA#USA California yes Olympic Cllub Location in the United States##Location in California 37.709 N 122.495 W type:event inline,title The 1966 U.S. Open was the 66th U.S. Open, held June 16–20 at the Lake Course of the Olympic Club in San Francisco, California. Billy Casper, the 1959 champion, staged one of the greatest comebacks in history by erasing a seven-stroke deficit on the final nine holes to tie Arnold Palmer; he then prevailed in an 18-hole playoff to win the second of his three major titles.https://www.si.com/vault/1966/06/27/609587/at-olympic-a-summit-of-drama Sports Illustrated At Olympic: a summit of drama Wright Alfred June 27, 1966 22https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=68RYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IekDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7191%2C1837353 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Associated Press Casper coolly collects 2nd U.S. Open June 21, 1966 12 It was the fourth playoff in five years at the U.S. Open, and the third for Palmer, the 1960 champion. Of the fifteen sub-par rounds posted in this U.S. Open, four belonged to Casper. He one-putted 33 greens and did not three-putt a green until the 81st hole. The "continuous putting" rule was in effect for this Open. Once putting on a green, the players had to keep putting until holing out. There was no marking of balls on the green except for lifting to clean. The rule was put into effect to speed up play at the Open.US Open 1966: Casper Wins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYZmtNuVvrw youtube.com May 30, 2015 Three future champions made their major championship debuts and all made the cut: Lee Trevino and collegians Hale Irwin and Johnny Miller. Irwin was entering his senior year at Colorado, where he was also an all-conference defensive back for the Buffaloes in football. Miller was a San Francisco native and junior merit member of the Olympic Club entering his sophomore year at BYU; he finished tied for eighth and was the low amateur by three strokes.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vwJPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gwEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4668%2C6248290 Toledo Blade Ohio No decision (final round scores) Associated Press June 20, 1966 20 It was the penultimate appearance at the U.S. Open for four-time champion Ben Hogan; he finished twelfth at age 53. Cary Middlecoff, champion in 1949 and 1956, made his final appearance this year but withdrew after the first round. Sam Snead, 54, failed to qualify for the U.S. Open for the first time in thirty years;https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aGEqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UE8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=7225%2C206546 Pittsburgh Press June 16, 1966 Winstein Bill Unkindest cut 40 he had played in every edition since 1937, but never won. The winner's share was $25,000 and both playoff participants received a $1,500 bonus.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TsUnAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kGwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6985%2C3306891 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Casper wallops Palmer in playoff, 69-73 June 21, 1966 20 Daily admission was five dollars for the first two rounds, seven dollars on the weekend, and five for the playoff.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aB4aAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yicEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6861%2C3457616 Milwaukee Journal Expensive Day Sixty Billy June 16, 1966 17 This was the second U.S. Open at the Lake Course of the Olympic Club, the first was in 1955 and also ended in a playoff. The U.S. Open returned in 1987, 1998, and 2012; all three were won by one stroke. Round summaries First round Thursday, June 16, 1966 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 USA Al Mengert 67 −3 T2 USA Don Massengale 68 −2 USA Gene Littler 4 USA Billy Casper 69 −1 T5 USA Phil Rodgers 70 E AUS Kel Nagle USA Doug Sanders USA Johnny Miller (a) T9 USA Arnold Palmer 71 +1 USA Jack Nicklaus USA Tony Lema USA Dave Marr USA Bob Goalby USA Wes Ellis USA Tom Nieporte Source:https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HZIRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IekDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3060%2C536815 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Associated Press U.S. Open scores (First round) June 17, 1966 24 Second round Friday, June 17, 1966 The grouping of Jack Nicklaus, Tony Lema, and Bruce Devlin was instructed to speed up by a USGA official and Nicklaus promptly made four consecutive bogeys.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lqxVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FeEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6895%2C4096113 Eugene Register-Guard Associated Press Feud over, says Jack, after 69 June 19, 1966 3B They had been in the rough often early in the round and finished in less than four and a half hours, but nearly an hour longer than others.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=laxVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FeEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3938%2C3952985 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press 'Brute' Palmer, Casper deadlocked in U.S. Open June 18, 1966 3B PlacePlayerScoreTo parT1 USA Billy Casper 69-68=137 −3 USA Arnold Palmer 71-66=137 T3 USA Phil Rodgers 70-70=140 E USA Rives McBee 76-64=140 T5 USA Jack Nicklaus 71-71=142 +2 USA Johnny Miller (a) 70-72=142 T7 USA Julius Boros 74-69=143 +3 USA Dave Hill 72-71=143 AUS Kel Nagle 70-73=143 T10 USA Bob Goalby 71-73=144 +4 USA Al Mengert 67-77=144 Source:https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6cRYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IekDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1922%2C1579533 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Associated Press U.S. Open scores (Second round) June 19, 1966 1-sports Third round Saturday, June 18, 1966 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 USA Arnold Palmer 71-66-70=207 −3 2 USA Billy Casper 69-68-73=210 E 3 USA Jack Nicklaus 71-71-69=211 +1 T4 USA Phil Rodgers 70-70-73=213 +3 USA Dave Marr 71-74-68=2136 USA Rives McBee 76-64-74=214+4 T7 USA Tony Lema 71-74-70=215 +5 USA Bob Goalby 71-73-71=215 USA Al Mengert 67-77-71=215 10 USA Johnny Miller (a) 70-72-74=216 +6 Source:https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lqxVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FeEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3843%2C4096181 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Open scores June 19, 1966 3B Final round Sunday, June 19, 1966 Palmer began the final round with a three-stroke lead over Casper, his partner in the final pairing. Palmer shot 32 (−3) on the front nine and with Casper's 36, the lead was seven strokes at the turn. With his eye on Hogan's U.S. Open scoring record (276 in 1948), Palmer needed to shoot just 36 (+1) on the back nine for 275. But after the turn, his game quickly unravelled; he bogeyed 10, rebounded with a birdie at 12, but bogeyed 13. At the par-3 15th, Casper made birdie and Palmer missed a par putt, dropping the lead to just three. After another birdie-bogey swing at the par-5 16th, Palmer's lead completely disappeared with another bogey at 17. Palmer needed a difficult up-and-down from the rough for par on 18 just to force a playoff. Palmer shot 39 (+4) on the inward nine, Casper 32 (−3), and the two tied at 278 (−2), seven strokes ahead of solo third-place finisher Jack Nicklaus, the 1962 champion. The Bay Area's affable Tony Lema tied for fourth. He and his wife were killed in a plane crash a month later. Four-time champion Hogan, age 53, shot even par in the final round to finish alone in 12th place and received a standing ovation from the thousands on the hillside overlooking the 18th green.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6sRYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IekDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6003%2C1646797 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Associated Press Hot Casper catches Arnie to throw Open into playoff June 20, 1966 10 PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)T1 USA Billy Casper 69-68-73-68=278 −2 Playoff USA Arnold Palmer 71-66-70-71=278 3 USA Jack Nicklaus 71-71-69-74=285 +5 9,000T4 USA Tony Lema 71-74-70-71=286 +6 6,500 USA Dave Marr 71-74-68-73=2866 USA Phil Rodgers 70-70-73-74=287 +7 5,0007 USA Bobby Nichols 74-72-71-72=289 +9 4,000T8 USA Wes Ellis 71-75-74-70=290 +10 2,800 USA Doug Sanders 70-75-74-71=290 USA Mason Rudolph 74-72-71-73=290 USA Johnny Miller (a) 70-72-74-74=290 0 (a) denotes amateur Source: Scorecard Hole 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 101112131415161718Par543444434444343544USA Casper EE+1E+1+1+1+1+1+1+1EEE−1−2−2−2USA Palmer −4−5−5−5−5−4−5−5−6−5−5−6−5−5−4−3−2−2Palmer's lead||7||6||6||6||5||5||3||1||0||0--> Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par {|class="wikitable" span = 50 style="font-size:85%; |- |style="background: Pink;" width=10| |Birdie |style="background: PaleGreen;" width=10| |Bogey |} Source:https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4agtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uJ8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=5571%2C4256440 Montreal Gazette Leaders' cards Associated Press June 20, 1966 33 Playoff Monday, June 20, 1966 The 18-hole playoff proved similar to the final round, with a Monday gallery of 12,000 under sunny skies. Palmer took a two-stroke lead to the back nine, only to fall apart once again. The pair halved 10 and 11, but Casper birdied 12 and Palmer bogeyed to even up the playoff with six holes remaining. Palmer bogeyed 14 and 15, then double-bogeyed the par-5 16th. Casper finished with a one-under 69, four strokes ahead of Palmer, who shot a 40 (+5) on the back nine. For Palmer, it marked his third loss in as many playoffs at the U.S. Open (1962, 1963, and 1966). PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)1 USA Billy Casper 69 −126,5002 USA Arnold Palmer 73 +314,000 Included in earnings is a playoff bonus of $1,500 each, from the playoff gate receipts. Scorecard Hole 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 101112131415161718Par543444434444343544USA Casper EEEE+1+1E−1EEE−1−2−2−2−1E−1USA Palmer EEE−1−1−1−2−2−2−2−2−1−1E+1+3+3+3 {|class="wikitable" span = 50 style="font-size:85%; |- |style="background: Pink;" width=10| |Birdie |style="background: PaleGreen;" width=10| |Bogey |style="background: Green;" width=10| |Double bogey |} Source:https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4qgtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uJ8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=4269%2C4464877 Montreal Gazette Associated Press Playoff score cards June 21, 1966 30 References 2 External links USGA Championship Database USOpen.com - 1966 1966 Category:U.S. Open (golf) Category:Golf tournaments in California Category:Sports competitions in San Francisco U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) U.S. Open U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf)