The 114th U.S. Open is being played this weekend, and that’s why there’s no better time to countdown the 10 best U.S Open moments. The moments on this list span different eras, but a lot of the same legendary names in the game of golf can be found repeatedly. Some moments involve incredible comebacks, while others put sheer skill and dominance on display for all of the world to see. Much like other titles in professional sports, the four majors in golf are what define a player’s career, and not winning one means you’re always known as the golfer who was really good, but never won the big one. The memories contained in this list should get even the casual golf fan pumped up for this weekend, from Payne Stewart’s fist pumping victory, to Tiger Woods dominating, we’ve scanned through the history of the U.S. Open and brought to you some of the most timeless flashes of brilliance in the history of the tournament. Here they are…
10. Sam Snead Makes The Grade
When someone reaches their 50s in professional golf these days, it’s more likely that they are working on their swing for the Senior Tour rather than getting ready to compete at the U.S. Open. But that’s exactly what Sam Snead did, no less than 36 years after he first played in the tournament. Sneed was 61 years old when he made the third round at the event. Think about how crazy that is in any other sport. Most 61 year old people are thinking about never working again, yet Snead was playing against golfers young enough to be considered his grandchildren, and still making the cut at a major tournament! That’s absolutely mind blowing.
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Normally if you’re chasing one of the greatest golfers of all time on the final Sunday of a major tournament and you find yourself 7 strokes behind with just 9 holes left, you’d probably need to shoot for birdies and eagles in order to have a prayer’s chance of winning. But in 1966, Billy Casper managed to catch Arnold Palmer merely by staying consistent. Palmer indeed had a 7-stroke lead with 9 holes left in the 1966 event. Fortunately for Casper, Palmer’s lead was dissipated as the legend continuously bogied holes and struggled, allowing Casper to make a comeback simply by shooting par on the back 9. In that tournament, Casper never three-putted once. It was the consistency in his putting game that allowed him to force a playoff against Palmer, which he went on to win by 4 strokes.
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In 2001, Retief Goosen missed a 2-foot putt on the 18th hole that would have secured the major victory for him. The man directly behind Goosen on the leaderboard was Mark Brooks. Brooks three-putted on his last hole that day and was ready to leave the golf course, thinking he had already lost. Then Goosen missed his clinching stroke. The two ended up playing in an exciting playoff the next day, which Goosen did ultimately win. But the fact that he slipped up at the end definitely made the finish to the tournament way more exciting. How any pro golfer can miss a 2-footer to win a major event is beyond most of us, but it did create one of the more classic U.S. Open finishes ever.
AP Photo/Laura Rauch
At the 1973 U.S. Open, Johnny Miller shot a 76 in the third round, putting himself 6 shots behind the leader going into the final round on Sunday. What happened next was nothing short of an amazing performance. Miller shot what was then a course record at Oakmont County Club, a 63, which gave him the title. His score is still currently standing as the lowest ever for a single round at the tournament. His consistency that day was uncanny, as Miller hit all 18 greens in regulation. Only five players were able to shoot under par on that final day, and obviously Miller was one of them. Like a lot of the moments on this list, Miller’s performance in ’73 couldn’t have been predicted, as he only had two wins on the tour prior to that fateful day.
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Francis Ouimet (below, left) was the true definition of an amateur when he got invited to play in the .U.S. Open in 1913. He was so caught off guard by the invite, he had to hire an 11-year old caddy to carry his bag around the course. There have been many infamous and improbable under dog wins in the history of golf, but Ouimet’s win has to rank as one of the most unforeseen. He held is own though, and managed to remain tied with two other players going into the final round. Ouimet’s win is referred to by many experts and historians in the game of golf as the “birth of modern golf”. It was an unexpected win, but definitely a big moment in the U.S. Open and in the rich history of the sport in general .
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Just 16 months before the 50th playing of the U.S. Open, Ben Hogan suffered severe injuries in an automobile accident. Hogan then won the tournament at Merion Golf Club in an exciting playoff over fellow golfers Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio. Before Hogan’s victory back then, he was perceived as having a cold personality, as if he wasn’t open to connecting with his fans. But his accident endeared him to the gallery that weekend and his victory surely helped to cement his legacy. There have been many great comeback stories across all sports, but to come back the way Hogan did, on one of the sports’ biggest stages, was just incredible. His win that year was his second of four career U.S. Open titles.
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Tiger Woods made a field of grown professional golfers look like little kid amateurs at the tournament in 2000. He led by 6-strokes after the second round and 10-strokes after the third round and by the time the final putt had been made in the final round, Woods found himself crowned as the victor with an unbelievable 15-stroke lead. It took him a total of 272 shots to complete all four rounds that year, which is a U.S. Open record. Perhaps the most impressive number of all the statistics is that Woods was the only player that year to even finish under par. His performance that year was one of the most dominant tournament showings in the history of professional golf.
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Arnold Palmer’s first and only U.S. Open victory featured quite the list of names as challengers, including then amateur Don Cherry, who made a late run in that tournament, just as Palmer did, but came up just short. Ben Hogan, well past his prime at the time, also made a late charge at the event, while a young Jack Nicklaus began to prove he could hang with the big boys. However, the final round that day definitely belonged to Palmer. He started the day 7-strokes behind the leader and ended the day as the champion by shooting a remarkable 65. He was absolutely on fire and unstoppable. Even though Cherry’s performance was somewhat threatening, the gallery knew that something special was taking place.
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Payne Stewart’s victory at the 1999 U.S. Open led to the making of an iconic statue. On the final Sunday, he was facing off against a young 29-year-old Phil Mickelson. The two had similar putts to make on the final hole of the tournament to contend with. Mickelson’s putt was from 25 feet, while Stewart was able to lay up his approach to just 15 feet from the cup. Stewart’s putt broke left, right, and then slightly left again before dropping into the hole leading to the legendary fist pump and celebration that would remain one of the most memorable U.S. Open moments to this day. Stewart’s victory was even more special considering that he perished in a plane crash later that same year. His win at Pinehurst stands as the pinnacle of Stewart’s career.
AP Photo/Chuck Burton
In 2008, Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open again, which would be his 14th major title. He did so at Torrey Pines, winning a sudden-death playoff hole against Rocco Mediate. Of course, Tiger had many big wins at other major events throughout his career, but what made his effort at the 2008 Open so special is that he claimed victory while playing with a torn ACL. Oh by the way, Woods also had a stress fracture in his left leg. His leg was literally broken. Perhaps golf isn’t as demanding as other sports are on the lower body, but Woods’ performance was gutsy and nothing short of spectacular. He could barely walk 18 holes, often using his clubs as walking canes, and yet he pulled out one of the most unlikely wins in the history of any major event.
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