Ranking Oakmont's 9 U.S. Opens
The rough-hewn brute of a course just outside of Pittsburgh has a way of identifying true major champions and it is a select company.
No course has hosted more U.S. Opens than Oakmont Country Club. The 2025 edition will be its 10th that it has hosted, and each of the previous nine has stood out for one reason or another.
Here they are, ranked in order of significance, excitement and “Wow” factor:
1. 1962: Arnie versus Jack
This is probably the greatest U.S. Open of all time, no offense to Francis Ouimet, Bobby Jones, Tiger Woods or Lou Graham. This Open, decided in a tense 18-hole playoff, announced the changing of the guard in golf’s world order.
Arnold Palmer, the game’s biggest star, was taken down in his own backyard by a 22-year-old kid from Ohio, Jack Nicklaus, who had yet to win a tournament but was about to become golf’s 20th century GOAT.
It also kicked off the game’s greatest rivalry, Arnie versus Jack, that made the 1960s a Golden Age of golf, especially with the additions of Gary Player and Lee Trevino.
Nicklaus began the final round at Oakmont in fifth place, two strokes behind Palmer and Bobby Nichols, who were at 1 under par. Nicklaus double-bogeyed the opening hole but birdied seven, nine and 11 and parred in to shoot 69. Palmer quickly got to 3 under par on the front side but made a pair of bogeys, including a three-putt at the 13th, and then missed a 12-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole that would have won the Open.
Sunday’s playoff drew a crowd of 10,000 or so that was almost entirely pro-Palmer since he was from nearby Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Palmer was 3 over par through the first eight holes and trailed Nicklaus by four, then made a trademark charge with birdies at nine, 11 and 12 to get within one. Another bogey at the 13th cost Palmer while Nicklaus plodded along with nine straight pars through the 17th and won easily when Palmer doubled the final hole, shooting 71 to Palmer’s 74. The difference in the week was putting. Nicklaus had two three-putt greens, Palmer had 10.
Purse: $73,800.
First prize: $15,000.
Winning score: Jack Nicklaus, -1.
Rounding out the top five: Arnold Palmer, -1; Bobby Nichols and Phil Rodgers, +1; Gay Brewer +3.
Playoff scores: Nicklaus, even. Palmer +3.
Quotable: “Now that the big guy is out of the cage, everybody better run for cover.” — Arnold Palmer on Jack Nicklaus after the playoff
2. 1973: He-eeere’s Johnny
A hot topic for debate could be whether this Open was even better than the Palmer-Nicklaus playoff in 1962. This Open had everything. For starters, it had favorite son Palmer again. This time, he was 43, hadn’t won a major in nine years (and wasn’t ever going to win another) and he was in a four-way tie for the 54-hole lead. The batch of contenders Sunday included a Hall of Fame lineup with Nicklaus, Trevino, Julius Boros and Tom Weiskopf, to name a few. So everyone was stunned when Johnny Miller, six shots back in 13th place, fired a stunning 8-under-par 63 and blew past all of them.
How good was Miller’s round? Only three other players broke 70. His 63, the first 63 posted in any of the four major championships, stood as the U.S. Open record for 50 years until Xander Schauffele and Rickie Fowler posted first-round 8-under 62’s at Los Angeles Country Club in 2023. Those 62s were nice but, ahem, LACC isn’t Oakmont.
Miller, a gifted iron player, played sensationally in his rally. He birdied the first four holes, bogeyed the eighth, then birdied four of the next five and lipped out a 20-foot birdie attempt at 18. He hit all 18 greens in regulation and 10 of his approach shots were within 15 feet of the hole.
It is not a stretch to say he could have shot 59 or 60 with a good putting round. Miller finished an hour ahead of the final pairings and no one could catch him. The last chance was John Schlee, who had a 45-foot chip on the final green to tie Miller, but his shot came up short.
Purse: $219,400.
First prize: $35,000.
Winning score: Johnny Miller, -5.
Rounding out the top five: John Schlee, -4; Tom Weiskopf, -3; Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino, -2.
Quotable: “I was six shots out of the lead and all the greatest players were ahead of me — Nicklaus, Palmer, Player, Trevino and Weiskopf. I didn’t think I had any chance to win when I teed off that final day.” — Johnny Miller
Quotable, Part II: “Johnny Miller? I didn’t even know Miller had made the cut.” —Tom Weiskopf on Miller’s come-from-behind win
3. 1983: The full Nelson
This Open had a sizzling marquee going into Sunday’s final round. Tom Watson and Seve Ballesteros shared the 54-hole lead and Watson was going for history, trying to be the first to successfully defend an Open title since Ben Hogan in 1951. It took another record-setting performance to defeat Watson and Larry Nelson provided that, shooting 132 over the final 36 holes, an Open record, to win by one.
The tournament went to a Monday finish when a storm stopped play late. Sunday afternoon with Watson on the 14th green and Nelson on the 16th tee. Watson opened a three-shot lead with a front-nine 31 but Nelson caught him with a birdie at the 14th after Watson gave two shots back and they were tied when play resumed.
Monday, Nelson hit 4-wood onto the 16th green and holed an unlikely 62-foot birdie putt in front of a small group of fans at the green. Watson trailed by one when he dumped his approach shot into the bunker at 17 and made bogey by missing a 6-foot putt. Nelson, meanwhile, bogeyed the 18th. Watson needed birdie to tie on the final hole but missed the green and narrowly missed holing his chip shot — which would’ve been an incredible moment after he essentially won the Open at Pebble Beach a year earlier with his famous chip-in at the par-3 17th.
Nelson, a Vietnam veteran who didn’t pick up a golf club until he was 21 years old, wasn’t a marquee name like Watson or Ballesteros, but he was a respected ballstriker. He had already won one major, the 1981 PGA Championship, and he would go on to win another PGA in 1987 and eventually make the Hall of Fame.
Purse: $500,000.
First prize: $72,000.
Winning score: Larry Nelson, -4.
Rounding out the top five: Tom Watson, -3; Gil Morgan, -1; Seve Ballesteros and Calvin Peete, +2.
Notable: Palmer finished 60th, the last time he would ever make the cut in a U.S. Open. … Forrest Fezler became the first player to wear shorts in a U.S. Open when he ducked into a portable toilet by the 18th tee in the final round, donned shorts, played the hole and hustled off the course. It was Fezler’s way of protesting his past experiences with the U.S. Golf Association.
Quotable: “Maybe my tombstone should say, ‘I’m wearing shorts,’ I don’t know.” — Forrest Fezler
4. 1994: The Big Three
This U.S. Open ended in a rare three-man playoff, something that hadn’t happened since 1963 when Julius Boros beat Palmer and Jacky Cupit. Ernie Els had a chance to win this Open in regulation, but drove into the rough on the 72nd hole and made bogey. That led to the playoff with Colin Montgomerie and Loren Roberts.
It was a hot and humid week at Oakmont and Montgomerie wilted in the Monday playoff, shooting 78, while Els and Roberts tied with 74s. They went two more holes of sudden death before Roberts, known as the Boss of the Moss for his putting skills, lipped out a par putt and lost to Els, who two-putted for par and the win.
It was a wild week off the course. The New York Rangers won their first Stanley Cup championship in 54 years on Tuesday and O.J. Simpson led police on an iconic televised chase in a white Ford Bronco after the murder of his ex-wife and her friend.
Purse: $1,700,000.
First prize: $320,000.
Winning score: Ernie Els, -5.
Rounding out the top five: Loren Roberts and Colin Montgomerie, -5; Curtis Strange, -4; John Cook, -2.
Playoff scores: Els and Roberts, 74; Montgomerie 78.
Notable: This was ABC’s last time broadcasting the U.S. Open after 29 straight years. … Arnold Palmer, playing on a special exemption, competed in his final U.S. Open and held a tearful pre-tournament farewell press conference.
Quotable: Arnold Palmer, surrounded by a circle of writers after his Friday round, said that yes, he’d met fellow Hertz endorsee O.J. Simpson, but when he was then informed that Simpson was likely a murderer and on the run from police, he had a shocked look on his face and immediately backpedaled, saying, “Oh, I didn’t really know him very well.”
Quotable, Part II: Ernie Els, who thought he needed to birdie 18 in regulation to win, hooked his driver way left into the rough: “If I’d known [I was leading], I’d have hit a 2-iron or 3-wood. I’m kicking my backside over that one.”
5. 1935: Son of Sam
It was one of golf’s great Cinderella stories when Sam Parks Jr., the pro at local South Hills Country Club and former captain of the University of Pittsburgh’s golf team, stunned the greats of the day such as Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen and Denny Shute by winning the Open.
Parks used course knowledge to his advantage, stopping at Oakmont to play every day for a month before the Open, usually at first light, and getting course strategy advice from the superintendent. Parks also took extensive notes and drew diagrams of the greens, a smart idea decades before yardage books were born.
Saturday’s final two rounds were played in rainy, difficult conditions so tough that Parks was the only player to break 300 for 72 holes. His winning score was 299. Sarazen was in third place after two rounds but struggled in the rain, posting 78-79 and falling to sixth. Parks shared the 54-hole lead with Jimmy Thomson but Parks, 26, played steadier, with two birdies, ten pars and six bogeys to Thomson’s three birdies, seven bogeys and one double.
Purse: $5,000.
First prize: $1,000.
Winning score: Sam Parks Jr., +11.
Rounding out the top five: Jimmy Thomson, +13; Walter Hagen, +14; Ray Mangrum and Denny Shute, +15.
Notable: Edward Stimpson, a top amateur golfer, attended the U.S. Open and was so impressed by how fast the Oakmont greens were that he was inspired to invent a device to measure greens’ speeds. The idea for The Stimpmeter came from this Open.
Quotable: “I played all the golf I had in me.” — Sam Parks Jr.
6. 2007: Angel is the centerfold
This U.S. Open belongs on the short list of Tiger Woods’ regrets. Woods began the final round two strokes behind Aaron Baddeley, who tripled the opening hole en route to vanishing with an 80. Woods put himself in that position with a stellar third-round 69 that had 35 putts and could have/should have been 66 or better.
In hindsight, Woods would have won this Open if he’d shot even par the final round. Instead, Woods shot a 2-over 72 and watched Argentina’s Angel Cabrera roar past for the first of his two major championships. Cabrera also won the 2009 Masters.
Cabrera teed off 45 minutes ahead of the leaders. His key moment came when he birdied the tough par-4 15th hole and suddenly led by three over Woods and Jim Furyk. Cabrera bogeyed the next two holes, however, then parred the 18th and had to wait to see if he would be caught. Furyk briefly tied him with birdies at 13, 14 and 15 but bogeyed the 17th hole to drop back.
Woods needed to birdie on one of the last two holes to force a playoff. He drove the greenside bunker at the par-4 17th but hit a poor sand shot that ran well past the pin and he made par. Woods said later he felt a stone between his ball and the clubface at impact, which caused the shot to run out instead of check up. He couldn’t birdie the final hole, either, and later said it was fair criticism to point out that he had never come from behind to win a major.
The course played tough on Sunday. Cabrera’s 69 and Anthony Kim’s 67 were the only scores under par.
Purse: $7,000,000.
First prize: $1.260,000.
Winning score: Angel Cabrera, +5.
Rounding out the top five: Jim Furyk and Tiger Woods, +6; Niclas Fasth, +7; David Toms and Bubba Watson, +9.
Quotable: Jim Furyk, asked to compare the matching 5-over-par winning scores of the 2006 Open at Winged Foot and this one: “I don’t know. They both stink.”
Quotable, Part II: “I was able to beat the best player (Tiger) and the best players here, but I wasn't able to beat the golf course. The golf course beat me.” — Angel Cabrera.
7. 1953: Ben there, won that
It used to be a lot harder to win the U.S. Open. Even Ben Hogan, a three-time U.S. Open champ, had to play in 36-hole qualifying Tuesday and Wednesday before the tournament. Only Julius Boros, the defending champion, was exempt.
This was peak Hogan Era. He won three professional majors in 1953, a feat that wasn’t duplicated for another 47 years until Tiger Woods did it in 2000. Hogan did not play in the PGA Championship because he had already departed by ocean liner for the British Open at Carnoustie and the PGA Championship was scheduled for the week before. So he went 3-for-3 in majors in ’53. Call it The Hogan Slam.
Hogan went wire-to-wire in this Open, but it wasn’t easy. He shot 67 in the first round, one of only two sub-par scores in the tournament. The other was Sam Snead’s second-round 69. Hogan led Snead and George Fazio by two after 36 holes and Snead by one after 54.
With nine holes left, Hogan held a one-stroke edge over Snead. Then he suddenly pulled away with three birdies on the back nine and won by six. It was Hogan’s fourth U.S. Open title, tying the record shared by Willie Anderson and Bobby Jones and later tied by Jack Nicklaus.
Purse: $20,400.
First prize: $5,000.
Winning score: Ben Hogan, -5.
Rounding out the top five: Sam Snead, +1; Lloyd Mangrum +4; Jimmy Demaret, Pete Cooper and George Fazio, +6.
Quotable: Ben Hogan on the fourth occasion of being presented with the U.S. Open trophy, “Can I keep it this time?”
8. 2016: Man versus rules
A rules controversy marred this U.S. Open. Due to the speed and extreme contours of the greens, a number of players had problems with golf balls moving as they prepared to putt and a handful of penalties were doled out. That’s when the worst-case scenario happened.
Leader Dustin Johnson’s golf ball moved as he was about to putt on the fifth green during the final round. After a discussion with a rules official, Johnson was told there would be no penalty. When he reached the 12th hole, he was informed the situation was under review and he might draw a penalty after all. Thus, for the final six holes, no one in the field was sure of the leader’s score.
Fortunately, Johnson played superbly despite the cloud hanging over his head and finished four shots ahead of Shane Lowry, Jim Furyk and Scott Piercy. The USGA did hand Johnson a one-stroke penalty after the round was over, turning his 68 into a 69, but it didn’t affect the outcome.
The multiple ball-movement issues led to a subsequent rules change. The USGA realized the pitfalls in delaying a rules decision on a contender, so it made changes to speed up its ruling process.
Purse: $10,000,000.
First prize: $1,800,000.
Winning score: Dustin Johnson, -4.
Rounding out the top five: Jim Furyk, Shane Lowry and Scott Piercy, -1; Sergio Garcia and Branden Grace, even.
Quotable: “There was nobody willing to make a decision. And what they eventually did, they got wrong.” — Lee Westwood, paired with Johnson, about the penalty
9. 1927: The 300 Club
Oakmont proved extremely challenging for this field. Tommy Armour, known as the Silver Scot, won the title despite posting a 72-hole score of 301, the last time the Open’s winning score exceeded 300. Al Espinosa’s 69 was the tournament’s only sub-70 score.
Armour’s opening 78 tied Walter Hagen for the highest first-round score by the eventual champion in the post-World War I era. Oakmont’s par-5 12th hole played 621 yards, the longest hole in U.S. Open history until 1955. Another example of the tough setup: Amateur Jimmy Johnson, who would win the 1929 U.S. Amateur, held the Open lead after two rounds and then shot 87. That had to hurt.
The final round was a tough slog. Hagen, Sarazen, Bill Mehlhorn and Emmet French were in pursuit of Light Horse Harry Cooper and Armour, but French was the only one to break 40 on the closing nine. Cooper looked like the winner despite three-putting the 17th, but Armour, who shot 76, holed a 10-footer for birdie on the tough 18th to force a playoff.
In the extra round, Armour and Cooper were tied until Cooper found a greenside bunker at the 16th. Cooper made a double bogey, giving Armour a two-shot edge that he held for the closing two holes. This was the first of Armour’s three major championship titles. Cooper never won a major title in his otherwise illustrious career.
Purse: $2,000.
First prize: $500.
Winning score: Tommy Armour, +13.
Rounding out the top five: Harry Cooper, +13; Gene Sarazen, +14; Emmet French, +16; Bill Mehlhorn, +17.
Playoff scores: Armour, 76; Cooper, 79.
Quotable: “Oakmont has all the charm of a sock to the head.” — Gene Sarazen
MORE FROM GARY VAN SICKLE
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Great stuff, Gary. Love the historical look.