1967 U.S. Open (golf)

1967 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJune 15–18, 1967
LocationSpringfield, New Jersey
Course(s)Baltusrol Golf Club
Lower Course
Organized byUSGA
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par70
Length7,015 yards (6,415 m)[1]
Field150 players, 66 after cut
Cut148 (+8)
Prize fund$169,400[2]
Winner's share$30,000
Champion
United States Jack Nicklaus
275 (−5)
← 1966
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Baltusrol  is located in the United States
Baltusrol 
Baltusrol 
Baltusrol  is located in New Jersey
Baltusrol 
Baltusrol 

The 1967 U.S. Open was the 67th U.S. Open, held June 15–18 at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey, west of New York City. Jack Nicklaus shot a final round 65 and established a new U.S. Open record of 275, four strokes ahead of runner-up Arnold Palmer, the 1960 champion.[3][4][5] It was the second of Nicklaus' four U.S. Open titles and the seventh of his eighteen major championships.

Nicklaus' record score surpassed the 276 of Ben Hogan in 1948 at Riviera. His final round 65 (−5) tied the U.S. Open record for lowest final 18 holes, broken six years later by Johnny Miller at Oakmont. The 275 record stood for thirteen years, when Nicklaus broke it on the same course in 1980. For Palmer, it was his fourth runner-up finish at the U.S. Open in six years; the earlier three were in playoffs (1962, 1963, 1966). Hogan, age 54,[6] played in his final major; he shot 72 in each of the first two rounds and tied for 34th place.[4]

After winning the Masters in 1965 and 1966, Nicklaus missed the cut there two months earlier, which also kept him off the first Ryder Cup team for which he was eligible. (Other than a withdrawal in 1983, it was his only missed cut at Augusta from 19601993).

Lee Trevino, then a club pro from El Paso, finished fifth at Baltusrol in only his second major championship; he made the cut in his debut in 1966 at Olympic in San Francisco. The fifth place earnings of $6,000 allowed him to play in enough tournaments the rest of the 1967 season to earn his tour card for 1968. The high finish gave Trevino an exemption into the U.S. Open in 1968 at Oak Hill, which he won.

This was the fifth U.S. Open at Baltusrol and the second on the Lower Course; it previously hosted in 1954. The Upper Course was the site in 1936 and the defunct Old Course in 1903 and 1915. The U.S. Open returned in 1980, also won by Nicklaus, and its most recent appearance was in 1993. The PGA Championship was held at the Lower Course in 2005 and 2016.

With his seventh major won at age 27, Nicklaus went over three years before his next, at The Open Championship in 1970.

Course layout

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Lower Course

Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Yards 469 390 438 194 388 470 470 365 206 3,390 449 410 193 383 399 419 214 623 542 3,632 7,022
Par 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 34 4 4 3 4 4 4 3 5 5 36 70

Source:[7]

Lengths of the course for previous major championships:

  • 7,027 yards (6,425 m), par 70 - 1954 U.S. Open
  • 6,866 yards (6,278 m), par 72 - 1936 U.S. Open (Upper Course)
  • 6,212 yards (5,680 m), par 74 - 1915 U.S. Open (Old Course)   The Old Course was plowed under in 1918
  • 6,003 yards (5,489 m), par      - 1903 U.S. Open (Old Course)

Round summaries

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First round

[edit]

Thursday, June 15, 1967

Marty Fleckman, a 23-year-old amateur from Port Arthur, Texas, shot an opening round 67 to lead the field by two in his first U.S. Open.[8]

Place Player Score To par
1 United States Marty Fleckman (a) 67 −3
T2 United States Deane Beman 69 −1
United States Billy Casper
United States Don January
United States Arnold Palmer
South Africa Gary Player
United States Chi-Chi Rodríguez
United States Art Wall Jr.
T9 United States George Archer 70 E
United States Gardner Dickinson
United States Dutch Harrison
United States Dave Marr
Australia Kel Nagle

Source:[8]

Second round

[edit]

Friday, June 16, 1967

Place Player Score To par
1 United States Arnold Palmer 69-68=137 −3
2 United States Jack Nicklaus 71-67=138 −2
3 United States Billy Casper 69-70=139 −1
T4 United States Deane Beman 69-71=140 E
Australia Bruce Devlin 72-68=140
United States Marty Fleckman (a) 67-73=140
7 United States Don January 69-72=141 +1
T8 United States George Archer 70-72=142 +2
United States Miller Barber 71-71=142
United States Bob Hold 71-71=142
Australia Kel Nagle 70-72=142
South Africa Gary Player 69-73=142
United States Lee Trevino 72-70=142
United States Art Wall Jr. 69-73=142

Source:[9]

Third round

[edit]

Saturday, June 17, 1967

With a one-under 69 on Saturday, amateur Fleckman was the surprise 54-hole leader, a stroke ahead of defending champion Billy Casper and former champions Nicklaus (1962) and Palmer (1960).[9]

Place Player Score To par
1 United States Marty Fleckman (a) 67-73-69=209 −1
T2 United States Billy Casper 69-70-71=210 E
United States Jack Nicklaus 71-67-72=210
United States Arnold Palmer 69-68-73=210
T5 United States Miller Barber 71-71-69=211 +1
United States Deane Beman 69-71-71=211
United States Gardner Dickinson 70-73-68=211
United States Don January 69-72-70=211
T9 United States Wes Ellis 74-69-70=213 +3
United States Bob Goalby 72-71-70=213
United States Lee Trevino 72-70-71=213

Source:[9]

Final round

[edit]

Sunday, June 18, 1967

Fleckman wilted under the pressure, shot a final round 80 (+10), and tied for 18th place. Alongside in the final pairing, Casper carded a 72 for 282 (+2), seven strokes behind in fourth place. The championship became a duel between Nicklaus and Palmer, in the penultimate pairing. Nicklaus birdied five of his first eight holes to open up a four-stroke advantage over Palmer, and that is how they finished. At the par-5 18th, Nicklaus played safe with a 1-iron off the tee, but it went right and required a recovery shot from the rough. The third shot was an uphill 230 yards (210 m) from the fairway with another 1-iron, then he sank the birdie putt from 22 feet (7 m) for the record.[3][5][10] Fleckman held on for low amateur by a stroke over Bob Murphy, who shot 69.

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1 United States Jack Nicklaus 71-67-72-65=275 −5 30,000
2 United States Arnold Palmer 69-68-73-69=279 −1 15,000
3 United States Don January 69-72-70-70=281 +1 10,000
4 United States Billy Casper 69-70-71-72=282 +2 7,500
5 United States Lee Trevino 72-70-71-70=283 +3 6,000
T6 United States Deane Beman 69-71-71-73=284 +4 4,166
United States Gardner Dickinson 70-73-68-73=284
United States Bob Goalby 72-71-70-71=284
T9 United States Dave Marr 70-74-70-71=285 +5 2,566
Australia Kel Nagle 70-72-72-71=285
United States Art Wall Jr. 69-73-72-71=285

Source:[4]

Scorecard

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Final round

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 3 5 5
United States Nicklaus E +1 E −1 −2 −1 −2 −3 −3 −2 −2 −2 −3 −4 −4 −4 −4 −5
United States Palmer E E E E E E E +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 E −1

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
Source:[10]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Gen. Palmer grabs Open lead with 68". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. June 17, 1967. p. 12.
  2. ^ "U.S. Open history: 1967". USGA. Archived from the original on June 7, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Wright, Alfred (June 26, 1967). "Jack Delivers the Crusher". Sports Illustrated. p. 22.
  4. ^ a b c "Nicklaus' record 275 wins". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. June 19, 1967. p. 1-part 2.
  5. ^ a b "Nicklaus plays safe, claims Open record". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. June 19, 1967. p. 3B.
  6. ^ Green, Bob (June 11, 1967). "Ben Hogan seen threat in U.S. Open tourney". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. p. 36.
  7. ^ "Baltusrol Golf Club: map and yardages". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. June 11, 1967. p. 36.
  8. ^ a b "Amateur's 67 tops Open". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. June 16, 1967. p. 1, part 2.
  9. ^ a b c Grimsley, Will (June 18, 1967). "Fleckman fires 69, leads U.S. Open by stroke at 209". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. p. D-1.
  10. ^ a b "Leading Open cards". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. UPI. June 19, 1967. p. 15.
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40°42′18″N 74°19′41″W / 40.705°N 74.328°W / 40.705; -74.328