1973 U.S. Open (golf)

The 1973 U.S. Open was the 73rd U.S. Open, held June 14–17 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, a suburb northeast of Pittsburgh. In one of the finest performances in tournament history, Johnny Miller fired a record, 8-under-par 63 in the final round to win his first major championship, one stroke ahead of runner-up John Schlee.[3][4][5][6][7]

1973 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJune 14–17, 1973
LocationOakmont, Pennsylvania
Course(s)Oakmont Country Club
Organized byUSGA
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par71
Length6,921 yards (6,329 m)[1]
Field149 players, 65 after cut
Cut150 (+8)
Prize fund$219,400[2]
Winner's share$35,000
Champion
Johnny Miller
279 (−5)
Oakmont 
Location in the United States
Oakmont
Location in Pennsylvania

Jack Nicklaus, the winner at Oakmont eleven years earlier, was the favorite entering the championship.[8] Daily admission on the weekend was ten dollars.[9]

Course layout
Main article: Oakmont Country Club
Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards4693434255493791953952444803,4794623716031853604532303224563,4426,921
Par444543435364453443443571

Source:[10]

Lengths of the course for previous major championships:

Before 1962, the first hole was played as a par 5.

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 14, 1973

Underweight from recent surgeries, 1965 champion Gary Player shot 67 to lead by three strokes.[11]

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1 Gary Player67−4
T2 Lee Trevino70−1
Jim Colbert
Raymond Floyd
T5 Jack Nicklaus71E
Johnny Miller
Arnold Palmer
Gene Littler
Bob Charles
Ralph Johnston

Source:[11]

Second round

Friday, June 15, 1973

Player shot 70 for 137 to lead by one at the midway point.[12]

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1 Gary Player67-70=137−5
2 Jim Colbert70-68=138−4
T3 Jack Nicklaus71-69=140−2
Johnny Miller71-69=140
Bob Charles71-69=140
T6 Gene Borek77-65=142E
Julius Boros73-69=142
Tom Weiskopf73-69=142
Arnold Palmer71-71=142
Lee Trevino70-72=142

Source:[13]

Third round

Saturday, June 16, 1973

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
T1 Jerry Heard74-70-66=210−3
John Schlee73-70-67=210
Arnold Palmer71-71-68=210
Julius Boros73-69-68=210
5 Tom Weiskopf73-69-69=211−2
T6 Lee Trevino70-72-70=212−1
Bob Charles71-69-72=212
Jim Colbert70-68-74=212
T9 Jack Nicklaus71-69-74=214+1
Gary Player67-70-77=214

Source:[14][15]

Final round

Sunday, June 17, 1973

Four players shared the 54-hole lead: Schlee, Jerry Heard, 1963 champion Julius Boros, and 1960 winner Arnold Palmer. After a 76 (+5) on Saturday, Miller started the final round six strokes back, in a four-way tie for 13th place at three strokes over par,[16][15][14] and few gave him any chance of winning. Miller birdied the first four holes,[17] but after a bogey at the eighth, it certainly did not appear like he was on the brink of the greatest round in U.S. Open history.

But he then birdied four of the next five holes, and after a par at 14 he was tied for the lead with Palmer, Boros, and Tom Weiskopf. At the 15th hole, Miller hit his approach to ten feet (3 m) and converted for birdie to take solo possession of the lead. After lipping out a twenty-foot (6 m) birdie putt at 18 (for a 62), Miller carded the first round of 63 in major championship history. Finishing over an hour ahead of the last pairing, Miller then waited to see if anyone would match him.[17] Palmer fell out of contention with three consecutive bogeys to finish in a tie for fourth. Boros and Heard both shot 73 and finished in a tie for seventh. Despite John Schlee taking a double-bogey on the 1st hole of the final round by the time he got to the 18th Tee he was only player left on the course with a chance to tie Miller. After finding the fairway, Schlee's second shot into 18 went just over the green and he was left having to hole a 45-foot chip for birdie. Schlee's chip to tie stopped a foot short and he finished 2nd alone at 4-under par 280.

In shooting 63, Miller hit all 18 greens in regulation and needed 29 putts. Ten of his approach shots wound up within 15 feet (4.6 m), while five were within 6 feet (1.8 m). His score was even more remarkable given that only three other players managed to even break 70 on the day.[7]

PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)
1 Johnny Miller71-69-76-63=279−535,000
2 John Schlee73-70-67-70=280−418,000
3 Tom Weiskopf73-69-69-70=281−313,000
T4 Jack Nicklaus71-69-74-68=282−29,000
Arnold Palmer71-71-68-72=282
Lee Trevino70-72-70-70=282
T7 Julius Boros73-69-68-73=283−16,000
Jerry Heard74-70-66-73=283
Lanny Wadkins74-69-75-65=283
10 Jim Colbert70-68-74-72=284E4,000

Source:[1][5][18]

Scorecard

Final round

Hole 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 101112131415161718
Par444543435445344344
Miller+2+1E−1−1−1−1E−1−1−2−3−4−4−5−5−5−5
Schlee−1−1−1−3−2−3−3−2−3−3−3−4−3−3−3−4−4−4
Weiskopf−2−3−3−3−3−3−3−3−4−3−3−3−3−2−2−3−3−3
Nicklaus+1EEEEEE+1EEEEEEE−1−2−2
Palmer−3−3−3−4−4−3−3−3−4−4−4−3−2−1−1−1−1−2
TrevinoE−1−1−2−2−2−2−2−3−3−3−3−3−3−3−3−2−2
Wadkins+5+4+4+2+2+3+3+3+1+1+1E−1−1−1−1−2−1

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Eagle Birdie Bogey Double bogey

Source:[3][19][20]

Miller's final round

Johnny Miller's 63: club selection and results - June 17, 1973

HoleYardsParClub selectionsScoreResult To par
14694Driver, 3-iron to 5 feet3birdie−1
23434Driver, 9-iron to 1 foot3birdie−2
34254Driver, 5-iron to 25 feet3birdie−3
45495Driver, 3-wood, bunker shot to 6 inches4birdie−4
53794Driver, 6-iron to 25 feet, 2 putts4par−4
619533-iron to 25 feet, 2 putts3par−4
73954Driver, 9-iron to 6 feet, 2 putts4par−4
824434-wood to 30 feet, 3 putts4bogey−3
94805Driver, 2-iron to 40 feet, 2 putts4birdie−4
Out3,4793632−4
104624Driver, 5-iron to 25 feet, 2 putts4par−4
113714Driver, wedge to 14 feet3birdie−5
126035Driver, 7-iron, 4-iron to 15 feet4birdie−6
1318534-iron to 5 feet2birdie−7
143604Driver, wedge to 12 feet, 2 putts4par−7
154534Driver, 4-iron to 10 feet3birdie−8
1623032-iron to 45 feet, 2 putts3par−8
1732241-iron, wedge to 10 feet, 2 putts4par−8
184564Driver, 5-iron to 20 feet, 2 putts4par−8
In3,4423531−4
Total6,9217163−8

Source:[10][16][17]

Video
  • You Tube - Miller on 72nd hole - USGA (ABC broadcast)

References
  1. "Johnny Miller fires record 63 charging to U.S. Open victory". The Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. June 18, 1973. p. 32.
  2. "U.S. Open history: 1973". USGA. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  3. Grimsley, Will (June 18, 1973). "John Miller fires record 63 in scorching finish to take Open at Oakmont". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. p. 14.
  4. Gundelfinger, Phil (June 18, 1973). "Miller's record 63 wins Open". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 1.
  5. Tomashek, Tom (June 18, 1973). "Miller wins U.S. Open on record 63". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, section 3.
  6. Jenkins, Dan (June 25, 1973). "Battle of the Ages". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
  7. Dulac, Gerry (June 9, 2007). "Johnny Miller: the best round ever". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  8. Grimsley, Will (June 13, 1973). "Palmer aims to redeem himself". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. p. 63.
  9. "Golf fans take beating". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. June 17, 1973. p. 64.
  10. Elling, Steve (June 12, 2007). "Miller's magical 63 in '73 a round to remember". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  11. "Ailing Player grabs Open lead". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). Associated Press. June 15, 1973. p. 11.
  12. Green, Bob (June 16, 1973). "Course the opponent, Player says". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). Associated Press. p. 5.
  13. Tomashek, Tom (June 15, 1973). "Player keeps lead in Open". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, section 2.
  14. "The Open with one round left (scores)". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. June 17, 1973. p. 7C.
  15. Tomashek, Tom (June 17, 1973). "A wide-open Open - 4 tied for lead". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, section 3.
  16. Driscoll, Ron (May 24, 2016). "1973: Fact and fiction in the U.S. Open's most famous final round". USGA. Archived from the original on May 28, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  17. Rapoport, Ron (June 13, 1983). "Miracle round". Beaver County Times. Pennsylvania. (Chicago Sun Times). p. B1.
  18. "1973 U.S. Open". databasegolf.com. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  19. "Open scores". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 18, 1973. p. 18.
  20. "How they finished". St. Petersburg Times. Florida. June 18, 1973. p. 1C.

40.526°N 79.827°W / 40.526; -79.827

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