1974 U.S. Open (golf)
The 1974 U.S. Open was the 74th U.S. Open, held June 13–16 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, a suburb northeast of New York City. In what became known as the "Massacre at Winged Foot," Hale Irwin's score of 287 (+7) was good enough for the first of his three U.S. Open titles, two strokes ahead of runner-up Forrest Fezler.[3][4][5][6]
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | June 13–16, 1974 |
| Location | Mamaroneck, New York |
| Course(s) | Winged Foot Golf Club West Course |
| Organized by | USGA |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 70 |
| Length | 6,961 yards (6,365 m)[1] |
| Field | 150 players, 66 after cut |
| Cut | 153 (+13) |
| Prize fund | $227,700[2] |
| Winner's share | $35,000 |
| Champion | |
| Hale Irwin | |
| 287 (+7) | |
Tournament summary
In the first round, with an even-par 70, Gary Player took the solo lead. In the second round Player shot a three-over-par 73 and retained the lead, now tied with Hale Irwin, Raymond Floyd, and Arnold Palmer. This group led by one over Tom Kite and Tom Watson.
In the third-round Watson shot a one-under-par 69 to take a one-stroke lead over Irwin. Palmer stayed in contention with a 73 (+3), now in solo third. However Player, Floyd, and Kite fell out of contention with significantly over-par rounds.[7][8]
In the final round Watson bogeyed holes 4, 5, and 8 on the front nine to lose the lead to Irwin. He then bogeyed six more holes on the back nine to fall out of contention. Journeyman golfer Forrest Fezler shot one-under-par through the first 15 holes to suddenly move into contention. He then made long par putts at 16 and 17 to stay near the lead. Needing a birdie at 18 to tie Irwin, Fezler missed the green and could not convert another lengthy par save at the last, missing from fifteen feet (4.6 m) to finish with an even-par 70. He finished at 289 (+9), the clubhouse leader, but multiple strokes behind Irwin, still the overall leader. Irwin bogeyed the 15th and 16th holes but made a 10-footer (3 m) to save par at 17th. With a two-shot lead heading to the 18th, Irwin hit his approach to the center of the green and two-putted for par and the championship.
Winged Foot played extremely difficult throughout the tournament, leading sportswriter Dick Schaap to coin the phrase "The Massacre at Winged Foot," also the title of his book about the tournament.[6] Irwin's 7-over total tied for second-highest aggregate winning score since 1935. Many complained that the USGA had intentionally made the course setup treacherous in response to Johnny Miller's record-breaking 63 the year before.
Sam Snead, age 62, broke a rib during practice on Wednesday and withdrew.[9][10]
Course layout
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yards | 446 | 411 | 216 | 460 | 515 | 324 | 166 | 442 | 466 | 3,446 | 190 | 382 | 535 | 212 | 435 | 417 | 452 | 444 | 448 | 3,515 | 6,961 |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 35 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 35 | 70 |
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, June 13, 1974
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Player | 70 | E |
| T2 | Lou Graham | 71 | +1 |
| Mike Reasor | |||
| T4 | Jim Colbert | 72 | +2 |
| Bruce Crampton | |||
| Raymond Floyd | |||
| Bobby Nichols | |||
| Barney Thompson | |||
| T9 | Arnold Palmer | 73 | +3 |
| Tom Watson | |||
| Hale Irwin | |||
| Rod Funseth | |||
| Jerry Heard | |||
| David Graham | |||
| Mark Hayes | |||
| John Buczek |
Source:[11]
Second round
Friday, June 14, 1974
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Arnold Palmer | 73-70=143 | +3 |
| Hale Irwin | 73-70=143 | ||
| Raymond Floyd | 72-71=143 | ||
| Gary Player | 70-73=143 | ||
| T5 | Tom Kite | 74-70=144 | +4 |
| Tom Watson | 73-71=144 | ||
| T7 | Bert Yancey | 76-69=145 | +5 |
| Forrest Fezler | 75-70=145 | ||
| T9 | Larry Ziegler | 78-68=146 | +6 |
| Frank Beard | 77-69=146 | ||
| Eddie Pearce | 75-71=146 | ||
| John Buczek | 73-73=146 | ||
| Lou Graham | 71-75=146 |
Source:[11]
Third round
Saturday, June 15, 1974
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Watson | 73-71-69=213 | +3 |
| 2 | Hale Irwin | 73-70-71=214 | +4 |
| 3 | Arnold Palmer | 73-70-73=216 | +6 |
| T4 | Frank Beard | 77-69-72=218 | +8 |
| Bert Yancey | 76-69-73=218 | ||
| Jim Colbert | 72-77-69=218 | ||
| 7 | Forrest Fezler | 75-70-74=219 | +9 |
| T8 | Lou Graham | 71-75-74=220 | +10 |
| Gary Player | 70-73-77=220 | ||
| T10 | Raymond Floyd | 72-71-78=221 | +11 |
| Buddy Allin | 76-71-74=221 | ||
| Tom Kite | 74-70-77=221 | ||
| Dale Douglass | 77-72-72=221 | ||
| Tom Weiskopf | 76-73-72=221 |
Source:[7]
Final round
Sunday, June 16, 1974
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hale Irwin | 73-70-71-73=287 | +7 | 35,000 |
| 2 | Forrest Fezler | 75-70-74-70=289 | +9 | 18,000 |
| T3 | Lou Graham | 71-75-74-70=290 | +10 | 11,500 |
| Bert Yancey | 76-69-73-72=290 | |||
| T5 | Jim Colbert | 72-77-69-74=292 | +12 | 8,000 |
| Arnold Palmer | 73-70-73-76=292 | |||
| Tom Watson | 73-71-69-79=292 | |||
| T8 | Tom Kite | 74-70-77-72=293 | +13 | 5,500 |
| Gary Player | 70-73-77-73=293 | |||
| T10 | Buddy Allin | 76-71-74-73=294 | +14 | 3,750 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 75-74-76-69=294 |
Scorecard
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
| Birdie | Bogey | Double bogey |
References
- "For you nostalgia fans – it's the Palmer of old!". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. June 15, 1975. p. 12.
- "U.S. Open history: 1974". USGA. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- Tomashek, Tom (June 17, 1974). "Hail! Irwin wins Open by 2". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
- Jenkins, Dan (June 24, 1974). "Hale Irwin, sole survivor". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
- "Irwin finishes with 287, gains two-stroke victory in U.S. Open". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. June 17, 1974. p. 17.
- McCleery, Peter (June 8, 2006). "The Massacre of '74 still lingers". ESPN. (Golf Digest). Retrieved May 20, 2014.
- Tomashek, Tom (June 16, 1974). "Watson leads by 1 in Open; Arnie 3d". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
- "Watson takes lead as Arnie, Gary fade". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. June 16, 1974. p. 1B.
- "Broken rib costs Snead Open berth". Bangor Daily News. (Maine). Associated Press. June 13, 1974. p. 27.
- "Sam slammed by Open jinx". The Age. (Melbourne, Australia). June 14, 1974. p. 27.
- "Arnie's back as he takes share of lead". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. June 15, 1974. p. 1B.
- "1974 U.S. Open". databasegolf.com. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- "Irwin's final card". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. June 17, 1974. p. 17.