1977 U.S. Open (golf)

The 1977 U.S. Open was the 77th U.S. Open, held June 16–19 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hubert Green won the first of his two major titles, one stroke ahead of runner-up Lou Graham, the 1975 champion.[1][3][4]

1977 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJune 16–19, 1977
LocationTulsa, Oklahoma
36.070°N 95.946°W / 36.070; -95.946
Course(s)Southern Hills Country Club
Organized byUSGA
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par70
Length6,873 yards (6,285 m)[1]
Field153 players, 60 after cut
Cut147 (+7) [2]
Winner's share$45,000
Champion
Hubert Green
278 (−2)
Location map
Southern Hills CC
Location in the United States
Southern Hills CC
Location in Oklahoma

Green began the final round with the lead, but 11 players were within three shots. Graham made a charge on the back nine, collecting birdies at 12, 14, 15, and 16 en route to a 68 (−2) and a 279 (−1) total. With four holes to play, Green needed to play even-par to win the championship. As he stepped off the 14th green, however, he was approached by tournament officials and a lieutenant with the Tulsa police, who told him that they had received a phone call threatening to assassinate Green while he played the 15th hole.[5] Green decided to play on, then proceeded to hit his drive into a tree—which probably saved it from going out of bounds. He managed to hit his approach to 35 feet (11 m) and two-putt for par without incident. Green birdied the 16th and took a two-stroke lead to the 18th tee. Although he struggled on the hole, he managed to make a four-footer for bogey and the victory.[6]

This year marked the final U.S. Open appearance by Sam Snead, two-time champion Julius Boros, and Tommy Bolt, who had won the 1958 Open at Southern Hills. All three received exemptions by the USGA, and all three missed the cut. This was the first time that the television broadcast of the U.S. Open covered all 18 holes of the final round.[7]

It was the third major championship at Southern Hills; it previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1958 and the PGA Championship in 1970. The U.S. Open returned in 2001 and the PGA Championship in 1982, 1994, 2007, and 2022.

Course layout
hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards4474594063666141753832153733,4383751654444652074075693544493,4356,873
Par444453434354344345443570

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 16, 1977

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
T1 Terry Diehl69−1
Rod Funseth
Hubert Green
Grier Jones
Florentino Molina
Larry Nelson
Tom Purtzer
T8 Sam Adams70E
George Burns
Al Geiberger
Morris Hatalsky
Joe Inman
Steve Melnyk
Mike Morley
Don Padgett
Arnold Palmer
Bob E. Smith

Second round

Friday, June 17, 1977

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1 Hubert Green69-67=136−4
2 Terry Diehl69-68=137−3
3 Tom Purtzer69-69=138−2
T4 Sam Adams70-69=139−1
Rod Funseth69-70=139
Gary Player72-67=139
T7 Jay Haas72-68=140E
Joe Inman70-70=140
T9 Wally Armstrong71-70=141+1
Andy Bean71-70=141
Al Geiberger70-71=141
Peter Oosterhuis71-70=141

Amateurs: Miller (+6), Fought (+7), Zabel (+9), Sander (+14), Choate (+15), Sonnier (+15), Cook (+16), King (+16), Gregg (+20), Rheim (+29).

Third round

Saturday, June 18, 1977

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1 Hubert Green69-67-72=208−2
2 Andy Bean71-70-68=209−1
T3 Terry Diehl69-68-73=210E
Gary Jacobson73-70-67=210
Don Padgett70-74-66=210
Gary Player72-67-71=210
Tom Purtzer69-69-72=210
Tom Weiskopf71-71-68=210
T9 Wally Armstrong71-70-70=211+1
Rod Funseth69-70-72=211
Lou Graham72-71-68=211
Jay Haas72-68-71=211

Final round

Sunday, June 19, 1977

PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)
1 Hubert Green69-67-72-70=278−245,000
2 Lou Graham72-71-68-68=279−123,500
3 Tom Weiskopf71-71-68-71=281+116,000
4 Tom Purtzer69-69-72-72=282+213,000
T5 Jay Haas72-68-71-72=283+310,875
Gary Jacobson73-70-67-73=283
T7 Terry Diehl69-68-73-74=284+48,000
Lyn Lott73-73-68-70=284
Tom Watson74-72-71-67=284
T10 Rod Funseth69-70-72-74=285+54,100
Al Geiberger70-71-75-69=285
Mike McCullough73-73-69-70=285
Jack Nicklaus74-68-71-72=285
Peter Oosterhuis71-70-74-70=285
Gary Player72-67-71-75=285

Amateurs: Lindy Miller (+19), John Fought (+22)

Scorecard

Final round

Hole123456789101112131415161718
Par444453434434434544
Green−2−2−3−4−4−4−4−4−3−2−2−2−2−2−2−3−3−2
Graham+2+3+3+2+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+2+2+1E−1−1−1
WeiskopfE+1+1+1+1+1+2+2+2+2+3+3+3+2+1EE+1
PurtzerEEEEEEE−1−1−1−1−1−1+1+1+1+1+2
Haas+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+1+1+2+2+2+3+2+3+3
Jacobson+1+1+1+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+1+2+2+2+3
BeanEEEEE+1+2+2+2+2+3+5+6+6+6+7+7+8

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Birdie Bogey Double bogey

Source:[8]

References
  1. "Green meets pressure test en route to first major win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. June 20, 1977. p. 13.
  2. "U.S. open results (second round)". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). Associated Press. June 18, 1977. p. 8A.
  3. "Green beats real pressure". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. June 20, 1977. p. 1D.
  4. Bunch, Ken (June 20, 1977). "Green beats threats in Open". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.
  5. Grimsley, Will (June 17, 1977). "Analysis: Green death threat macabre and warped". Nashua Telegraph. (New Hampshire). Associated Press. p. 22.
  6. Jenkins, Dan (June 27, 1977). "Talk about total pressure". Sports Illustrated. p. 14.
  7. Lasswell, Doug (June 17, 1977). "U.S. Open coverage to include all 18 holes". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). p. 3E.
  8. "U.S. Open History". USGA. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
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