1919 U.S. Amateur Oakmont’s S. Davidson Herron, known better as Davy Herron, became one of only two golfers to beat Bobby Jones in the U.S. Amateur final, 5 and 4. Herron, a 20-year-old who led Princeton to the Intercollegiate Championship at Oakmont in 1916, used his intimate knowledge of the course to win the five days of match play at 36 holes a day. The format was immediately scrapped afterward. The field included Jones, then 17, who would win five Amateur titles, defending champ Chick Evans and 1914 Amateur champion Francis Ouimet. Ouimet beat Evans, 1 up, but lost to North Hills’ Woody Platt, who fell to Herron, 7 and 6. 1922 PGA Championship Highland Country Club pro Gene Sarazen, a sixth-grade dropout from a working-class family, became the first player to win the U.S. Open and PGA in the same year by beating Emmett French, 4 and 3, in match play. After winning the Open at Skokie (near Chicago), Sarazen was playing in an exhibition in Columbus, Ohio, when a bystander informed him at dinner the PGA started the next day. Sarazen quickly caught a train to Pittsburgh and was not disqualified, despite a late arrival. Sarazen, 20, went on to defeat Tom Mahan, 3 and 4; Willie Ogg, 2 and 1; Frank Sprogell, 9 and 7; and Bobby Cruickshank, 3 and 2, before meeting French in the final. The pivotal point came when French’s second shot on the uphill, par-5 No. 9 hit the flagstick eight inches high and bounced backward 20 yards into a bunker. 1925 U.S. Amateur A 23-year-old Bobby Jones returned to win one of his five U.S. Amateurs, setting a course record with a 67 in a practice round. Jones played in a field reduced from 32 to 16 – a format the USGA later abandoned – and one that did not include the likes of past Amateur champions Chick Evans, Francis Ouimet and Davy Herron, who did not qualify. After winning by lopsided scores of 11 and 10, 6 and 5 and 7 and 6, Jones defeated 20-year-old Watts Gunn, 8 and 7, in the final. A year later, Jones became the first player to win the U.S. and British Opens in the same year. 1927 U.S. Open Against heavy odds, Tommy Armour befuddled the experts by winning the Open and its first prize of $500, plus $200 for a playoff win over Harry Cooper. Armour scored his first pro victory, overcoming an opening-round 78 to beat a field that included Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Chick Evans and Walter Hagen, who finished third. Hagen, by the way, received no prize money despite finishing just a stroke off the lead. Armour’s 301 is the highest winning score at the Open. 1927 U.S. Open leaderboard PlaceNameTo ParScore 1. Tommy Armour+1378-71-76-76-76–301* 2. Harry Cooper+1374-76-74-77-79–301 3. Gene Sarazen+1474-74-80-74–302 4. Emmett French+1675-79-77-73–304 5. William Melhorn+1775-77-80-73–305 6. Walter Hagen+1977-73-76-81–307 7. Archie Compston+2079-74-76-79–308 7. Harry Hampton+2073-78-80-77 – 308 7. Johnny Farrell+2081-73-78-76–308 7. John Golden+2083-7775-73–308 * — Armour beat Cooper in an 18-hole playoff 1935 U.S. Open Sam Parks, the pro at South Hills Country Club, became the only unknown ever to win a major tournament at Oakmont. Only 26, Parks used his local knowledge for the ultimate success. In the month prior to the Open, he showed up at Oakmont at 8 a.m. and played nine holes, hitting numerous practice shots and practice putts from all angles. It paid off, as Parks had only two 3-putt greens to beat the likes of Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Tommy Armour and Byron Nelson. Parks’ performance included a 60-foot chip for an eagle three at the 9th, and his score of 299 was the highest since Armour’s 301 at the 1927 Open at Oakmont. Park’ victory was worth $1,000. 1935 U.S. Open leaderboard PlaceNameTo ParScore 1. Sam Parks Jr.+1177-73-73-76–299 2. Jimmy Thomson+1373-73-77-78–301 3. Walter Hagen+1477-76-73-76–302 4. Ray Mangrum+1576-76-72-79–303 4. Denny Shute+1578-73-76-76–303 6. Alvin Krueger+1871-77-78-80–306 6. Gene Sarazen+1875-74-78-79–306 6. Henry Picard+1879-78-70-79–306 6. Horton Smith+1873-79-79-75–306 10. Dick Metz+1977-76-76-78–307 10. Paul Runyan+1976-77-79-75–307 1938 U.S. Amateur Willie “The Wedge” Turnesa, of Briar Hills, N.Y., earned his nickname by using his first sand wedge to get out of 13 bunkers in defeating B. Patrick Abbott, 8 and 7. Turnesa survived a close call against 1936 champion John Fischer, winning 1 up in the third round. Turnesa trailed by one stroke heading into the 17th but used his sand wedge to five feet from the pin and birdied the hole to square the match. They went two extra holes, and Turnesa birdied No. 20 for the victory. Turnesa needed only 42 putts in 29 holes (an average of 1.4 per hole). 1951 PGA Championship Sam Snead never won the U.S. Open, but he did conquer Oakmont by beating Detroit club pro Walter Burkemo, 7 and 6, as Oakmont became the first club to play host to the PGA Championship twice. More famous was his second-round victory over Marty Furgol. What became known as the “bug incident” happened when Snead swatted flies away from his ball on No. 14 and Furgol played under protest. Snead never touched the ball, however, and won, 1 up, on the 21st hole. Snead took home a $45,000 first-place prize. 1953 U.S. Open Many people considered Ben Hogan the greatest U.S. Open player of all time, but for three rounds of the 1953 Open, he was looking over his shoulder at Sam Snead. In the final round, with a three-shot lead, Hogan took over. He drove the 17th green and two-putted for a birdie to go for up on Snead. And then to top off his week, Hogan hit his approach shot to 10 feet on the 18th, making another birdie for a 71 and six-shot victory. It was Hogan’s fourth Open title in six years and his 283 total was 11 shots lower than the best score recorded in the two previous Opens at Oakmont. 1953 U.S. Open leaderboard PlaceNameTo ParScore 1. Ben Hogan-567-72-73-71–283 2. Sam Snead+172-69-72-76–289 3. Lloyd Mangrum+473-70-74-75–292 4. George Fazio+670-71-77-76–294 4. Jimmy Demaret+671-76-71-76–294 4. Pete Cooper+678-75-71-70–294 7. Dick Metz+775-70-74-76–295 7. Ted Kroll+776-71-74-74–295 9. Jay Hebert+872-72-74-78–296 9. Frank Souchak+870-76-76-74–296 9. Marty Furgol+873-74-76-73–296 1962 U.S. Open While the Hogan and Snead duel was spectacular, it was nothing compared to nine years later, when Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus used their drivers at the church pews. Both matched Hogan’s score of 283 to send the tournament into a playoff. Nicklaus got off to a quick start in the playoff, taking the lead for good on the fourth hole. By the sixth hole, he led by four shots. Nicklaus shot 71 to Palmer’s 74 to win $17,500, giving Nicklaus his first professional victory. The 1962 Open launched a career that made Jack Nicklaus the greatest of all time. It started with a playoff over home town hero, Arnold Palmer, who had beaten an amateur Nicklaus to win the ’60 U.S. Open. 1962 U.S. Open leaderboard PlaceNameTo ParScore 1. Jack Nicklaus-172-70-72-69-71–283* 2. Arnold Palmer-171-68-73-71-74–283 3. Bobby Nichlos+170-72-70-73–285 3. Phil Rodgers+174-70-69-72–285 5. Gay Brewer+373-72-73-69–287 6. Gary Player+471-71-72-74–288 6. Tommy Jacobs+474-71-73-70–288 8. Gene Littler+668-74-72-75–290 8. Billy Maxwell+671-70-75-74–290 8. Doug Ford+674-75-71-70–290 1969 U.S. Amateur With Arnold Palmer watching from the gallery, Steve Melnyk used a 2-wood on his approach at the par-5 No. 4 and it rolled across the green and into a bunker. Then the University of Florida star holed a 60-foot bunker shot for eagle and a five-shot lead. Melnyk finished the front nine with three birdies and two pars to extend his lead to eight strokes and finished with a final round 70 to win by five strokes over Vinnie Giles, who finished runner-up for the third consecutive year. The field also included Tom Watson, who tied for fifth place and would later return to Oakmont for a famous playoff at the 1978 PGA Championship. 1969 U.S. Amateur leaderboard 1. Steve Melnyk70-73-73-70–286 2. Marvin Giles III72-75-72-72–291 3. Allen Miller III77-69-73-74–293 4. Robert Zender75-78-72-70–295 5. John Farquhar73-74-76-73–296 5. Tom Watson74-75-72-75–296 7. Dr. Edgar Updegroff74-77-73-73–297 8. Rodney Foster75-77-74-72–298 8. Charles Coe76-77-72-73–298 10. Bruce Ashworth74-73-76-76–299 1973 U.S. Open This was an historic Open, thanks to the final-round 63 shot by Johnny Miller, the first ever in a major and good enough for a one-stroke victory over John Schlee. The tournament appeared to belong to Gary Player, who put up rounds of 67 and 70 for a two-round total of 137 as an Open-record 19 players broke par in the second round. A third-round 77 cost Player the lead, putting him four strokes behind Tom Weiskopf, who put up back-to-back 69s. Schlee thought he lost his tee shot off No. 1, took a drop and lost another stroke when officials found his first shot. He made a double bogey 6and lost by a stroke. Miller was six shots back with 18 holes to play when he birdied his first four holes en route to recording the lowest score ever posted in the Open, a 279 that shattered Hogan’s mark of 283. 1973 U.S. Open leaderboard PlaceNameTo ParScore 1. Johnny Miller-571-69-76-63–279 2. John Schlee-473-70-67-70–280 3. Tom Weiskopf-373-69-69-70–281 4. Arnold Palmer-271-71-68-72–282 4. Lee Trevino-270-72-70-70–282 4. Jack Nicklaus-271-69-74-68–282 7. Julius Boros-173-69-68-73–283 7. Jerry Heard-174-70-66-73–283 7. Lanny Wadkins-174-69-75-65–283 10. Jim ColbertE70-68-74-72–284 1978 PGA Championship John Mahaffey rallied from seven strokes back, overtaking Tom Watson in the final round and beating Watson and Jerry Pate in a sudden-death playoff for the victory. Watson won five times in 1977 and entered the final round with a five-stroke lead over Pate, who had won the 1976 U.S. Open as a rookie. The final round was dramatic, as Mahaffey made a 45-footer for birdie on his way to a 66, Pate bogeyed No. 18 by missing a 4-foot putt and Watson survived a 2-over-73. In the playoff, Mahaffey hit a three-wood into the fairway, put a 9-iron on the left edge of the green and won on a 12-foot side hill-downhill putt on No. 2 for the victory. 1978 PGA Championship leaderboard 1. John Mahaffey75-67-68-66–276* 2. Jerry Pate72-70-66-68–276 2. Tom Watson67-69-67-73–276 4. Gil Morgan76-71-66-67–280 4. Tom Weiskopf73-67-69-71–280 6. Craig Stadler70-74-67-71–282 7. Andy Bean72-72-70-70–284 7. Graham Marsh72-74-68-70–284 7. Lee Trevino69-73-70-72–284 10. Fuzzy Zoeller75-69-73-68–285 * Mahaffey beat Pate and Watson in a sudden-death playoff 1983 U.S. Open Tom Watson came into the 1983 U.S. Open as, at the very least, the overwhelming sentimental favorite after winning the previous two U.S. Opens. But Watson was done in by a 60-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole by Larry Nelson, who shot a final-round 67 for a one-stroke victory over Watson. Nelson’s 65 in the third round put him in a position for the title, which earned him $72,000. The final round couldn’t be finished on Sunday because of a strong storm that hammered the Oakmont area. 1983 U.S. Open PlaceNameTo ParScore 1. Larry Nelson-475-73-65-67–280 2. Tom Watson-372-70-70-69–281 3. Gil Morgan-173-72-70-68–283 4. Seve Ballesteros+269-74-69-74–286 4. Calvin Pete+275-68-70-73–286 6. Hal Sutton+373-70-73-71–287 7. Lanny Wadkins+472-73-74-69–288 8. David Graham+774-75-73-69–291 8. Ralph Landrum+775-73-69-74–291 10. Andy North+873-71-72-76–292 10. Craig Stadler+876-74-73-69–292 10. Chip Beck+873-74-74-71–292 1992 U.S. Women’s Open Patty Sheehan had finished second three times at the Open, and was tied with Juli Inkster after three rounds before a storm interrupted a potential Sheehan meltdown. Sheehan fell two strokes back after three-putting on No. 16 when the storm caused a two-hour delay. When play resumed, the 36-year-old Sheehan flipped a wedge shot from 65 yards to 10 feet of the pin and birdied the hole while Inkster lipped out for par. On the final hole, Inkster shot par again and Sheehan sank an 18-footer to birdie for a tie, as both players shot a 69 to finish 4-under-280. The playoff would have to wait a day, but Sheehan shot a 72 to Inkster’s 74 and won the $130,000 first prize. 1992 U.S. Women’s Open leaderboard 1. Patty Sheehan69-72-70-69–280 2. Juli Inkster72-68-71-69–280 3. Donna Andrews69-73-82-80–284 4. Meg Mallon73-72-72-70–287 5. Dawn Coe71-71-72-74–288 6. Gail Graham72-71-71-5–289 6. Dottie Mochrie70-74-72-73–289 6. Michelle McGann72-73-70-74–289 9. Tammie Green72-75-70-73–290 10. Jane Geddes73-70-78-70–291 10 Pam Wright73-74-72-73–291 1994 U.S. Open Under a severe heat that left the greens playing fast and the field flustered, Australian Ernie Els won an 18-hole playoff with Colin Montgomerie and Loren Roberts. The three were tied at 5-under-par 279 after Roberts – who shot a 64 in the third round – missed a 4 1/2-foot putt on the final hole that would have clinched a victory. In the extra round, Montgomerie fell out of contention with a 78 while Els and Roberts – who were tied at 3-over 74 – went into sudden death. The playoff, which started at No. 10, lasted until the second hole, when Roberts bogeyed and Els tapped in for par on No. 11 for the win. The event also marked the 30th and final appearance in the Open by Arnold Palmer, who missed the cut and bid farewell by entering the overcrowded interview room and cried silently into a towel. “I think that is … about all I have to say,” Palmer said. “That you very much.” The media gave Palmer a standing ovation. 1994 U.S. Open leaderboard PlaceNameTo ParScore 1. Ernie Els-569-71-66-73-74–279* 2. Colin Montgomerie-571-65-73-70-78–279 2. Loren Roberts-576-69-64-70-74–279 4. Curtis Strange-470-70-70-70–280 5. John Cook-273-65-73-71–282 6. Greg Norman-171-71-69-72–283 6. Clark Dennis-171-71-70-71–283 9. Jeff MaggertE72-69-72-71–284 9. Jeff SlumanE72-69-72-71–284 9. Duffy WaldorfE74-68-73-69–284 9. Frank NobiloE69-71-68-76–284 2003 U.S. Amateur Nick Flanagan became the first Australian to win the U.S. Amateur in a century on Oakmont’s 100th anniversary, beating favored Casey Wittenberg in a playoff. Flanagan weathered the odds just to make the field, shooting a 3-under over the last nine holes in sectional qualifiers and birdying the last hole from 10 feet at the Pittsburgh Field Club to go into a playoff. The 19-year-old Flanagan was 4 up through the first round, but Wittenberg, an 18-year-old from Memphis, squared the match by shooting par on No. 18. Over 36 holes, Flanagan shot a 75-79, while Wittenberg shot 79-75. On the first playoff hole, the par-4, 463-yard No. 10, Wittenberg bogeyed and Flanagan two-putted for the win.

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