1972 U.S. Open (golf)
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | June 15–18, 1972 |
| Location | Pebble Beach, California |
| Course(s) | Pebble Beach Golf Links |
| Organized by | USGA |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 6,812 yards (6,229 m)[1] |
| Field | 150 players, 70 after cut |
| Cut | 154 (+10) |
| Prize fund | $194,600[2] |
| Winner's share | $30,000 |
| Champion | |
 Jack Nicklaus |
|
| 290 (+2) | |
|
«1971
1973»
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The 1972 U.S. Open was the 72nd U.S. Open, held June 15–18 at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California. Jack Nicklaus, age 32, captured his third U.S. Open title, three strokes ahead of runner-up Bruce Crampton.[3] This was the first of six major championships held to date at Pebble Beach: five U.S. Opens and the PGA Championship in 1977.
Scoring conditions during the final round were extremely difficult; the average was 78.8, the highest in post-war U.S. Open history. Nicklaus' 290 (+2) was the second-highest winning score during that span. It was Nicklaus' 11th career major championship as professional, tying the then-record of Walter Hagen. When combined with his two U.S. Amateur wins, it was his 13th major, equaling Bobby Jones for most all-time.[4][5]
It was the second consecutive major title for Nicklaus, who won the Masters in April. Previous winners of the first two majors of the year were Craig Wood (1941), Ben Hogan (1951, 1953), and Arnold Palmer (1960); later champions of both were Tiger Woods (2002) and Jordan Spieth (2015).
Nicklaus won seven additional majors, the last at the Masters fourteen years later in 1986 at age 46.
Contents
Past champions in the field
| Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Nicklaus | United States |
1962, 1967 | 71 | 73 | 72 | 74 | 290 | +2 | 1 |
| Arnold Palmer | United States |
1960 | 77 | 68 | 73 | 76 | 294 | +6 | 3 |
| Lee Trevino | United States |
1968, 1971 | 74 | 72 | 71 | 78 | 295 | +7 | T4 |
| Billy Casper | United States |
1959, 1966 | 74 | 73 | 79 | 74 | 300 | +12 | T11 |
| Orville Moody | United States |
1969 | 71 | 77 | 79 | 74 | 301 | +13 | T15 |
| Gary Player |  South Africa |
1965 | 72 | 74 | 75 | 80 | 301 | +13 | T15 |
| Julius Boros | United States |
1952, 1963 | 77 | 77 | 74 | 77 | 305 | +17 | T29 |
| Tony Jacklin |  England |
1970 | 75 | 78 | 71 | 83 | 307 | +19 | T40 |
Note: all eight former champions in the field made the cut.[6]
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, June 15, 1972
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Jack Nicklaus | United States |
71 | –1 |
| Orville Moody | United States |
|||
| Chi-Chi Rodríguez | United States |
|||
| Mason Rudolph | United States |
|||
| Tom Shaw | United States |
|||
| Kermit Zarley | United States |
|||
| T7 | Bobby Cole | South Africa |
72 | E |
| Don Massengale | United States |
|||
| Gary Player | South Africa |
|||
| Cesar Sanudo | United States |
Second round
Friday, June 16, 1972
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Jack Nicklaus | United States |
71-73=144 | E |
| Bruce Crampton |  Australia |
74-70=144 | ||
| Kermit Zarley | United States |
71-73=144 | ||
| Lanny Wadkins | United States |
76-68=144 | ||
| Homero Blancas | United States |
74-70=144 | ||
| Cesar Sanudo | United States |
72-72=144 | ||
| 7 | Arnold Palmer | United States |
77-68=145 | +1 |
| T8 | Lee Trevino | United States |
74-72=146 | +2 |
| Lee Elder | United States |
75-71=146 | ||
| Ralph Johnston | United States |
74-72=146 | ||
| Rod Funseth | United States |
73-73=146 | ||
| Gary Player | South Africa |
72-74=146 | ||
| Chi-Chi Rodríguez | United States |
71-75=146 |
Third round
Saturday, June 17, 1972
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus | United States |
71-73-72=216 | E |
| T2 | Bruce Crampton | Australia |
74-70-73=217 | +1 |
| Kermit Zarley | United States |
71-73-73=217 | ||
| Lee Trevino | United States |
74-72-71=217 | ||
| T5 | Arnold Palmer | United States |
77-68-73=218 | +2 |
| Johnny Miller | United States |
74-73-71=218 | ||
| T7 | Homero Blancas | United States |
74-70-76=220 | +4 |
| Tom Weiskopf | United States |
73-74-73=220 | ||
| T9 | Don January | United States |
76-71-74=221 | +5 |
| Gary Player | South Africa |
72-74-75=221 |
Final round
Sunday, June 18, 1972
After making a double-bogey at the 6th in the final round, Nicklaus owned a two-shot lead over Arnold Palmer. Palmer had a chance to tie Nicklaus at the 14th, but he missed a 10-footer (3 m) for birdie while Nicklaus converted an 8-foot bogey putt. Now trailing by just one, Palmer then bogeyed his next two holes and finished with a final-round 76, four strokes behind Nicklaus. With a three-shot lead over Bruce Crampton, Nicklaus approached the par-3 17th and hit one of his most famous shots. His 1-iron approach bounced once off the green, then hit the flagstick and settled inches from the hole for a tap-in birdie.[7] He finished the round with a 74 (+2), enough to preserve the three-stroke lead over Crampton, who carded a 76.[8][4]
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Nicklaus | United States |
71-73-72-74=290 | +2 | 30,000 |
| 2 | Bruce Crampton | Australia |
74-70-73-76=293 | +5 | 15,000 |
| 3 | Arnold Palmer | United States |
77-68-73-76=294 | +6 | 10,000 |
| T4 | Homero Blancas | United States |
74-70-76-75=295 | +7 | 7,500 |
| Lee Trevino | United States |
74-72-71-78=295 | |||
| 6 | Kermit Zarley | United States |
71-73-73-79=296 | +8 | 6,000 |
| 7 | Johnny Miller | United States |
74-73-71-79=297 | +9 | 5,000 |
| 8 | Tom Weiskopf | United States |
73-74-73-78=298 | +10 | 4,000 |
| T9 | Chi-Chi Rodríguez | United States |
71-75-78-75=299 | +11 | 3,250 |
| Cesar Sanudo | United States |
72-72-78-77=299 |
References
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External links
| Preceded by | Major Championships | Succeeded by 1972 Open Championship |
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