Nine ripping yarns as Oakmont prepares for tenth US Open
2024 Oakmont Country Club
Oakmont host its tenth US Open this week and given what’s gone before, it would be a surprise if it did not generate another unforgettable moment.
It’s a course so hard that the former head pro Bob Ford once said, “If you’re not a sadist when you join the club, you are after a couple of years here.”
Nine US Opens have produced an almost endless supply of ripping yarns, but here are some standout stories from a course that was registered as a US National Historic Landmark in 1987.
No joy for Bobby Jones
1927 — Oakmont’s first US Open was notable for who didn’t win. Bobby Jones, who won the 1925 US Amateur there, finished outside of the top 10 just once in his 11 US Open starts when he tied for 11th in Pittsburgh in ‘27. Tommy Armour outgunned Harry Cooper in an 18-hole playoff after they had tied on 13-over 301 — the last US Open won with a score over 300.
Parks reaps benefits of local knowledge
1935 - Oakmont loved to rake its bunkers with wide-tined rakes that made escape a lottery. But the infamous furrows didn’t bother Pittsburgh-area native Sam Parks Jr, who played the course almost every day for weeks in the build-up and went on to beat Jimmy Thomson by two strokes for his lone major championship win. The gripes about the furrows went on for weeks afterwards, with the 1934 winner, Olin Dutra, calling the bunkers “palpably unfair.”
Furrow-gate
1953 — William Fownes, the creator of Oakmont, made no apologies for its difficulty. “Let the clumsy, the spineless, the alibi artist stand aside,” Fownes once wrote. There was so much fear amongst the pros in 1953 that there was talk of a boycott if the furrows remained. A comprise was reached — no furrows in the fairway bunkers and only the “two-inch” tine used at greenside. But it mattered not to Ben Hogan, who claimed his fourth and final US Open by six strokes in a legendary season which also brought him victory in the Masters and The Open.
Nicklaus beats Palmer to win first of 18 majors
1962 — Local hero Arnold Palmer was the favourite to win just 40 miles from his hometown of Latrobe. But he lost by three shots in an 18-hole playoff to the up-and-coming 22-year-old Jack Nicklaus, who recalled how Palmer asked about possibly splitting the gate money, which traditionally went to the playoff winner.
“I said, ‘We should probably just play for it’ because I assumed that he would probably win,” Nicklaus recalled of a win that earned him the $1,400 gate as he became the first player since Jones to hold the US Amateur and US Open trophies at the same time and claimed the first of 18 majors.
Johnny Miller’s magical 63
1973 — Did a Thursday night sprinkler malfunction help Johnny Miller shoot one of the greatest rounds in Major history? There’s still debate, but even with softened greens, Miller came from six shots behind on Sunday, hitting 18 greens in regulation as he made nine birdies en route to what was at the time a major championship record of 63 (eight-under) on a day when the scoring average was 73.8.
Larry Nelson’s weekend whiirlwind
1983 — For all its difficulty, there was more record scoring as Larry Nelson shot 10-under for the final 36 holes in a rain-delayed US Open that went to a Monday finish. Nelson came from a shot behind Tom Watson to win the second of his three majors, and his final 36-hole aggregate of 132 (65-67) remains the US Open record.
Ernie wins as Arnie says goodbye amid OJ Simpson chaos
1994 - It was the year Ernie Els beat a sweat-soaked Colin Montgomerie — clad in black — and Loren Roberts in an 18-hole playoff conducted during a heatwave. But it will be remembered as Arnold Palmer’s US Open swan song and a bizarre coincidence involving O.J. Simpson, who had starred with the King in a series of corny Hertz commercials in the 1980s. An emotional Palmer shot 81 on Friday to miss the cut as Simpson was charged with the brutal stabbings of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman following a live TV car chase.
Unaware at the time of what had happened, Palmer was asked about Simpson and said he was a “great guy” and that they’d “had some fun over the years doing those commercials.” Palmer was then told Simpson had been charged that morning. “Well,” Palmer responded, “I didn’t know him that well.”
Peak Cabrera claims title
2007 - Angel Cabrera held off Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk in a brutal test, winning on five-over 285, the joint highest score this century, in another sun-scorched Oakmont test where the cut fell at 10-over-par.
Lowry loses four-shot lead. to Johnson
2016 - Irish fans will never forget how Shane Lowry lost a four-shot lead after 54 holes to finish tied for second with Jim Furyk behind the relentless Dustin Johnson. The American was belatedly assessed a one-shot penalty after his ball moved at address on the fifth green, but he looked unperturbed as he won by three. Lowry was devastated to shoot 76, but his major wait would end three years later in Portrush.
