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1962 U.S. Open (golf)

Field	Value
name	1962 U.S. Open
dates	June 14–17, 1962
location	Oakmont, Pennsylvania
course	Oakmont Country Club
org	USGA
tour	PGA Tour
par	71
yardage	6894 yd
field	150 players,
51 after cut
cut	150 (+8)
purse	$73,800
winners_share	$17,500
champion	USA Jack Nicklaus
score	283 (−1), playoff
previous	[1961](1961-u-s-open-golf)
next	[1963](1963-u-s-open-golf)
map	USA#USA Pennsylvania
map_relief	yes
map_label	Oakmont
map_caption	Location in the United States##Location in Pennsylvania
coordinates

51 after cut |USA |USA Pennsylvania The 1962 U.S. Open was the 62nd U.S. Open, held June 14–17 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, a suburb northeast of Pittsburgh. Jack Nicklaus defeated 1960 champion Arnold Palmer in an 18-hole Sunday playoff that marked the beginning of their legendary rivalry. For Nicklaus, it was his first professional win, the first of four U.S. Open titles and a record 18 major championships. Though just 22, it was Nicklaus' sixth U.S. Open and tenth major, having played in four Masters. He had won the U.S. Amateur twice (1959, 1961) and was the top amateur at the previous two Opens, placing second to Palmer in 1960 and fourth in 1961.

Nicklaus earned $15,000 for his first professional win, and Palmer $8,000 as runner-up. Each received a playoff bonus of $2,500 from the Sunday gate receipts.

Only two of the six former champions in the field made the 36-hole cut, Palmer and defending champion Gene Littler.

Course layout

Main article: Oakmont Country Club

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Total
Yards	455	355	428	544	384	183	403	253	480	3,485	470	372	598	161	362	458	234	292	462	3,409	6,894
Par	4	4	4	5	4	3	4	3	5	36	4	4	5	3	4	4	3	4	4	35	71

Source:

Lengths of the course for previous major championships:

The first hole was a par 5 for the previous majors at Oakmont, set at 493 yd in 1953.

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 14, 1962

Defending champion Littler took the first round lead with a 69 (−2) before a record opening round gallery of 17,486, mostly following Palmer in the afternoon, paired with Nicklaus. The previous record was 13,916 in 1960 near Denver.

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	USA Gene Littler	69	−2
T2	USA Bobby Nichols	70	−1
USA Bob Rosburg
T4	USA Frank Boynton	71	E
USA J. C. Goosie
USA Arnold Palmer
ZAF Gary Player
USA Robert Schoener
T9	USA Eugene Francis (a)	72	+1
USA John Guenther (a)
CAN Stan Leonard
USA Jack Nicklaus

Second round

Friday, June 15, 1962

Palmer carded a 68 in the morning and Bob Rosburg a 69 to co-lead after 36 holes at 139 (−3), with Nicklaus three strokes back in a tie for fourth. Palmer and Nicklaus were paired together in the first two rounds. The second round attendance record was broken with 19,971 in the gallery, surpassing the previous mark of 15,225 set in 1961 near Detroit.

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	USA Arnold Palmer	71-68=139	−3
USA Bob Rosburg	70-69=139
3	USA Billy Maxwell	71-70=141	−1
T4	USA Bobby Nichols	70-72=142	E
USA Jack Nicklaus	72-70=142
ZAF Gary Player	71-71=142
T7	USA Miller Barber	73-70=143	+1
USA Gene Littler	69-74=143
T9	USA Phil Rodgers	74-70=144	+2
USA Don Whitt	73-71=144

Source:

Third round

Saturday, June 16, 1962 - (morning)

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	USA Bobby Nichols	70-72-70=212	−1
USA Arnold Palmer	71-68-73=212
T3	USA Phil Rodgers	74-70-69=213	E
USA Bob Rosburg	70-69-74=213
T5	USA Jack Nicklaus	72-70-72=214	+1
ZAF Gary Player	71-71-72=214
7	USA Gene Littler	69-74-72=215	+2
8	USA Billy Maxwell	71-70-75=216	+3
9	USA Art Wall Jr.	73-72-72=217	+4
T10	USA Gay Brewer	73-72-73=218	+5
USA Tommy Jacobs	74-71-73=218

Final round

Saturday, June 16, 1962 - (afternoon)

After 54 holes at Oakmont, Palmer held a share of the lead with Bobby Nichols, with Phil Rodgers and Bob Rosburg a stroke back, and Nicklaus and Gary Player two back. Rosburg shot a 79 (+8) in the final round and quickly fell out of contention, while Nichols and Rodgers carded scores of 73 and 72, respectively, to share 3rd place. But the story of this day was the duel between Palmer and Nicklaus. Although he bogeyed the 9th, Palmer still led Nicklaus as they made the turn. That would change quickly as Nicklaus birdied 11 and Palmer bogeyed 13, evening up the score. Nicklaus missed a birdie attempt at the last to finish with a 69, while Palmer missed a birdie at 18 from 12 ft that would have won the championship. This set up an 18-hole playoff between golf's most popular player and the game's rising star.

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
T1	USA Jack Nicklaus	72-70-72-69=283	−1	Playoff
USA Arnold Palmer	71-68-73-71=283
T3	USA Bobby Nichols	70-72-70-73=285	+1	5,500
USA Phil Rodgers	74-70-69-72=285
5	USA Gay Brewer	73-72-73-69=287	+3	4,000
T6	USA Tommy Jacobs	74-71-73-70=288	+4	2,750
ZAF Gary Player	71-71-72-74=288
T8	USA Doug Ford	74-75-71-70=290	+6	1,767
USA Gene Littler	69-74-72-75=290
USA Billy Maxwell	71-70-75-74=290

Source:

Scorecard

Final round

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	4	4	5	4	3	4	3	5	4	4	5	3	4	4	3	4	4
USA Nicklaus	+2	+2	+2	+2	+2	+2	+1	+1	E	E	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1
USA Palmer	−1	−2	−2	−3	−3	−3	−3	−3	−2	−2	−2	−2	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par :{|class="wikitable" span = 50 style="font-size:85%; |- |Eagle-- |Birdie |Bogey |Double bogey |Triple bogey+ -- |} Source:

Playoff

Sunday, June 17, 1962

The 10,000 that showed up for the playoff on Sunday were decidedly pro-Palmer, constantly taunting the 22-year-old upstart from Ohio. (Palmer was from nearby Latrobe and had won two of the last three majors, with five overall.) Nicklaus, however, silenced the crowd by going up by four strokes after six holes. Palmer then launched one of his patented charges with birdies at 9, 11, and 12 to close within one, but a three-putt bogey at 13 proved to be costly for Palmer. Nicklaus held him off from there and prevailed by three strokes, carding a 71 to Palmer's 74. Nicklaus won the championship on the greens; he had just one three-putt the entire week, while Palmer had 10. Nicklaus became the youngest winner of the U.S. Open since Bobby Jones in 1923, and became the first since Jones to hold the Open and the U.S. Amateur championship at the same time; he had won the Amateur the previous year before turning pro in the winter. For Palmer, this began a frustrating stretch as a runner-up in four U.S. Opens in six years, with three in playoffs. His words after the tournament proved prophetic, saying of Nicklaus: "Now that the big guy is out of the cage, everybody better run for cover."

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	USA Jack Nicklaus	71	E	17,500
2	USA Arnold Palmer	74	+3	10,500

Included in earnings is a playoff bonus of $2,500 each, from the playoff gate receipts.

Scorecard

Playoff

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	4	4	5	4	3	4	3	5	4	4	5	3	4	4	3	4	4
USA Nicklaus	E	E	E	−1	−1	−2	−2	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	E
USA Palmer	+1	+1	+1	+1	+1	+2	+2	+3	+2	+2	+1	E	+1	+1	+1	+1	+1	+3

:{|class="wikitable" span = 50 style="font-size:85%; |- |Eagle-- |Birdie |Bogey |Double bogey |Triple bogey+ -- |} Source:

References

Gundelfinger, Phil. (June 14, 1962). "Nation's top golfers attack soggy Oakmont fairways". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
"U.S. Open history:1962". USGA.
Gundelfinger, Phil. (June 18, 1962). "Nicklaus Defeats Palmer". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Gundelfinger, Phil. (June 14, 1962). "Field of 150 tees off in 62nd Open". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
(June 18, 1962). "Golf Playoff Detail". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
(March 8, 2007). "A Legend is Born: Palmer Establishes Legacy, While Miller Has Round For The Ages". USGA.
(June 10, 1953). "Oakmont, the champ, the man to beat". Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Rosensweet, Alvin. (June 15, 1962). "17,486 attend first round of the Open". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Gundelfinger, Phil. (June 15, 1962). "Littler leads Open with 69; Palmer hits 71". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
MacDonald, Jim. (June 16, 1962). "Palmer, Rosburg tie for U.S. Open lead". Toledo Blade.
Gundelfinger, Phil. (June 16, 1962). "Palmer, Rosburg in 'Open' lead". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
(June 15, 1962). "Starting times for Friday". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
(June 16, 1962). "National Open Golf Scoreboard". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
(June 17, 1962). "Jack's Finish Ties Palmer; More Today". Spokesman-Review.
MacDonald, Jim. (June 17, 1962). "Palmer, Nicklaus tie at 283 in U.S. Open". Toledo Blade.
(June 17, 1962). "Open Scores". Toledo Blade.
Wright, Alfred. (June 25, 1962). "That big strong dude".
(June 18, 1962). "Robust Jack Nicklaus Captures National Open Play-Off". Spokesman-Review.
McDonald, Jim. (June 18, 1962). "Nicklaus Cuts Palmer Down To Size". Toledo Blade.
Dulac, Gerry. (March 17, 2012). "U.S. Open: Battle of '62 had Jack, Arnie, Woody". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
(June 18, 1962). "Playoff Cards". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Info: Wikipedia Source

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