The 1960 U.S. Open was the 60th U.S. Open, held June 16–18 at Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. Arnold Palmer staged the greatest comeback in U.S. Open history, erasing a seven-stroke deficit during the final round to win his only U.S. Open title.[3][4][5] It is remembered as a crossroads for the three primary contenders in the final round: Palmer, Ben Hogan, and amateur Jack Nicklaus, three of the greatest players in the history of golf.[6][7]

1960 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJune 16–18, 1960
LocationCherry Hills Village, Colorado
Course(s)Cherry Hills Country Club
Organized byUSGA
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par71
Length7,004 yards (6,404 m)[1]
Field150 players, 55 after cut
Cut147 (+5)
Prize fund$60,720[2]
Winner's share$14,400
Champion
United States Arnold Palmer
280 (−4)
← 1959
1961 →
Cherry Hills Country Club is located in the United States
Cherry Hills Country Club
Cherry Hills Country Club
Cherry Hills Country Club is located in Colorado
Cherry Hills Country Club
Cherry Hills Country Club

Having already won the Masters, Palmer was half-way to the single-season Grand Slam with his win at Cherry Hills. His quest ended three weeks later at the British Open, when he lost to Kel Nagle by one stroke at St Andrews. Two weeks later, he finished five strokes back in a tie for seventh at the PGA Championship, the only major that eluded him for his career. This was Palmer's only victory at the U.S. Open; he finished second four times, including three losses in playoffs in 1962, 1963, and 1966.

This was the third major championship at Cherry Hills, which previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1938 and the PGA Championship in 1941. The U.S. Open returned in 1978 and the PGA Championship in 1985. The average elevation of the course exceeds 5,300 feet (1,620 m) above sea level.

Course layout

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Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Yards 346 410 348 426 538 174 411 233 430 3,316 444 563 212 385 470 196 402 548 468 3,688 7,004
Par 4 4 4 4 5 3 4 3 4 35 4 5 3 4 4 3 4 5 4 36 71

Source:[8]

Lengths of the course for previous major championships:

Round summaries

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First round

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Thursday, June 16, 1960

Place Player Score To par
1   Mike Souchak 68 −3
T2   Jerry Barber 69 −2
  Henry Ransom
T4   Don Cherry (a) 70 −1
  Bruce Crampton
  Jack Fleck
  Huston LaClair
  Gary Player
  Doug Sanders
  Richard Stranahan
  Joe Taylor

Second round

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Friday, June 17, 1960

Place Player Score To par
1   Mike Souchak 68-67=135 −7
2   Doug Sanders 70-68=138 −4
T3   Jerry Barber 69-71=140 −2
  Dow Finsterwald 71-69=140
  Jack Fleck 70-70=140
T6   Billy Casper 71-70=141 −1
  Don Cherry (a) 70-71=141
  Bruce Crampton 70-71=141
  Ted Kroll 72-69=141
  Sam Snead 72-69=141

Amateurs: Cherry (-1), Nicklaus (E), Beman (+6), Fowler (+6), Courtney (+7), Coody (+8), Kocsis (+8), Carmichael (+9), Chapman (+11), Schmidt (+12), Wright (+12), Donohue (+13), Weber (+13), English (+14), Konsek (+14), Moore (+15), Welauffer (+15), Gardner (+16), Rose (+17), Eisinger Jr (+19), Hane (+20).

Third round

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Saturday, June 18, 1960 - (morning)

Place Player Score To par
1   Mike Souchak 68-67-73=208 −5
T2   Jerry Barber 69-71-70=210 −3
  Julius Boros 73-69-68=210
  Dow Finsterwald 71-69-70=210
T5   Ben Hogan 75-67-69=211 −2
  Jack Nicklaus (a) 71-71-69=211
T7   Don Cherry (a) 70-71-71=212 −1
  Jack Fleck 70-70-72=212
  Johnny Pott 75-68-69=212
10   Gary Player 70-72-71=213 E

Final round

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Saturday, June 18, 1960 - (afternoon)

Palmer trailed leader Mike Souchak by eight strokes after 36 holes, and by seven shots after 54 holes. Almost everyone believed he was out of contention beginning the final round, tied for fifteenth place. Palmer drove the green on the par-4 1st to set up a two-putt birdie,[9] then chipped in from 90 feet (27 m) for birdie at the second. After nearly making an eagle at 3 and tapping in for another birdie, he holed an 18-footer for birdie at 4 then made two more birdies at 6 and 7. He cooled off the rest of his round, finally carding a 65 (−6) for a 280 (−4) total.

Twenty-year-old Jack Nicklaus, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion playing in his fourth Open, was also in contention during the final round, briefly holding the lead after making eagle at 5 and birdie at 9. Two three-putts on the back-nine dropped him to a 282 (−2) total, two strokes behind Palmer. His second-place finish was the best showing by an amateur at the U.S. Open since Johnny Goodman won in 1933. Aiming for a record fifth U.S. Open title at age 47, Ben Hogan was tied for the lead on the 71st tee, a par 5. On his third shot he hit a wedge on to the green but it spun back all the way off the green into the confines of the water hazard fronting the green and made bogey. Needing birdie to tie on 18, he again found water, triple-bogeyed, and finished in a tie for ninth place. Souchak shot a final round 75 on his way to a tie for third.[5][7]

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1   Arnold Palmer 72-71-72-65=280 −4 14,400
2   Jack Nicklaus (a) 71-71-69-71=282 −2 0
T3   Julius Boros 73-69-68-73=283 −1 3,950
  Dow Finsterwald 71-69-70-73=283
  Jack Fleck 70-70-72-71=283
  Dutch Harrison 74-70-70-69=283
  Ted Kroll 72-69-75-67=283
  Mike Souchak 68-67-73-75=283
T9   Don Cherry (a) 70-71-71-72=284 E 0
  Jerry Barber 69-71-70-74=284 1,950
  Ben Hogan 75-67-69-73=284
(a) denotes amateur

Source:[10]

Scorecard

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Arnold Palmer's final round 65 (−6)

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Par 4 4 4 4 5 3 4 3 4 35 4 5 3 4 4 3 4 5 4 36 71
  Palmer 3 3 3 3 5 2 3 4 4 30 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 5 4 35 65
Birdie Bogey

Source:[3]

References

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  1. ^ Claassen, Harold (June 19, 1960). "Palmer takes Open as Ben Hogan fades". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. 2, Sports.
  2. ^ "U.S. Open history: 1960". USGA. Archived from the original on June 7, 2012. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Palmer's sensational 65 takes National Open". Pittsburgh Press. June 19, 1960. p. 1, section 1.
  4. ^ Garrity, John (May 9, 2010). "The fortunate eyewitnesses to the 1960 U.S. Open..." GOLF.com. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Wind, Herbert Warren (June 27, 1960). "Destiny's new favorite". Sports Illustrated. p. 24.
  6. ^ McCabe, Jim (June 14, 2010). "Three eras intersected at 'wildest Open ever'". Golfweek. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
  7. ^ a b Jenkins, Dan (June 19, 1978). "There's never been an Open like it". Sports Illustrated. p. 38.
  8. ^ "Course for U.S. Open golf". Tuscaloosa News. Alabama. Associated Press. June 14, 1960. p. 10.
  9. ^ Palmer, Arnold (June 11, 2010). "A long look back at the 1960 Open". USGA Museum. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
  10. ^ "U.S. Open scores". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). June 19, 1960. p. 2-(sec.3).
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39°38′35″N 104°57′47″W / 39.643°N 104.963°W / 39.643; -104.963