1973 U.S. Open (golf)


The 1973 U.S. Open was the 73rd U.S. Open, held June 14–17 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, a suburb northeast of Pittsburgh. In one of the finest performances in tournament history, Johnny Miller fired a record, 8-under-par 63 in the final round to win his first major championship, one stroke ahead of runner-up
Jack Nicklaus, the winner at Oakmont eleven years earlier, was the favorite entering the championship. Daily admission on the weekend was ten dollars.

Course layout

Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards4693434255493791953952444803,4794623716031853604532303224563,4426,921
Par444543435364453443443571

Source:
Lengths of the course for previous major championships:
Before 1962, the first hole was played as a par 5.

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

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Missed the cut

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Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 14, 1973
Underweight from recent surgeries, 1965 champion Gary Player shot 67 to lead by three strokes.
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Gary Player67−4
T2Lee Trevino70−1
T2Jim Colbert70−1
T2Raymond Floyd70−1
T5Jack Nicklaus71E
T5Johnny Miller71E
T5Arnold Palmer71E
T5Gene Littler71E
T5Bob Charles71E
T5Ralph Johnston71E

Second round

Friday, June 15, 1973
Player shot 70 for 137 to lead by one at the midway point.
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Gary Player67-70=137−5
2Jim Colbert70-68=138−4
T3Jack Nicklaus71-69=140−2
T3Johnny Miller71-69=140−2
T3Bob Charles71-69=140−2
T6Gene Borek77-65=142E
T6Julius Boros73-69=142E
T6Tom Weiskopf73-69=142E
T6Arnold Palmer71-71=142E
T6Lee Trevino70-72=142E

Source:

Third round

Saturday, June 16, 1973
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Jerry Heard74-70-66=210−3
T1John Schlee73-70-67=210−3
T1Arnold Palmer71-71-68=210−3
T1Julius Boros73-69-68=210−3
5Tom Weiskopf73-69-69=211−2
T6Lee Trevino70-72-70=212−1
T6Bob Charles71-69-72=212−1
T6Jim Colbert70-68-74=212−1
T9Jack Nicklaus71-69-74=214+1
T9Gary Player67-70-77=214+1

Source:

Final round

Sunday, June 17, 1973
Four players shared the 54-hole lead: Schlee, Jerry Heard, 1963 champion Julius Boros, and 1960 winner Arnold Palmer. After a 76 on Saturday, Miller started the final round six strokes back, in a four-way tie for 13th place at three strokes over par, and few gave him any chance of winning. Miller birdied the first four holes, but after a bogey at the eighth, it certainly did not appear like he was on the brink of the greatest round in U.S. Open history.
But he then birdied four of the next five holes, and after a par at 14 he was tied for the lead with Palmer, Boros, and Tom Weiskopf. At the 15th hole, Miller hit his approach to and converted for birdie to take solo possession of the lead. After lipping out a birdie putt at 18, Miller carded the first round of 63 in major championship history. Finishing over an hour ahead of the last pairing, Miller then waited to see if anyone would match him. Palmer fell out of contention with three consecutive bogeys to finish in a tie for fourth. Boros and Heard both shot 73 and finished in a tie for seventh. Only Schlee had a chance to tie Miller, but his 40-footer for birdie at the last stayed out; he opened his round with a double bogey.
In shooting 63, Miller hit all 18 greens in regulation and needed 29 putts. Ten of his approach shots wound up within, while five were within. His score was even more remarkable given that only three other players managed to even break 70 on the day.
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
1Johnny Miller71-69-76-63=279−535,000
2John Schlee73-70-67-70=280−418,000
3Tom Weiskopf73-69-69-70=281−313,000
T4Jack Nicklaus71-69-74-68=282−29,000
T4Arnold Palmer71-71-68-72=282−29,000
T4Lee Trevino70-72-70-70=282−29,000
T7Julius Boros73-69-68-73=283−16,000
T7Jerry Heard74-70-66-73=283−16,000
T7Lanny Wadkins74-69-75-65=283−16,000
10Jim Colbert70-68-74-72=284E4,000

Source:

Scorecard

Final round
Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112131415161718
Par444543435445344344
Miller+2+1E−1−1−1−1E−1−1−2−3−4−4−5−5−5−5
Schlee−1−1−1−3−2−3−3−2−3−3−3−4−3−3−3−4−4−4
Weiskopf−2−3−3−3−3−3−3−3−4−3−3−3−3−2−2−3−3−3
Nicklaus+1EEEEEE+1EEEEEEE−1−2−2
Palmer−3−3−3−4−4−3−3−3−4−4−4−3−2−1−1−1−1−2
TrevinoE−1−1−2−2−2−2−2−3−3−3−3−3−3−3−3−2−2
Wadkins+5+4+4+2+2+3+3+3+1+1+1E−1−1−1−1−2−1

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
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Miller's final round

Johnny Miller's 63: club selection and results - June 17, 1973
HoleYardsParClub selectionsScoreResult To par
14694Driver, 3-iron to 5 feet3birdie−1
23434Driver, 9-iron to 1 foot3birdie−2
34254Driver, 5-iron to 25 feet3birdie−3
45495Driver, 3-wood, bunker shot to 6 inches4birdie−4
53794Driver, 6-iron to 25 feet, 2 putts4par−4
619533-iron to 25 feet, 2 putts3par−4
73954Driver, 9-iron to 6 feet, 2 putts4par−4
824434-wood to 30 feet, 3 putts4bogey−3
94805Driver, 2-iron to 40 feet, 2 putts4birdie−4
Out3,4793632−4
104624Driver, 5-iron to 25 feet, 2 putts4par−4
113714Driver, wedge to 14 feet3birdie−5
126035Driver, 7-iron, 4-iron to 15 feet4birdie−6
1318534-iron to 5 feet2birdie−7
143604Driver, wedge to 12 feet, 2 putts4par−7
154534Driver, 4-iron to 10 feet3birdie−8
1623032-iron to 45 feet, 2 putts3par−8
1732241-iron, wedge to 10 feet, 2 putts4par−8
184564Driver, 5-iron to 20 feet, 2 putts4par−8
In3,4423531−4
Total6,9217163−8

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