1978 U.S. Open (golf)
Tournament information | |
---|---|
Dates | June 15–18, 1978 |
Location | Englewood, Colorado |
Course(s) | Cherry Hills Country Club |
Organized by | USGA |
Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
Statistics | |
Par | 71 |
Length | 7,083 yards (6,477 m)[1] |
Field | 153 players, 63 after cut |
Cut | 150 (+8) [2] |
Winner's share | $45,000 |
Champion | |
Andy North | |
285 (+1) | |
«1977 1979» |
The 1978 U.S. Open was the 78th U.S. Open, held June 15–18 at Cherry Hills Country Club in Englewood, Colorado, a suburb south of Denver. Andy North held on for a one-stroke victory over runners-up Dave Stockton and J. C. Snead to claim the first of his two U.S. Open titles.[3][4]
The strength in North's game was putting, and he needed only 114 putts over 72 holes, tying the record set by Billy Casper in 1966. This was North's second win on the PGA Tour, but he would not win again until the 1985 U.S. Open; of North's three career PGA Tour wins, two of them came at the U.S. Open.
This was the third U.S. Open at Cherry Hills, which previously hosted in 1938 and 1960. It was also the site of the PGA Championship in 1941, and later hosted in 1985. The average elevation of the course exceeds 5,300 feet (1,620 m) above sea level.
Course layout
Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yards | 399 | 419 | 323 | 429 | 543 | 166 | 384 | 229 | 432 | 3,324 | 437 | 594 | 203 | 382 | 486 | 208 | 419 | 550 | 480 | 3,759 | 7,083 |
Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 71 |
Source:[5]
Lengths of the course for previous major championships:
- 7,004 yards (6,404 m), par 71 - 1960 U.S. Open
- 6,888 yards (6,298 m), par 71 - 1941 PGA Championship
- 6,888 yards (6,298 m), par 71 - 1938 U.S. Open
Past champions in the field
Made the cut
Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hale Irwin | United States | 1974 | 69 | 74 | 75 | 70 | 288 | +4 | T4 |
Jack Nicklaus | United States | 1962, 1967, 1972 | 73 | 69 | 74 | 73 | 289 | +5 | T6 |
Gary Player | South Africa | 1965 | 71 | 71 | 70 | 77 | 289 | +5 | T6 |
Johnny Miller | United States | 1973 | 78 | 69 | 68 | 74 | 289 | +5 | T6 |
Lee Trevino | United States | 1968, 1971 | 72 | 71 | 75 | 73 | 291 | +7 | T12 |
Jerry Pate | United States | 1976 | 73 | 72 | 74 | 73 | 292 | +8 | T16 |
Billy Casper | United States | 1959, 1966 | 71 | 76 | 73 | 77 | 297 | +13 | T30 |
Lou Graham | United States | 1975 | 78 | 72 | 74 | 74 | 298 | +14 | T35 |
Gene Littler | United States | 1961 | 73 | 75 | 77 | 73 | 298 | +14 | T35 |
Missed the cut
Player | Country | Year won | R1 | R2 | Total | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arnold Palmer | United States | 1960 | 76 | 75 | 151 | +9 |
Hubert Green | United States | 1977 | 76 | 76 | 152 | +10 |
Source:[2]
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, June 15, 1978
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hale Irwin | United States | 69 | −2 |
T2 | Bobby Clampett (a) | United States | 70 | −1 |
Andy North | United States | |||
J. C. Snead | United States | |||
T5 | Bill Brask | United States | 71 | E |
Billy Casper | United States | |||
Al Geiberger | United States | |||
Phil Hancock | United States | |||
Gary Player | South Africa | |||
Dave Stockton | United States | |||
Bobby Wadkins | United States |
Second round
Friday, June 16, 1978
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Andy North | United States | 70-70=140 | −2 |
T2 | Jack Nicklaus | United States | 73-69=142 | E |
Gary Player | South Africa | 71-71=142 | ||
J. C. Snead | United States | 70-72=142 | ||
T5 | Bobby Clampett (a) | United States | 70-73=143 | +1 |
Mark Hayes | United States | 73-70=143 | ||
Hale Irwin | United States | 69-74=143 | ||
Lee Trevino | United States | 72-71=143 | ||
T9 | Seve Ballesteros | Spain | 75-69=144 | +2 |
Andy Bean | United States | 72-72=144 | ||
Phil Hancock | United States | 71-73=144 | ||
Joe Inman | United States | 72-72=144 | ||
Peter Oosterhuis | England | 72-72=144 | ||
Dave Stockton | United States | 71-73=144 |
Amateurs: Clampett (+1), Holtgrieve (+8), Heafner (+9), Miller (+9), Edwards (+11), Choate (+16), Hodge (+17), Lewis (+21), Pomerantz (+25).
Third round
Saturday, June 17, 1978
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Andy North | United States | 70-70-71=211 | −2 |
2 | Gary Player | South Africa | 71-71-70=212 | −1 |
T3 | J. C. Snead | United States | 70-72-72=214 | +1 |
Dave Stockton | United States | 71-73-70=214 | ||
T5 | Seve Ballesteros | Spain | 75-69-71=215 | +2 |
Andy Bean | United States | 72-72-71=215 | ||
Johnny Miller | United States | 78-69-68=215 | ||
T8 | Tom Kite | United States | 73-73-70=216 | +3 |
Billy Kratzert | United States | 72-74-70=216 | ||
Jack Nicklaus | United States | 73-69-74=216 |
Final round
Sunday, June 18, 1978
North began the final round with a one-stroke lead over Gary Player. Two months earlier, Player had won the Masters with a blistering 64 in the final round. History, however, would not repeat itself, as this time around Player struggled to a 77 (+6) and finished in a tie for 6th. North owned a four-shot lead over Snead heading to the back-nine, and after birdies at 11 and 13 he appeared to have the championship wrapped up. A bogey at 14, however, combined with a double-bogey at 15 and a birdie by Dave Stockton at the same hole dropped his lead to just one. Stockton, however, missed an 18-footer (5.5 m) for par at 18, increasing North's lead to two.
Snead had a chance for birdie at the last after his tee shot skipped off the water and onto the fairway, but he missed the birdie putt. Needing just a bogey at 18 to win, North's drive found the rough. He hit his second shot into the fairway, then his third found a greenside bunker. Needing to get up-and-down, he played his sand shot to five feet (1.5 m), and after backing off twice, sank the bogey putt for the one-stroke win.[6][7]
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Andy North | United States | 70-70-71-74=285 | +1 | 45,000 |
T2 | J. C. Snead | United States | 70-72-72-72=286 | +2 | 19,750 |
Dave Stockton | United States | 71-73-70-72=286 | |||
T4 | Hale Irwin | United States | 69-74-75-70=288 | +4 | 13,000 |
Tom Weiskopf | United States | 77-73-70-68=288 | |||
T6 | Andy Bean | United States | 72-72-71-74=289 | +5 | 7,548 |
Billy Kratzert | United States | 72-74-70-73=289 | |||
Johnny Miller | United States | 78-69-68-74=289 | |||
Jack Nicklaus | United States | 73-69-74-73=289 | |||
Gary Player | South Africa | 71-71-70-77=289 | |||
Tom Watson | United States | 74-75-70-70=289 |
Amateurs: Bobby Clampett (+13), Jim Holtgrieve (+20)
References
- ↑ Parascenzo, Marino (June 16, 1978). "Hale fires hearty 69 in Open". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 11.
- 1 2 "U.S. Open results: Second round". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. June 17, 1978. p. 15.
- ↑ Bunch, Ken. "North holds on to win US Open". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.
- ↑ Jenkins, Dan (June 26, 1978). "The bogey that won the Open". Sports Illustrated. p. 14.
- ↑ "Cherry Hills CC hole by hole". Lakeland Ledger. Florida. Associated Press. June 11, 1978. p. 8D.
- ↑ "North's Open winner: makes critical putt". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. June 19, 1978. p. 17.
- ↑ Parascenzo, Marino (June 19, 1978). "North stubles to Open title by stroke". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 13.
External links
- About.com – 1978 U.S. Open
- USOpen.com – 1978
- USGA Championship Database
- Cherry Hills Country Club
Preceded by 1978 Masters |
Major Championships | Succeeded by 1978 Open Championship |
Coordinates: 39°38′35″N 104°57′47″W / 39.643°N 104.963°W