1981 U.S. Open (golf)

1981 U.S. Open
Tournament information
Dates	June 18–21, 1981
Location	Ardmore, Pennsylvania
Course(s)	Merion Golf Club East Course
Organized by	USGA
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	70
Length	6,544 yards (5,984 m)^[1]
Field	156 players, 70 after cut
Cut	147 (+7)
Prize fund	$361,730
Winner's share	$55,000
Champion
David Graham
273 (–7)
«1980 1982»

Merion GC

Location in the United States

The 1981 U.S. Open was the 81st U.S. Open, held June 18–21 at the East Course of Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia. David Graham won his second major title and became the first Australian to win the U.S. Open, three strokes ahead of runners-up George Burns and Bill Rogers.^[1]^[2]^[3]

After a first round 66, Jim Thorpe made history as the first African-American since 1896 to lead the U.S. Open.^[4] Burns took a one-stroke lead over Graham with a 66 in the second round, then increased his lead to three strokes after 54 holes.

In the final round on Sunday, Graham shot one of the most precise rounds in U.S. Open history. He hit every green in regulation, missed just one fairway, and recorded four birdies, missing several other opportunities from within 10 feet (3 m). The only bogey was a three-putt at the fifth, after his approach shot stopped above the hole.^[5] After a string of eight pars, Graham finally passed Burns with birdies at the 14th and 15th holes. Graham carded a 67 to Burns' 73 to win by three strokes. Rogers shot 69 to tie Burns for 2nd and won the British Open four weeks later.

This was the fourth U.S. Open played at Merion, all at its East Course. Previous editions were hosted in 1934, 1950, and 1971. At 6,544 yards (5,984 m),^[1] the same length as 1971, it was the shortest U.S. Open course since 1947. With heavy rains softening the course before the tournament, 93 rounds of par 70 or better were recorded. Fifteen players were under par after 36 holes, but only five finished under par for the four rounds. Five more were at even par 280, including defending champion Jack Nicklaus, a four-time winner.

After 1981, the U.S. Open was not played at Merion until 2013.

Course layout

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Player	Country	Year(s) won	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	To par	Finish
Jack Nicklaus	United States	1962, 1967, 1972, 1980	69	68	71	72	280	E	T6
Johnny Miller	United States	1973	69	71	73	72	285	+5	T23
Gary Player	South Africa	1965	72	72	71	71	286	+6	T26
Jerry Pate	United States	1976	70	69	72	75	286	+6	T26
Hubert Green	United States	1977	69	76	71	72	288	+8	T37
Andy North	United States	1978	73	74	72	71	290	+10	T43
Hale Irwin	United States	1974, 1979	72	75	73	72	292	+12	T58

Missed the cut

Player	Country	Year(s) won	R1	R2	Total	To par
Lee Trevino	United States	1968, 1971	72	76	148	+8
Lou Graham	United States	1975	76	74	150	+10
Arnold Palmer	United States	1960	77	78	155	+15

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 18, 1981

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Jim Thorpe	United States	66	–4
2	J. C. Snead	United States	67	–3
T3	Bob Ackerman	United States	68	–2
	John Cook	United States
	David Graham	Australia
	Jack Renner	United States
	Chi-Chi Rodríguez	United States
T8	George Burns	United States	69	–1
	Rex Caldwell	United States
	Hubert Green	United States
	Lon Hinkle	United States
	Billy Kratzert	United States
	Johnny Miller	United States
	Jack Nicklaus	United States
	Tommy Valentine	United States

Second round

Friday, June 19, 1981

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	George Burns	United States	69-66=135	–5
2	David Graham	Australia	68-68=136	–4
T3	Jack Nicklaus	United States	69-68=137	–3
T3	Tommy Valentine	United States	69-68=137	–3
T5	John Cook	United States	68-70=138	–2
	Billy Kratzert	United States	69-69=138
	Greg Norman	Australia	71-67=138
	Bill Rogers	United States	70-68=138
T9	Jerry Pate	United States	70-69=139	–1
	Jack Renner	United States	68-71=139
	John Schroeder	United States	71-68=139
	Scott Simpson	United States	72-67=139
	Jim Thorpe	United States	66-73=139
	Lanny Wadkins	United States	71-68=139
	Tom Watson	United States	70-69=139

Amateurs: Rassett (E), Norton (+8), Pavin (+9), DeFrancesco (+10), White (+10), Sindelar (+11), Faxon (+12), Lawrence (+14), Sanchez (+14), Moore (+15), Mudd (+15), Yokoi (+15), Biancalana (+16), Jones (+16), Ludwig (+16), Magee (+17), Hurter (+21), Brodie (+22).

Third round

Saturday, June 20, 1981

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	George Burns	United States	69-66-68=203	–7
2	David Graham	Australia	68-68-70=206	–4
3	Bill Rogers	United States	70-68-69=207	–3
T4	Jack Nicklaus	United States	69-68-71=208	–2
	Chi-Chi Rodríguez	United States	68-73-67=208
	John Schroeder	United States	71-68-69=208
T7	John Cook	United States	68-70-71=209	–1
	Ben Crenshaw	United States	70-75-64=209
	Jim Thorpe	United States	66-73-70=209
	Tommy Valentine	United States	69-68-72=209

Final round

Sunday, June 21, 1981

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	David Graham	Australia	68-68-70-67=273	–7	55,000
T2	George Burns	United States	69-66-68-73=276	–4	24,650
T2	Bill Rogers	United States	70-68-69-69=276	–4	24,650
T4	John Cook	United States	68-70-71-70=279	–1	16,200
T4	John Schroeder	United States	71-68-69-71=279	–1	16,200
T6	Frank Conner	United States	71-72-69-68=280	E	9,920
	Lon Hinkle	United States	69-71-70-70=280
	Jack Nicklaus	United States	69-68-71-72=280
	Sammy Rachels	United States	70-71-69-70=280
	Chi-Chi Rodríguez	United States	68-73-67-72=280

Amateur: Rassett (+14).

Scorecard

Final round

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	5	3	5	4	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	3	4
Graham	–5	–6	–6	–6	–5	–5	–5	–5	–5	–5	–5	–5	–5	–6	–7	–7	–7	–7
Burns	–7	–7	–7	–6	–6	–6	–6	–6	–6	–5	–5	–5	–5	–5	–5	–4	–5	–4
Rogers	–3	–3	–3	–3	–3	–2	–2	–3	–4	–3	–3	–4	–4	–4	–4	–3	–3	–4

Source:^[7]

References

1 2 3 "Graham conquers Open crew". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. June 22, 1981. p. 17.
↑ Jenkins, Dan (June 29, 1981). "Graham didn't crack". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
↑ Parascenzo, Marino (June 22, 1981). "Graham wins Open with 7-under". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 21.
↑ Lieber, Jill (June 19, 1981). "Thorpe makes his name known with 66 in Open". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1-part 2.
↑ Shedloski, Dave (May 14, 2013). "Looking Back...1981 U.S. Open at Merion". United States Golf Association. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
↑ "Stat Sheet, Golf: U.S. Open yards and par". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. June 18, 1981. p. 28.
↑ "Scoreboard: U.S. Open leader cards". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 22, 1981. p. 26.

External links

Preceded by 1981 Masters	Major Championships	Succeeded by 1981 Open Championship

1981 Men's Major Golf Championships

The Masters U.S. Open The Open Championship PGA Championship

U.S. Open Championships

1895 1896 1897 1898 1899

1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909

1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919

1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929

1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939

1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949

1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959

1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969

1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979

1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Coordinates: 40°00′04″N 75°18′43″W / 40.001°N 75.312°W / 40.001; -75.312

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Total
Yards	355	535	183	600	426	420	350	360	195	3,424	312	370	405	129	414	378	430	224	458	3,120	6,544
Par	4	5	3	5	4	4	4	4	3	36	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	3	4	34	70