1969 U.S. Open (golf)
Tournament information | |
---|---|
Dates | June 12–15, 1969 |
Location | Houston, Texas |
Course(s) | Champions Golf Club Cypress Creek Course |
Organized by | USGA |
Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
Statistics | |
Par | 70 |
Length | 6,967 yards (6,371 m)[1] |
Field | 149 players, 68 after cut |
Cut | 148 (+8) |
Prize fund | $205,300[2] |
Winner's share | $30,000 |
Champion | |
Orville Moody | |
281 (+1) | |
The 1969 U.S. Open was the 69th U.S. Open, held June 12–15 at the Cypress Creek Course of Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas. Orville Moody won his only PGA Tour title, one stroke ahead of runners-up Deane Beman, Bob Rosburg, and Al Geiberger.[3][4]
A 14-year veteran of the U.S. Army,[5] Moody entered the final round in second place, three shots behind Miller Barber.[6] At age 35, Moody advanced through both local and sectional qualifying in 1969, the last champion to do so. It was his only win on the PGA Tour, with only one additional top-10 finish in a major, two months later at the PGA Championship.
Battling an ailing knee, defending champion Lee Trevino (of Texas)[7] missed the cut by a stroke;[8] he won the title again in 1971.
The Cypress Creek Course hosted the Houston Champions International event on the PGA Tour,[7] today's Houston Open, from 1966 through 1971, and the Ryder Cup in 1967. It later hosted The Tour Championship five times (1990, 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2003) and the U.S. Amateur in 1993.
Past champions in the field
Made the cut
Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arnold Palmer | United States | 1960 | 70 | 73 | 69 | 72 | 284 | +4 | T6 |
Julius Boros | United States | 1952, 1963 | 71 | 73 | 70 | 73 | 287 | +7 | T13 |
Jack Nicklaus | United States | 1962, 1967 | 74 | 67 | 75 | 73 | 289 | +9 | T25 |
Billy Casper | United States | 1959, 1966 | 74 | 73 | 72 | 74 | 293 | +13 | T40 |
Gary Player | South Africa | 1965 | 71 | 75 | 72 | 77 | 295 | +15 | T48 |
Missed the cut
Player | Country | Year won | R1 | R2 | Total | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lee Trevino | United States | 1968 | 74 | 75 | 149 | +9 |
Gene Littler | United States | 1961 | 72 | 80 | 152 | +12 |
Ken Venturi | United States | 1964 | 76 | 77 | 153 | +13 |
Source:[1]
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, June 12, 1969
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bob Murphy | United States | 66 | –4 |
2 | Miller Barber | United States | 67 | –3 |
T3 | Deane Beman | United States | 68 | –2 |
Al Geiberger | United States | |||
T5 | George Archer | United States | 69 | –1 |
Dean Refram | United States | |||
Tom Weiskopf | United States | |||
T8 | Dick Crawford | United States | 70 | E |
Jack Ewing | United States | |||
Bunky Henry | United States | |||
George Knudson | Canada | |||
Arnold Palmer | United States | |||
Bob Rosburg | United States |
Source:[9]
Second round
Friday, June 13, 1969
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Deane Beman | United States | 68-69=137 | –3 |
T2 | Miller Barber | United States | 67-71=138 | –2 |
Bob Murphy | United States | 66-72=138 | ||
4 | Bob Rosburg | United States | 70-69=139 | –1 |
T5 | Charles Coody | United States | 72-68=140 | E |
Al Geiberger | United States | 68-72=140 | ||
George Knudson | Canada | 70-70=140 | ||
T8 | Tony Jacklin | England | 71-70=141 | +1 |
Johnny Miller | United States | 71-70=141 | ||
Orville Moody | United States | 71-70=141 | ||
Jack Nicklaus | United States | 74-67=141 |
Source:[1]
Third round
Saturday, June 14, 1969
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Miller Barber | United States | 67-71-68=206 | –4 |
2 | Orville Moody | United States | 71-70-68=209 | –1 |
T3 | Deane Beman | United States | 68-69-73=210 | E |
Bunky Henry | United States | 70-72-68=210 | ||
5 | Bob Rosburg | United States | 70-69-72=211 | +1 |
T6 | Charles Coody | United States | 72-68-72=212 | +2 |
Al Geiberger | United States | 68-72-72=212 | ||
Bobby Mitchell | United States | 72-74-66=212 | ||
Bob Murphy | United States | 66-72-74=212 | ||
Arnold Palmer | United States | 70-73-69=212 |
Source:[6]
Final round
Sunday, June 15, 1969
Miller Barber began the final round with a three-stroke lead,[6] but it vanished after he bogeyed five of the first eight holes. He struggled to a 78 (+8) and dropped into a tie for sixth place, which allowed Moody to take the lead. At one point on the back nine, eight competitors were separated by just two shots.[3] Bob Rosburg saved par from the sand at 17 to stay tied with Moody, but after a drive into the rough on 18, he again found a greenside bunker. Another sand shot got him to 3 feet (0.9 m), but he missed the putt for par to force an 18-hole Monday playoff. Playing in the final pairing with Barber, Moody had four consecutive pars to finish and preserved the one-stroke advantage for the championship. Barber needed only a 75 (+5) on Sunday to force a playoff, but finished three strokes back.[3][4]
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Orville Moody | United States | 71-70-68-72=281 | +1 | 30,000 |
T2 | Deane Beman | United States | 68-69-73-72=282 | +2 | 11,000 |
Al Geiberger | United States | 68-72-72-70=282 | |||
Bob Rosburg | United States | 70-69-72-71=282 | |||
5 | Bob Murphy | United States | 66-72-74-71=283 | +3 | 7,000 |
T6 | Miller Barber | United States | 67-71-68-78=284 | +4 | 5,000 |
Bruce Crampton | Australia | 73-72-68-71=284 | |||
Arnold Palmer | United States | 70-73-69-72=284 | |||
9 | Bunky Henry | United States | 70-72-68-75=285 | +5 | 3,500 |
T10 | George Archer | United States | 69-74-73-70=286 | +6 | 2,800 |
Bruce Devlin | Australia | 73-74-70-69=286 | |||
Dave Marr | United States | 75-69-71-71=286 |
Source:[4]
Scorecard
Final round
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
Birdie Bogey Double bogey
References
- ^ a b c "Beman slips through beef trust to take one-stroke Open lead". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. June 14, 1969. p. 14.
- ^ "U.S. Open history: 1969". USGA. Archived from the original on April 17, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- ^ a b c Jenkins, Dan (June 23, 1969). "Old Sarge cools it". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
- ^ a b c d "Orville Moody wins heartbreak U.S. Open". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. June 16, 1969. p. 10.
- ^ Jauss, Bill (June 16, 1969). "Salute the 'Sarge,' golf king Moody". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). (Chicago Daily News). p. 19.
- ^ a b c "Barber leads by 3 in 'blow-up' Open". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. June 15, 1969. p. D1.
- ^ a b Jenkins, Dan (June 9, 1969). "Wide-Open eyes are on Texas". Sports Illustrated. p. 42.
- ^ "Beman breaks up beef trust". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. June 14, 1969. p. 1B.
- ^ "Murphy leads Open; Pamer shoots par". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. June 13, 1969. p. 16.
- ^ "U.S. Open History". USGA. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
External links
- U.S. Open – History
- Champions Golf Club