1976 U.S. Open Golf Tournament Results
The 1976 U.S. Open was the 76th time the tournament was played. A 22-year-old won it, a golfer who appeared to be at the beginning of a long career filled with victories. But it wasn't to be.
Winner: Jerry Pate, 277
Where it was played: Atlanta Athletic Club in Duluth, Georgia
Tournament dates: June 17-20, 1976
Leader after first round: Mike Reid, 67
Leader after second round: John Mahaffey, 138
Leader after third round: John Mahaffey, 207
What Happened at the 1976 U.S. Open
Jerry Pate's first win as a pro was a big one: this U.S. Open. He earned it by coming from two strokes off the lead entering the final round. John Mahaffey was the second- and third-round leader, but Mahaffey shot 73 in the final round while Pate carded a 68 to surge to the title.Mahaffey had scored 69 in the third round to forge that two-stroke lead over Pate, with Al Geiberger three behind and Tom Weiskopf four back entering the final round. The tournament came down to that quartet of players, each of them playing well — at least until the final hole.
When Pate and Mahaffey reached the 72nd hole, they were the last golfers on the course, and Pate led Mahaffey, Geiberger (who shot 69) and Weiskopf (who carded 68) by one stroke each.
The par-4 final hole at Atlanta Athletic Club required a carry over a lake that fronted the green. Mahaffey hit his approach into that lake, ending his hopes. But Pate, playing from the rough, hit a 5-iron to two feet from cup. Pate sank the birdie putt to win the championship by two strokes over Geiberger and Weiskopf. Mahaffey, who lost the U.S. Open in a playoff one year earlier, finished tied for fourth.
Pate won the U.S. Amateur Championship in 1974, was low amateur at the 1975 U.S. Open, and then won the 1976 U.S. Open — a steep career path. The first win of his pro career was this one, and the last of his eight PGA Tour victories was at the 1982 Players Championship (the first one played at TPC Sawgrass). You could say that Pate didn't live up to his early promise, but he did win a major, plus The Players, and his shortfall, if you want to call it that, was due to injuries. Pate had recurrent shoulder injuries that limited his winning ways to that seven-year time span.
Pate also had two runner-up finishes at later majors, the 1978 PGA Championship and the 1979 U.S. Open. This tournament was where Fuzzy Zoeller, a future Masters and U.S. Open winner, made his major championship debut. He finished tied for 38th.
One change of note in U.S. Open policy at the 1976 tournament: Golfers were allowed to use their own caddies. Previously, the host club had provided a pool of caddies, and caddies were assigned to golfers by lot.
1976 U.S. Open Scores
| Jerry Pate | 71-69-69-68—277 |
| Al Geiberger | 70-69-71-69—279 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 73-70-68-68—279 |
| Butch Baird | 71-71-71-67—280 |
| John Mahaffey | 70-68-69-73—280 |
| Hubert Green | 72-70-71-69—282 |
| Tom Watson | 74-72-68-70—284 |
| Lyn Lott | 71-71-70-73—285 |
| Ben Crenshaw | 72-68-72-73—285 |
| Johnny Miller | 74-72-69-71—286 |
| Rod Funseth | 70-70-72-75—287 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 74-70-75-68—287 |
| Raymond Floyd | 70-75-71-72—288 |
| Andy North | 74-72-69-74—289 |
| Mark Hayes | 74-74-70-71—289 |
| Don January | 71-74-69-75—289 |
| J.C. Snead | 73-69-71-76—289 |
| Mike Morley | 71-71-70-77—289 |
| Danny Edwards | 73-75-70-72—290 |
| Randy Glover | 72-74-76-68—290 |
| Dave Eichelberger | 73-70-74-74—291 |
| Larry Nelson | 75-74-70-72—291 |
| Joe Inman | 75-73-74-70—292 |
| Calvin Peete | 76-69-74-73—292 |
| Gary Player | 72-77-73-70—292 |
| Tom Jenkins | 72-74-75-72—293 |
| Hale Irwin | 75-72-75-71—293 |
| Wayne Levi | 74-73-74-73—294 |
| Bob E. Smith | 72-75-74-73—294 |
| Lou Graham | 75-74-72-73—294 |
| Barry Jaeckel | 74-77-69-74—294 |
| Grier Jones | 76-69-71-78—294 |
| Terry Diehl | 71-72-76-76—295 |
| Rik Massengale | 70-78-70-77—295 |
| Victor Regalado | 75-76-71-74—296 |
| Bobby Wadkins | 76-72-72-76—296 |
| Lee Elder | 72-75-78-71—296 |
| Charles Coody | 75-76-70-76—297 |
| Fuzzy Zoeller | 72-75-73-77—297 |
| John Gentile | 77-74-73-73—297 |
| Lon Hinkle | 75-74-70-78—297 |
| Miller Barber | 76-72-79-70—297 |
| Mike Shea | 72-73-72-80—297 |
| Kermit Zarley | 75-73-75-75—298 |
| Tom Purtzer | 73-75-73-77—298 |
| Tim Collins | 73-76-72-77—298 |
| Tommy Aaron | 75-73-76-75—299 |
| Bruce Lietzke | 76-73-77-73—299 |
| Eddie Pearce | 80-71-76-72—299 |
| Arnold Palmer | 75-75-75-75—300 |
| Carlton White | 75-75-75-75—300 |
| Gene Littler | 76-75-71-78—300 |
| a-John Fought | 79-72-72-77—300 |
| a-Mike Reid | 67-81-80-72—300 |
| Joey Dills | 77-73-74-77—301 |
| Jim Colbert | 74-76-73-78—301 |
| Peter Oosterhuis | 73-75-74-79—301 |
| Bob Gilder | 75-74-75-78—302 |
| John Jacobs | 75-75-74-78—302 |
| George Cadle | 79-71-77-76—303 |
| Bruce Devlin | 75-73-81-74—303 |
| a-Martin West | 73-73-80-79—305 |
| a-Bruce Douglass | 73-76-75-81—305 |
| Bobby Stroble | 77-70-82-76—305 |
| Gene Borek | 74-74-76-83—307 |
| Jim Ferree | 76-73-80-82—311 |
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1975 U.S. Open — 1977 U.S. Open