1968 U.S. Open Golf Tournament Winner and Scores
The 1968 U.S. Open was the 68th time the tournament was played, and it was the site of Lee Trevino's first major championship victory.
Winner: Lee Trevino, 275
Where it was played: Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York
Tournament dates: June 13-16, 1968
Leader after first round: Bert Yancey, 67
Leader after second round: Bert Yancey, 140
Leader after third round: Bert Yancey, 205
What Happened in the 1968 U.S. Open
The 1968 U.S. Open wasn't just Lee Trevino's first win in a major championship, it was his first win of any kind on the PGA Tour. Trevino didn't exactly come out nowhere to win this championship, though; it was his third appearance in a U.S. Open, and he finished fifth the year before.Trevino joined the PGA Tour in 1967, and while he didn't win a tournament in that rookie season, he did earn enough cash to gather some Rookie of the Year accolades from the golf media.
The way Trevino won might have surprised the casual golf fan, however. He shot all four rounds in the 60s — the first time that happened in a U.S. Open (and it didn't happen again until 1993); he beat the runner-up, defending champion Jack Nicklaus, by four strokes. He matched the 72-hole U.S. Open scoring record of the time (set by Nicklaus the previous year) of 275.
Still, it wasn't a runaway for Trevino. He wasn't even the third-round leader. That was Bert Yancey, at 205 (setting a 54-hole tournament record, later broken) one stroke ahead of Trevino. But Trevino took the lead on the ninth hole of the final round and pulled away over the back nine, shooting a final-round 69 to Yancey's 76.
Nicklaus began the final round in third place, seven behind Yancey and six behind Trevino, and shot 67. Trevino went on to win six majors total, and Nicklaus was runner-up to him in four of them.
Fifty-six-year-old Sam Snead tied for ninth place. It was his final Top 10 finish in a U.S. Open.
1968 U.S. Open Final Scores
| Lee Trevino | 69-68-69-69—275 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 72-70-70-67—279 |
| Bert Yancey | 67-68-70-76—281 |
| Bobby Nichols | 74-71-68-69—282 |
| Don Bies | 70-70-75-69—284 |
| Steve Spray | 73-75-71-65—284 |
| Bob Charles | 73-69-72-71—285 |
| Jerry Pittman | 73-67-74-71—285 |
| Gay Brewer | 71-71-75-69—286 |
| Billy Casper | 75-68-71-72—286 |
| Bruce Devlin | 71-69-75-71—286 |
| Al Geiberger | 72-74-68-72—286 |
| Sam Snead | 73-71-74-68—286 |
| Dave Stockton | 72-73-69-72—286 |
| Dan Sikes | 71-71-73-72—287 |
| George Archer | 74-72-73-69—288 |
| Julius Boros | 71-71-71-75—288 |
| Charles Coody | 69-71-72-76—288 |
| Rod Funseth | 74-72-69-73—288 |
| Dave Hill | 74-68-74-72—288 |
| Gary Player | 76-69-70-73—288 |
| Mac McLendon | 72-76-70-71—289 |
| Hugh Royer Jr. | 75-72-73-69—289 |
| Miller Barber | 74-68-78-70—290 |
| Roberto De Vicenzo | 72-76-72-70—290 |
| Bob Erickson | 75-68-72-75—290 |
| Don January | 71-75-71-73—290 |
| Bob Lunn | 74-73-73-70—290 |
| Pat Schwab | 76-70-75-69—290 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 75-72-70-73—290 |
| Larry Ziegler | 71-71-74-74—290 |
| Bill Collins | 71-72-76-72—291 |
| Terry Dill | 74-71-73-73—291 |
| Dave Marr | 70-72-74-75—291 |
| Bob Murphy | 76-71-70-74—291 |
| Charles Sifford | 75-69-75-72—291 |
| Harold Henning | 75-68-76-73—292 |
| Doug Sanders | 73-72-73-74—292 |
| Billy Farrell | 70-72-74-77—293 |
| Gibby Gilbert | 73-72-76-72—293 |
| Bob Goalby | 76-71-73-73—293 |
| Mac Hunter | 75-73-74-71—293 |
| Al Balding | 70-76-71-77—294 |
| Dave Eichelberger | 74-73-76-71—294 |
| Labron Harris Jr. | 70-72-77-75—294 |
| Bruce Crampton | 75-72-75-73—295 |
| Bob Dickson | 76-70-75-74—295 |
| Ronnie Reif | 72-74-74-76—296 |
| Robert Stone | 75-72-75-74—296 |
| Monty Kaser | 73-72-75-77—297 |
| Art Wall | 74-74-75-74—297 |
| Frank Beard | 76-72-73-77—298 |
| Homero Blancas | 72-75-74-77—298 |
| Billy Maxwell | 72-74-78-74—298 |
| Kel Nagle | 72-75-76-75—298 |
| Gene Borek | 73-74-76-76—299 |
| Paul Harney | 74-73-78-75—300 |
| a-Dick Siderowf | 71-76-76-77—300 |
| Arnold Palmer | 73-74-79-75—301 |
| Al Chandler | 74-72-78-78—302 |
| a-Jack Lewis | 73-75-80-74—302 |
| Johnny Pott | 76-72-76-79—303 |
| a-Jim Simons | 75-73-81-81—310 |
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