1969 U.S. Open Winner and Scores

The 1969 U.S. Open was the 69th time the tournament was played. A one-hit wonder made his mark, winning not only his one major championship, but claiming his only victory on the PGA Tour.

Winner: Orville Moody, 281

Where it was played: Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas

Tournament dates: June 12-15, 1969

Leader after first round: Bob Murphy, 66

Leader after second round: Deane Beman, 137

Leader after third round: Miller Barber, 206

How Moody Won the 1969 U.S. Open

Miller Barber and Orville Moody were the only players under par after three rounds, and Barber led Moody by three. But Barber soared to a 78 in Round 4, opening the door for Moody to win the championship — the only win Moody ever had as a PGA Tour player.

Moody was a terrific iron player whose putting usually held him back. He had only one other Top 10 finish in a major (a couple months later in the 1969 PGA Championship). But Moody did go on to win 11 times on the Champions Tour, after he became one of the senior circuit's first converts to a long putter.

Barber's collapse was particularly painful given that he had set a tournament record. Barber's total after three rounds was 206, which was the lowest 54-hole total in a U.S. Open to that point. But he began the final round with bogeys on five of the first eight holes. Moody had only one birdie in the final round, but his 72 was enough for the win. He closed with four consecutive pars.

Bob Rosburg, who won the 1959 PGA Championship, had a chance to force a tie on the final green, but missed a 3-foot putt for par. ... Defending champ Lee Trevino, suffering from a knee injury, missed the cut.

Moody had played his way into the tournament through qualifying, advancing through both the local and sectional qualifying stages. He remains the last U.S. Open champion to win after going through both stages of qualifying.

Final Scores at the 1969 U.S. Open

Orville Moody 71-70-68-72—281
Deane Beman 68-69-73-72—282
Al Geiberger 68-72-72-70—282
Bob Rosburg 70-69-72-71—282
Bob Murphy 66-72-74-71—283
Miller Barber 67-71-68-78—284
Bruce Crampton 73-72-68-71—284
Arnold Palmer 70-73-69-72—284
Bunky Henry 70-72-68-75—285
George Archer 69-74-73-70—286
Bruce Devlin 73-74-70-69—286
Dave Marr 75-69-71-71—286
Julius Boros 71-73-70-73—287
Charles Coody 72-68-72-75—287
Dale Douglass 76-69-70-72—287
Raymond Floyd 79-68-68-72—287
Dave Hill 73-74-70-70—287
Howie Johnson 72-73-72-70—287
Dean Refram 69-74-70-74—287
Phil Rodgers 76-70-69-72—287
Kermit Zarley 74-72-70-71—287
Bob Stanton 74-70-71-73—288
Tom Weiskopf 69-75-71-73—288
Bert Yancey 71-71-74-72—288
Joe Campbell 73-74-73-69—289
Richard Crawford 70-75-73-71—289
Tony Jacklin 71-70-73-75—289
Bobby Mitchell 72-74-66-77—289
Jack Nicklaus 74-67-75-73—289
Dave Stockton 75-69-72-73—289
Rich Bassett 73-74-69-74—290
Bobby Cole 73-72-72-73—290
Bobby Nichols 74-74-72-70—290
Bob-E. Smith 76-67-72-75—290
Jerry Steelsmith 72-72-75-71—290
Homero Blancas 72-73-69-77—291
George Knudson 70-70-76-75—291
Dan Sikes 74-74-72-72—292
Sam Snead 71-77-70-74—292
Tommy Aaron 71-72-73-77—293
Billy Casper 74-73-72-74—293
Al Balding 74-73-73-74—294
Bert Greene 78-70-74-72—294
Bob Lunn 71-72-76-75—294
Johnny Miller 71-70-80-73—294
Jack Montgomery 74-73-72-75—294
Mike Souchak 72-73-74-75—294
Don Bies 78-70-70-77—295
Gary Player 71-75-72-77—295
Frank Beard 72-73-73-78—296
Robert Stone 74-72-75-75—296
Bill Collins 75-72-73-77—297
Lionel Hebert 74-73-77-73—297
Bob Payne 71-74-73-79—297
John Schlee 74-74-78-71—297
Bill Ogden 76-72-75-75—298
Ken Still 74-74-72-78—298
Pete Brown 74-74-74-77—299
Jack Ewing 70-76-80-73—299
Labron Harris Jr. 71-75-75-78—299
Larry Hinson 73-75-76-75—299
Rives McBee 71-77-76-75—299
David Philo 71-74-78-76—299
Martin Bohen 72-75-74-81—302
Dave Eichelberger 76-71-76-80—303
Dow Finsterwald 77-71-77-78—303
Lee Elder 74-73-79-82—308
Chuck Courtney 72-76-80-82—310

Previous and next:
1968 U.S. Open - 1970 U.S. Open

Popular posts from this blog