1977 U.S. Open Winner and Scores
The 1977 U.S. Open was the 77th time the tournament was played. The champion won it despite (literally) playing under a death threat.
Winner: Hubert Green, 278
Where it was played: Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tournament dates: June 16-19, 1977
Leader after first round: Larry Nelson, Tom Purtzer, Grier Jones, Florentino Molina, Hubert Green, Rod Funseth and Terry Diehl, 69
Leader after second round: Hubert Green, 136
Leader after third round: Hubert Green, 208
What Happened at the 1977 U.S. Open
Twelve golfers were within three strokes of the lead as the final round began at the 1977 U.S. Open. The golfer who held that lead was Hubert Green. But unbeknownst to Green before he teed off, earlier in the day a disturbing phone call had been received by authorities.A caller to the Oklahoma City FBI office said three men were on their way to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Southern Hills Country Club, to shoot and kill Green. Green would be murdered on the 15th hole, the caller said. To this day, nobody knows if the threat was credible and serious, or whether it was a cruel hoax. And due to mistakes and oversights earlier in the day, Green wasn't informed of the threat until he walked off the green of the 14th hole.
Green had won 11 PGA Tour events to that point, but was still looking for his first win in a major. Now, holding a one-stroke lead after 14 holes of the final round of a U.S. Open, he was being informed that a threat had been made on his life. Green decided to keep playing without delay.
But he hooked his drive on the 15th into a tree, which might have been some good luck — the ball might otherwise have gone out of bounds. Green hit his approach to 35 feet and 2-putted for par. No shots rang out, no snipers were found on or around the course. Green survived the 15th, literally and figuratively, and then birdied the 16th to take a 2-stroke lead.
Green wound up with a 70 in that final round to win by one stroke over 1975 U.S. Open champ Lou Graham. Graham started the day three shots behind Green, but ran off four birdies on the back nine. Green had to make a 3-foot putt on the final hole to avoid a playoff, and rolled it in for the win. Andy Bean, in solo second one behind Green at the start of the final round, blew up with a 79 and finished well back.
The 1977 U.S. Open was the final one played by Sam Snead, who shot 74-78 and missed the cut. Snead never won a U.S. Open, the only major trophy missing from his career. Julius Boros, U.S. Open champ in 1952 and 1963, and Tommy Bolt, U.S. Open winner in 1958, also played for the final time (in Bolt's case, it was his last appearance in any of the majors), and both also missed the cut.
1977 U.S. Open Final Scores
| Hubert Green | 69-67-72-70—278 |
| Lou Graham | 72-71-68-68—279 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 71-71-68-71—281 |
| Tom Purtzer | 69-69-72-72—282 |
| Jay Haas | 72-68-71-72—283 |
| Gary Jacobsen | 73-70-67-73—283 |
| Lyn Lott | 73-73-68-70—284 |
| Terry Diehl | 69-68-73-74—284 |
| Tom Watson | 74-72-71-67—284 |
| Mike McCullough | 73-73-69-70—285 |
| Rod Funseth | 69-70-72-74—285 |
| Peter Oosterhuis | 71-70-74-70—285 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 74-68-71-72—285 |
| Al Geiberger | 70-71-75-69—285 |
| Gary Player | 72-67-71-75—285 |
| Steve Melnyk | 70-73-70-73—286 |
| Joe Inman | 70-70-72-74—286 |
| Wally Armstrong | 71-70-70-75—286 |
| Arnold Palmer | 70-72-73-72—287 |
| Bruce Lietzke | 74-68-71-74—287 |
| Billy Kratzert | 73-69-75-70—287 |
| Jerry McGee | 76-69-76-66—287 |
| Ron Streck | 73-73-71-71—288 |
| Sam Adams | 70-69-76-73—288 |
| Andy Bean | 71-70-68-79—288 |
| Gay Brewer | 73-72-70-74—289 |
| Mike Morley | 70-73-74-73—290 |
| George Archer | 73-72-74-71—290 |
| Lee Trevino | 74-70-73-73—290 |
| J.C. Snead | 72-75-68-75—290 |
| Tom Kite | 71-73-70-76—290 |
| Johnny Miller | 71-73-70-76—290 |
| John Lister | 72-73-68-77—290 |
| Don Padgett | 70-74-66-80—290 |
| Graham Marsh | 74-72-72-73—291 |
| Grier Jones | 69-75-72-75—291 |
| Rod Curl | 75-71-73-72—291 |
| Jim Simons | 75-67-71-78—291 |
| Florentino Molina | 69-76-75-72—292 |
| Rik Massengale | 71-72-77-72—292 |
| Mark Hayes | 76-68-73-76—293 |
| Hale Irwin | 73-71-77-72—293 |
| Gil Morgan | 76-70-69-78—293 |
| Phil Hancock | 74-73-72-75—294 |
| Bruce Fleisher | 73-69-74-78—294 |
| Fuzzy Zoeller | 73-69-79-73—294 |
| Raymond Floyd | 73-73-78-71—295 |
| David Canipe | 74-73-70-78—295 |
| George Burns | 70-75-76-75—296 |
| Jim Dent | 76-71-74-75—296 |
| Ben Crenshaw | 74-71-72-79—296 |
| Morris Hatalsky | 70-74-72-80—296 |
| Bill Mallon | 73-71-77-77—298 |
| a-Lindy Miller | 73-73-76-77—299 |
| Larry Nelson | 69-75-78-77—299 |
| John Melnick | 71-75-78-75—299 |
| Bob E. Smith | 70-77-77-76—300 |
| a-John Fought | 73-74-78-77—302 |
| Vince Bizik | 71-76-76-79—302 |
| Chi Chi Rodriguez | 74-71-75-84—304 |
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