1983 U.S. Open: Winner and Scores
The 1983 U.S. Open was the 83rd time the tournament was played. Larry Nelson trailed Tom Watson by one entering the final round, but Watson opened a 3-shot lead after nine holes of Round 4. However, from that point the momentum reversed, and Nelson made a 60-foot putt on the third-to-last hole en route to the victory.
Winner: Larry Nelson, 280
Where it was played: Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania
Tournament dates: June 16-20, 1983
Leader after first round: Seve Ballesteros, Bob Murphy and John Mahaffey, 69
Leader after second round: John Mahaffey and Joey Rasselt, 141
Leader after third round: Seve Ballesteros and Tom Watson, 212
What Happened in the 1983 U.S. Open
Tom Watson and Seve Ballesteros shared the third-round lead, but Larry Nelson is the man who made the move in the final round of the 1983 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club.Ballesteros was looking for his first U.S. Open win, and Watson was trying to win back-to-back titles as the defending champion. They started the final round one stroke ahead of Nelson, who finished his third round by going 7-under over the last 13 holes.
Ballesteros fell away a bit in the final round, eventually finishing fourth. But Watson and Nelson were hot from the start, Watson going out in 31 and Nelson in 33.
Nelson caught Watson on the 14th hole, but the momentum was interrupted by rain. The final round picked up again the next day, Monday, and Nelson pulled ahead with a 60-foot birdie putt on the 16th. Watson missed a 5-footer for par on the 17th and was unable to make birdie at the last to tie. That made Nelson the 1983 U.S. Open championship.
Nelson played the third and fourth rounds in 132 strokes, 65-67, setting a U.S. Open scoring record for the final 36 holes that, as of this writing, still stands. The victory was the sixth for Nelson on the PGA Tour (he eventually earned 10 titles). It was the second of his three wins in major championships: He previously won the 1981 PGA Championship, and later won the 1987 PGA Championship.
Arnold Palmer made his last cut in a U.S. Open here at Oakmont. It was his next-to-last appearance in a U.S. Open. Palmer tried for several years after the 1983 U.S. Open to make it into the tournament through qualifying, but never did. At the 1994 U.S. Open, the USGA gave Palmer a special exemption so he could make a farewell appearance when the Open was once again at Oakmont.
Paul Azinger missed the cut here in his first appearance in a major. Someone else of note who missed the cut was Rick Smith, who later became one of the best-known golf instructors in America.
1983 U.S. Open Final Scores
| Larry Nelson | 75-73-65-67—280 |
| Tom Watson | 72-70-70-69—281 |
| Gil Morgan | 73-72-70-68—283 |
| Seve Ballesteros | 69-74-69-74—286 |
| Calvin Peete | 75-68-70-73—286 |
| Hal Sutton | 73-70-73-71—287 |
| Lanny Wadkins | 72-73-74-69—288 |
| David Graham | 74-75-73-69—291 |
| Ralph Landrum | 75-73-69-74—291 |
| Chip Beck | 73-74-74-71—292 |
| Andy North | 73-71-72-76—292 |
| Craig Stadler | 76-74-73-69—292 |
| Lennie Clements | 74-71-75-73—293 |
| David Ogrin | 75-69-75-74—293 |
| Jim Thorpe | 75-70-75-73—293 |
| Pat McGowan | 75-71-75-72—293 |
| Scott Simpson | 73-71-73-76—293 |
| Mike Nicolette | 76-69-73-75—293 |
| Raymond Floyd | 72-70-72-79—293 |
| Gary Player | 73-74-76-71—294 |
| Tom Kite | 75-76-70-73—294 |
| Griff Moody | 76-72-73-73—294 |
| D.A. Weibring | 71-74-80-69—294 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 75-73-74-73—295 |
| Gary Koch | 78-71-72-74—295 |
| Mark Hayes | 75-72-74-75—296 |
| Tommy Nakajima | 75-74-74-73—296 |
| Bob Ford | 76-73-75-72—296 |
| Ken Green | 77-73-71-75—296 |
| Joey Rassett | 72-69-78-77—296 |
| Curtis Strange | 74-72-78-72—296 |
| Tim Simpson | 76-74-73-74—297 |
| Roger Maltbie | 76-72-69-80—297 |
| Ron Terry | 75-75-73-75—298 |
| Mike Sullivan | 74-76-74-74—298 |
| Andy Bean | 76-75-73-74—298 |
| Peter Jacobsen | 75-75-77-71—298 |
| John Mahaffey | 69-72-79-78—298 |
| Bob Gilder | 75-74-75-75—299 |
| Hale Irwin | 72-76-75-76—299 |
| Skeeter Heath | 73-76-74-76—299 |
| Keith Fergus | 76-72-79-72—299 |
| Wayne Levi | 74-76-74-76—300 |
| J.C. Snead | 76-73-76-75—300 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 73-74-77-76—300 |
| Jay Haas | 74-74-74-78—300 |
| Mike Reid | 75-75-78-72—300 |
| Scott Hoch | 74-77-74-76—301 |
| Nick Price | 72-77-72-80—301 |
| Mark McNulty | 75-76-75-76—302 |
| Forrest Fezler | 75-76-74-77—302 |
| Peter Oosterhuis | 75-76-77-74—302 |
| Bob Shearer | 76-74-75-77—302 |
| Bob Boyd | 76-75-74-77—302 |
| a-Brad Faxon | 77-74-75-76—302 |
| Lou Graham | 71-77-78-76—302 |
| Bob Murphy | 69-81-74-78—302 |
| Frank Conner | 72-74-81-75—302 |
| Greg Norman | 74-75-81-72—302 |
| Arnold Palmer | 74-75-78-76—303 |
| Hubert Green | 74-74-76-79—303 |
| Donnie Hammond | 74-73-81-75—303 |
| a-John Sherman | 80-71-79-74—304 |
| Bob Eastwood | 75-76-80-74—305 |
| Bruce Devlin | 70-79-77-80—306 |
| Bobby Wadkins | 71-77-81-77—306 |
| Jim Nelford | 72-79-79-77—307 |
| Rocky Thompson | 76-75-79-80—310 |
| Jim Booros | 72-79-82-77—310 |
| Hsu Sheng-San | 74-77-80-81—312 |
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