1962 U.S. Open Winner and Scores

The 1962 U.S. Open was the 62nd time the tournament was played. Jack Nicklaus earned his first professional victory here, beating Arnold Palmer in an 18-hole playoff.

Winner: Jack Nicklaus, 283

Where it was played: Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania

Tournament dates: June 14-17, 1962

Leader after first round: Gene Littler, 69

Leader after second round: Arnold Palmer and Bob Rosburg, 139

Leader after third round: Arnold Palmer and Bobby Nichols, 212

What Happened in the 1962 U.S. Open

There was little doubt, entering the 1962 U.S. Open, that Jack Nicklaus was going to have a great PGA Tour career. He was an NCAA Championship winner, and a 2-time U.S. Amateur champion. In the two previous U.S. Opens, playing as an amateur, Nicklaus finished second and fourth.

But entering the 1962 U.S. Open, Nicklaus — in his rookie year as a professional — had yet to win. Exiting this tournament, Nicklaus not only had that first win, he got it by beating Arnold Palmer in an 18-hole playoff.

After the playoff, Palmer uttered words that proved prophetic, saying of Nicklaus, "Now that the big guy is out of the cage, everybody better run for cover."

How Nicklaus and Palmer Finished 72 Holes Tied

Following the third round, Palmer shared the lead with Bobby Nichols, one stroke ahead of Phil Rodgers and Bob Rosburg, and two shots ahead of Nicklaus.

Rosburg blew up with a 79 in the final round and quickly fell off the pace. Rodgers and Nichols acquitted themselves OK under the final-round pressure, but Nichols turned in a score of 73 and Rodgers 72, and they finished tied for third.

That left Nicklaus and Palmer to battle it out. The tournament was at Oakmont Country Club in western Pennsylvania — Palmer's home court, so to speak. Palmer was easily the most-popular golfer in the world, one of the most popular sportsmen in the world, and was playing close to his hometown of Latrobe, Pa. Nicklaus was the 22-year-old upstart trying to knock off The King. Nicklaus was not yet himself popular; in fact, as a brash challenger to Palmer, Nicklaus was quite unpopular with this crowd. Nicklaus was taunted by fans throughout the final round, then again in the 18-hole playoff, including being jeered for his (by the standards of the time) portly figure.

Palmer later said that the catcalls didn't seem to phase Nicklaus one bit, but they did bother Palmer. Something else that bothered Palmer — albeit something Palmer never, then or later, used as an excuse — was a deep cut on one of his fingers that he suffered just prior to the tournament's start, and that required stitches.

Nicklaus opened the fourth round with a bogey, falling three behind Palmer. After Palmer birdied the second and fourth holes, his lead over Nicklaus was five. But Nicklaus birdied the seventh, ninth and 11th holes, while Palmer bogeyed No. 9.

And when Palmer bogeyed the 13th, they were tied. Both players parred out from there, finishing at 1-under 283 as the only golfers under par.

The 18-Hole Playoff

In the 18-hole playoff on Sunday (at this time the U.S. Open's third and fourth rounds were both played on Saturday), Nicklaus jumped out to the lead on the first hole, and built a four-stroke lead after six holes. Palmer bogeyed the first, sixth and eight holes, while Nicklaus birdied the fourth and sixth holes before bogeying No. 8.

Palmer birdied three of the four holes from nine through 12, getting back within a stroke, but a bogey by Palmer on Hole 13 gave Nicklaus a two-stroke lead. Both golfers parred holes 14-17, then they finished on 18 with a bogey by Nicklaus and a double bogey by Palmer. That made the final score Nicklaus 71, Palmer 74.

At 22, Nicklaus was the youngest U.S. Open winner since Bobby Jones in 1923. As the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, Nicklaus was the first player since Jones to hold the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open trophies simultaneously (although Jones won them in same year).

The biggest difference between Nicklaus and Palmer during the 90 holes played was their performance on the treacherous Oakmont greens. Nicklaus had only one 3-putt throughout the five rounds; Palmer three-putted 10 times.

So it was not only Nicklaus' first win in a major championship, it was his first win as a professional. For Palmer, his runner-up finish here began a frustrating streak of four second-place finishes in the U.S. Open within a six-year span. Palmer also lost playoffs at the 1963 U.S. Open and 1966 U.S. Open.

Palmer often said in ensuing years that if he had beaten Nicklaus in the playoff at the 1962 U.S. Open, he might have been able to hold Nicklaus off for a few more years. But he didn't, and he couldn't. Nicklaus was soon acknowledged as the best golfer in the game.

1962 U.S. Open Final Scores

Jack Nicklaus 72-70-72-69—283 (71)
Arnold Palmer 71-68-73-71—283 (74)
Bobby Nichols 70-72-70-73—285
Phil Rodgers 74-70-69-72—285
Gay Brewer 73-72-73-69—287
Tommy Jacobs 74-71-73-70—288
Gary Player 71-71-72-74—288
Doug Ford 74-75-71-70—290
Gene Littler 69-74-72-75—290
Billy Maxwell 71-70-75-74—290
Doug Sanders 74-74-74-69—291
Art Wall 73-72-72-74—291
Bob Rosburg 70-69-74-79—292
a-Deane Beman 74-72-80-67—293
Bob Goalby 73-74-73-73—293
Mike Souchak 75-73-72-73—293
Jacky Cupit 73-72-72-77—294
Jay Hebert 75-72-73-74—294
Earl Stewart Jr. 75-73-75-71—294
Donald Whitt 73-71-75-75—294
Bo Wininger 73-74-69-78—294
Miller Barber 73-70-77-75—295
Gardner Dickinson 76-74-75-71—296
Lionel Hebert 75-72-75-74—296
Stan Leonard 72-73-78-74—297
a-Edward Meister Jr. 78-72-76-71—297
Frank Boynton 71-75-74-78—298
Joe Campbell 78-71-72-78—299
Dave Douglas 74-70-72-83—299
Paul Harney 73-73-71-82—299
Dean Refram 75-73-77-74—299
Mason Rudolph 74-74-73-78—299
Gene Coghill 74-76-73-77—300
J.C. Goosie 71-79-75-75—300
Jerry Pittman 75-72-75-78—300
Wes Ellis 73-73-77-78—301
Dan Sikes 74-72-78-77—301
Pete Cooper 74-76-74-78—302
Fred Hawkins 73-77-77-75—302
Bob McCallister 76-74-74-78—302
Joe Moore Jr. 77-73-74-78—302
Sam Snead 76-74-78-74—302
Al Balding 73-77-78-75—303
Charlie Sifford 75-74-76-78—303
Bruce Crampton 75-73-75-81—304
a-John Guenther 72-78-75-79—304
a-Bill Hyndman 73-76-78-77—304
a-Bob Gardner 76-74-77-78—305
Johnny Pott 75-75-75-80—305
Charles Garlena 74-72-82-81—309
Edward Rubis 76-74-81-78—309

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