1983 U.S. Senior Open Winner and Scores
Winner: Billy Casper, 288
Where it was played: Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota
Tournament dates: July 21-25, 1983
Leaders after first round: Dick King, John Cook, Jack Harden, 70
Leader after second round: Roberto De Vicenzo, 141
Leader after third round: Billy Casper, 215
What Happened in the 1983 U.S. Senior Open
Billy Casper and Rod Funseth faced off in an 18-hole playoff in the 1983 U.S. Senior Open, but even that many extra holes weren't enough. They had to continue to a 19th hole before Casper emerged victorious.The win made Casper the second golfer ever (after Arnold Palmer) to win the U.S. Senior Open after having previously won the U.S. Open. (In Casper's case, that was the 1959 U.S. Open and 1966 U.S. Open.)
Funseth was three back of the leading Casper following the third round, but scored 70 to Casper's 73 in Round 4. Funseth birdied the 17th hole of that fourth round to go in front by one, but bogeyed No. 18 to fall back into a tie with Casper and necessitate the 18-hole playoff.
In the playoff, Casper had a 30-foot birdie attempt on the 18th hole that would have won it, but the ball stopped just short of the hole. That left both players with 75s, so they continued into sudden-death holes.
On the first sudden-death hole — the 19th overall of the playoff — Casper struck an 8-iron approach to eight feet, then sank the birdie putt to win.
It was Casper's second time playing an 18-hole playoff in this senior major. He lost in a three-man playoff at the 1981 U.S. Senior Open.
A pro named Dick King had a very unusual tournament. He scored 30 on his opening nine, a 9-hole tournament record at the time, and shared the first-round lead with a 70. Then he scored 80 and 83 in the next two rounds. In the final round King soared to a 103, and, not surprisingly, fell into last place. That 103 remains the highest score ever recorded in the U.S. Senior Open, and by seven strokes. He had a 63 over the last nine holes, and a 13 on the final hole. On that final hole, King used only a 6-iron, swinging it one-handed, polo style, all the way up the hole.
And tragedy happened in the first round when 61-year-old pro Robert Grant collapsed near the third green from a heart attack. A physician performed CPR at the scene for 30 minutes before Grant was transported to a hospital. He died that evening.
1983 U.S. Senior Open Final Scores
| Billy Casper | 73-69-73-73—288 (75-3) |
| Rod Funseth | 73-71-74-70—288 (75-3) |
| Miller Barber | 72-70-78-70—290 |
| Guy Wolstenholme | 71-71-78-71—291 |
| Peter Thomson | 71-75-75-71—292 |
| Roberto De Vicenzo | 71-70-77-75—293 |
| Jerry Barber | 71-74-73-76—294 |
| Gay Brewer | 76-71-74-74—295 |
| Charles Sifford | 73-72-74-77—296 |
| Art Silvestrone | 75-75-75-72—297 |
| Arnold Palmer | 73-79-75-71—298 |
| Gardner Dickinson | 72-76-77-73—298 |
| Howie Johnson | 78-76-74-71—299 |
| Charles Green | 75-77-77-70—299 |
| Gene Littler | 75-78-73-74—300 |
| Paul Thomas | 75-78-71-76—300 |
| Dan Sikes | 72-70-78-80—300 |
| Denis Hutchinson | 74-78-73-75—300 |
| a-Bob Rawlins | 71-76-76-77—300 |
| Bob Stone | 71-78-72-79—300 |
| Fred Haas | 74-73-76-78—301 |
| Fred Hawkins | 76-77-78-70—301 |
| John Cook | 70-74-78-80—302 |
| George Thomas | 79-76-74-73—302 |
| Joe Jimenez | 74-78-78-73—303 |
| Billy Maxwell | 78-72-79-74—303 |
| Doug Ford | 76-77-74-76—303 |
| Lionel Hebert | 71-74-83-76—304 |
| Robert Crowley | 76-72-79-77—304 |
| Ed Causey | 74-78-76-76—304 |
| a-Allan Sussell | 77-76-76-75—304 |
| James Shaw | 74-79-78-73—304 |
| Ken Towns | 77-72-80-76—305 |
| a-Ed Updegraff | 81-70-76-78—305 |
| a-Dick Evans | 71-77-81-76—305 |
| Mike Fetchick | 80-73-77-75—305 |
| Bob Erickson | 75-78-81-72—306 |
| Bob Goetz | 78-75-76-77—306 |
| Roger Floyd | 82-73-77-75—307 |
| Stan Thirsk | 73-79-82-73—307 |
| Dean Lind | 74-77-84-73—308 |
| Jim Cochran | 75-77-84-73—309 |
| James Hatfield | 76-76-80-78—310 |
| Frank Freer | 73-80-77-80—310 |
| David Cupit | 73-79-80-78—310 |
| a-John Owens | 76-79-79-77—311 |
| Bob Gajda | 76-78-75-83—312 |
| Don Bergman | 80-75-77-80—312 |
| Dayton Olson | 79-76-83-75—313 |
| Milon Marusic | 76-76-86-76—314 |
| Jack Harden | 70-80-87-77—314 |
| Roland Stafford | 79-75-79-81—314 |
| Pete Hessemer | 78-76-83-79—316 |
| a-John Harbottle | 81-74-79-82—316 |
| John Kalinka | 74-81-83-78—316 |
| John Langford | 79-75-86-76—316 |
| a-Dick Stearns | 79-73-82-82—316 |
| a-Lou Raganella | 77-78-80-84—319 |
| a-Bud Chapman | 74-79-81-85—319 |
| Ralph Bond | 79-76-86-79—320 |
| Dick King | 70-80-83-103—336 |
Sources:
The Flint (Mich.) Journal. "Funseth, Casper in playoff for Senior Open crown," United Press International, July 25, 1983.
The Miami (Fla.) Herald. "Boca pro dies in Senior Open," Associated Press, July 23, 1983.
Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger. Senior Golf, U.S. Senior Open, Scores, July 22, 1983.
PGATour.com. U.S. Senior Open Championship, Past Results, https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions/tournaments/2026/u.s-senior-open-championship/S2026512/past-results.
United States Golf Association. U.S. Senior Open, Champions, https://championships.usga.org/ussenioropen/u-s--senior-open-champions.html.
United States Golf Association. U.S. Senior Open, Tournament Records, https://championships.usga.org/content/championships/ussenioropen/u-s--senior-open-records.html.
