1984 U.S. Senior Open Winner and Scores
Winner: Miller Barber, 286
Where it was played: Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York
Tournament dates: June 28-July 1, 1984
Leader after first round: Bob Goalby, 70
Leader after second round: Arnold Palmer, 142
Leader after third round: Arnold Palmer, 214
What Happened in the 1984 U.S. Senior Open
Miller Barber won the 1984 U.S. Senior Open by two strokes over runner-up Arnold Palmer, who had been the second- and third-round leader. But in the final round, Palmer stumbled and even whiffed a putt.Barber, already the 1982 U.S. Senior Open winner, became the tournament's first two-time champ. And he won again in 1985, becoming the first back-to-back champ and first three-time winner.
Barber opened with a 74 and was four strokes off Bob Goalby's Day 1 lead. There were just two sub-70 rounds the whole tournament, and Palmer's 68 in Round 2 was the best score of the week. That gave Palmer the halfway lead at 142, two ahead of Goalby and three in front of Barber.
After the third round, Palmer was still in front but by only one stroke over Barber, with Goalby two behind in third place.
In the final round, Barber scored 71, Palmer 74 and Goalby 76. Barber tied Palmer for the lead on the fifth hole after Palmer hit into water. He took the lead for good with a par on No. 7 when Palmer bogeyed, and Palmer also bogeyed Nos. 11 and 12.
Palmer got back within two strokes after birdying the 14th, but disaster struck him on the 15th green. He missed an 8-foot par putt and went to tap in the bogey, but he whiffed the putt when he carelessly stubbed his putter into the ground a quarter-inch behind the ball.
Palmer got back within two with a birdie on the 16th, and Barber lost his drive on No. 17 into the gallery and under trees. But Barber punched out and made par the hard way to hold his edge and hold onto the trophy. Goalby fell to fourth place, passed by Gay Brewer for third.
The cut was at 157 (17-over), which, at the time, was the record-high cut and remains the second-highest in USSO history. Thirteen amateurs completed the tournament, more than in any other USSO except the first in 1980 (16).
The first two holes-in-one in the U.S. Senior Open were scored this year. Joe Cheves aced the 15th hole in the first round, and amateur Bob Marshall aced the third hole in the second round. Neither made the cut.
1984 U.S. Senior Open Final Scores
| Miller Barber | 74-71-70-71—286 |
| Arnold Palmer | 74-68-72-74—288 |
| Gay Brewer | 75-72-74-70—291 |
| Bob Goalby | 70-74-72-76—292 |
| Bob Stone | 75-71-75-73—294 |
| Peter Thomson | 75-73-73-74—295 |
| Jim Ferree | 74-75-74-73—296 |
| Rod Funseth | 77-75-71-74—297 |
| Kel Nagle | 77-74-73-74—298 |
| Al Mengert | 75-79-72-74—300 |
| Jack Fleck | 79-75-69-77—300 |
| Paul Harney | 77-73-71-79—300 |
| Jerry Barber | 75-73-75-78—301 |
| Billy Casper | 77-74-76-75—302 |
| Bill Johnston | 75-74-76-77—302 |
| Charles Sifford | 78-71-80-73—302 |
| Pat Schwab | 81-74-73-75—303 |
| Orville Moody | 74-80-76-73—303 |
| Ken Towns | 77-78-71-77—303 |
| John Kalinka | 82-70-78-74—304 |
| Hulen Coker | 75-79-77-73—304 |
| Kyle Burton | 75-73-75-81—304 |
| Doug Ford | 75-77-77-76—305 |
| Mike Kelly | 77-74-74-80—305 |
| a-Dale Morey | 71-79-79-76—305 |
| a-Fordie Pitts | 78-72-78-77—305 |
| Paul Thomas | 75-72-82-77—306 |
| a-Bill Hyndman | 78-76-78-74—306 |
| Fred Haas | 78-78-75-75—306 |
| Lionel Hebert | 74-74-77-81—306 |
| Howie Johnson | 78-74-73-82—307 |
| a-Bill Campbell | 76-79-78-75—308 |
| a-Larry Eaton | 73-79-74-82—308 |
| Don Hoenig | 80-74-81-73—308 |
| Adolph Popp | 84-73-75-76—308 |
| Stan Thirsk | 82-73-80-74—309 |
| Chuck Scally | 75-75-78-81—309 |
| Charles Green | 81-76-73-79—309 |
| Art Silvestrone | 80-77-74-78—309 |
| James Barber | 82-73-77-78—310 |
| Roberto De Vicenzo | 80-77-77-76—310 |
| Doug Higgins Jr. | 81-75-76-78—310 |
| Fred Hawkins | 85-70-83-72—310 |
| James Hatfield | 78-79-76-77—310 |
| a-Bob Hoff | 77-76-78-79—310 |
| Ken Mast | 77-78-77-78—310 |
| Dick Sarta | 75-75-80-80—310 |
| a-Pursie Pipes | 77-78-77-78—310 |
| George Kallish | 79-76-80-76—311 |
| Joe Moresco | 76-75-80-81—312 |
| Pete Hessemer | 77-75-82-78—312 |
| Auggie Navarro | 78-79-78-78—313 |
| Bob Erickson | 81-76-79-77—313 |
| a-Alton Duhon | 81-76-80-77—314 |
| George Reynolds | 77-80-77-80—314 |
| Doug Sanders | 81-76-77-81—315 |
| a-Dale Sheetz | 73-81-80-82—316 |
| a-Ron Moore | 81-72-83-80—316 |
| Joe Jimenez | 79-76-83-79—317 |
| Gaylon Simon | 80-76-78-83—317 |
| a-Keith Compton | 80-75-78-84—317 |
| Jim Cowan | 80-75-80-82—317 |
| Stan Dudas | 80-76-79-84—319 |
| a-Jim Unruh | 78-76-86-79—319 |
| Babe Lichardus | 76-81-84-78—319 |
| a-Bob Rawlins | 80-77-86-78—321 |
Sources:
The Muskegon (Mich.) Chronicle. "Miller Barber wins Senior Open," UPI, July 2, 1984.
PGA Tour. Senior Tour Book 1985, 1984 Senior Tour Tournament Summaries, USGA Senior Open.
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.
United States Golf Association. Official USGA Record Book, 1895-1990 (affiliate link), Triumph Books, 1992.
