The 1972 U.S. Open was the 72nd
U.S. Open U.S. Open or US Open are open championship sporting tournaments that are hosted in the United States and in which anyone, especially amateur and professional, or American and non-American, may compete. The term may also be applied to non-sporting ev ...
, held June 15–18 at
Pebble Beach Golf Links
Pebble Beach Golf Links is a public golf course located in Pebble Beach, California, U.S.
Opened in 1919, it is regarded as one of the most beautiful courses in the world. It hugs the rugged coastline and has wide open views of Carmel Bay, o ...
in
Pebble Beach, California
Pebble Beach is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, California, United States. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also ...
.
Jack Nicklaus
Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...
, age 32, captured his third U.S. Open title, three strokes ahead of runner-up
Bruce Crampton
Bruce Crampton (born 28 September 1935) is an Australian professional golfer.
Early life and amateur career
Crampton was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and attended Kogarah High School from 1948 to 1950. In August 1953 he reached final of th ...
.
This was the first of six
major championships held to date at Pebble Beach: five U.S. Opens and the
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. The PGA is one of the four men's major golf champi ...
in
1977
Events January
* January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
. This was also the first time the U.S. Open was played at a public golf course.
Scoring conditions during the final round were extremely difficult;
the average was 78.8, the highest in post-
war
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
U.S. Open history. Nicklaus' 290 (+2) was the second-highest winning score during that span. It was Nicklaus' eleventh career
major championship as a professional, tying the record of
Walter Hagen
Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional Men's major golf championships, majors is third behin ...
. When combined with his two
U.S. Amateur
The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...
wins, it was his thirteenth major, equaling
Bobby Jones for most
Defending champion Lee Trevino
Lee Buck Trevino (born December 1, 1939) is an American retired professional golfer who is regarded as one of the greatest players in golf history. He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. Trevino won six major championships and ...
had been hospitalized in Texas for several days for
bronchitis
Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...
and
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
; he was released on Tuesday, two days before the first round,
and tied for fourth.
[
It was the second consecutive major title for Nicklaus, who won the Masters in April. Previous winners of the first two majors of the year were Craig Wood (]1941
The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...
), Ben Hogan
William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory, hi ...
(1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...
, 1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...
), and Arnold Palmer
Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Since embarking on a professional career in ...
(1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events January
* Janu ...
); later champions of both were Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
(2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
) and Jordan Spieth
Jordan Alexander Spieth (; born July 27, 1993) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour and former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking. He is a three-time major winner and the 2015 FedEx Cup champion.
Spieth's first m ...
(2015
2015 was designated by the United Nations as:
* International Year of Light
* International Year of Soil __TOC__
Events
January
* January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
). In addition, Nicklaus held the PGA Championship
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. The PGA is one of the four men's major golf champi ...
title from February 1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
; four weeks later, he was the runner-up by a single stroke at the Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
at Muirfield
Muirfield is a privately owned golf links which is the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Located in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, overlooking the Firth of Forth, Muirfield is one of the golf courses used in rotation for T ...
, Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
.
Nicklaus won seven additional majors, the last at the Masters fourteen years later in 1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
** Spain and Portugal en ...
at age 46.
Course layout
Round summaries
First round
''Thursday, June 15, 1972''
Source:
Second round
''Friday, June 16, 1972''
Source:
Third round
''Saturday, June 17, 1972''
Source:
Final round
''Sunday, June 18, 1972''
In high winds, Nicklaus was even par on the front nine; after a double-bogey at the tenth, Arnold Palmer
Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Since embarking on a professional career in ...
and Bruce Crampton
Bruce Crampton (born 28 September 1935) is an Australian professional golfer.
Early life and amateur career
Crampton was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and attended Kogarah High School from 1948 to 1950. In August 1953 he reached final of th ...
trailed by just two shots. Palmer had a chance to tie Nicklaus at the 14th, but he missed a 10-footer (3 m) for birdie. Down by one stroke, Palmer bogeyed the next two holes and finished with a final-round 76, four shots behind.
Through six holes of the final round, Kermit Zarley
Kermit Millard Zarley, Jr. (born September 29, 1941) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. He is also an author of several books on Christianity, Jesus, and the Bible.
Biography
Zarley was born ...
was tied for the lead with Nicklaus at 1-over par. Zarley, however, played holes 7–14 with only two pars to go along with five bogeys and a triple-bogey on the par-5 14th to fall to 9-over for the tournament. This stretch of holes included four consecutive bogeys at 7, 8, 9 and 10 and missing very short par putts.
With a three-shot lead over Crampton on the tee of the par-3 17th, Nicklaus hit one of his most famous shots. His 1-iron went directly at the pin, bounced once, struck the flagstick, and settled inches from the hole for a tap-in birdie.[
]
Scorecard
''Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par''
:
Source:[
]
References
External links
USGA Championship Database
{{Golf on ABC
U.S. Open (golf)
Golf tournaments in California
Sports competitions in Monterey County, California
Pebble Beach, California
U.S. Open U.S. Open or US Open are open championship sporting tournaments that are hosted in the United States and in which anyone, especially amateur and professional, or American and non-American, may compete. The term may also be applied to non-sporting ev ...
U.S. Open (golf)
The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open national championship of golf in the United States. It is the third of the four men's major golf championships, and is on the official schedule of both the P ...
U.S. Open (golf)
The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open national championship of golf in the United States. It is the third of the four men's major golf championships, and is on the official schedule of both the P ...
U.S. Open (golf)
The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open national championship of golf in the United States. It is the third of the four men's major golf championships, and is on the official schedule of both the P ...