1968 U.S. Open (golf)
The 1968 U.S. Open was the 68th U.S. Open, held June 13–16 at the East Course of Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. Lee Trevino equaled the tournament scoring record and won the first of his six major titles, four strokes ahead of runner-up Jack Nicklaus.[3][4] It was also the first win on the PGA Tour for Trevino, age 28.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | June 13–16, 1968 |
| Location | Rochester, New York |
| Course(s) | Oak Hill Country Club East Course |
| Organized by | USGA |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 70 |
| Length | 6,962 yards (6,366 m)[1] |
| Field | 149 players, 64 after cut |
| Cut | 148 (+8) |
| Prize fund | $188,800[2] |
| Winner's share | $30,000 |
| Champion | |
 | |
| 275 (−5) | |
This was the second of three U.S. Opens at the East Course; Cary Middlecoff won the first in 1956 and Curtis Strange successfully defended in 1989. It also hosted the PGA Championship in 1980, 2003, and 2013, and the Ryder Cup in 1995.
Final round
Bert Yancey held the 54-hole lead after a tournament record 205 (−5) in the first three rounds. Trevino was a stroke behind at 206, after three rounds in the 60s, and made par saves at 5 and 6. After Yancey bogeyed the 5th, Trevino took the lead, then recorded birdies at 11 and 12, while Yancey bogeyed the 11th to fall out of contention. Nicklaus started the round seven strokes back at 212 (+2); he got two quick birdies, but did not record another until the 14th, by which time Trevino already had a commanding lead. Trevino's total of 275 tied the tournament record that Nicklaus established the year before at Baltusrol; his four rounds in the 60s was a tournament first,[4] and did not happen again for a quarter century, until Lee Janzen won at Baltusrol in 1993. It was also the first of Trevino's 29 victories on the PGA Tour.[5] Of Trevino's six major victories, Nicklaus was the runner-up four times.
Sam Snead, age 56, finished in a tie for 9th place, his final top-10 finish at the U.S. Open.
Past champions in the field
Made the cut
| Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Nicklaus | | 1962, 1967 | 72 | 70 | 70 | 67 | 279 | −1 | 2 |
| Billy Casper | | 1959, 1966 | 75 | 68 | 71 | 72 | 286 | +6 | T9 |
| Julius Boros | | 1952, 1963 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 75 | 288 | +8 | T16 |
| Gary Player | .svg.png){kind=small} | 1965 | 76 | 69 | 70 | 73 | 288 | +8 | T16 |
| Arnold Palmer | | 1960 | 73 | 74 | 79 | 75 | 301 | +21 | 59 |
Missed the cut
| Player | Country | Year won | R1 | R2 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Venturi | | 1964 | 79 | 74 | 153 | +13 |
Source:[1]
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, June 13, 1968
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bert Yancey | | 67 | −3 |
| T2 | Charles Coody | | 69 | −1 |
| Lee Trevino | | |||
| T4 | Al Balding | .svg.png){kind=small} | 70 | E |
| Don Bies | | |||
| Billy Farrell | | |||
| John Felus | | |||
| Labron Harris Jr. | | |||
| Dave Marr | | |||
| T10 | Julius Boros | | 71 | +1 |
| Gay Brewer | | |||
| Bill Collins | | |||
| Bruce Devlin | .svg.png){kind=small} | |||
| Gardner Dickinson | | |||
| Don January | | |||
| Dick Siderowf (a) | | |||
| Dan Sikes | | |||
| Larry Ziegler | |
Second round
Friday, June 14, 1968
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bert Yancey | | 67-68=135 | −5 |
| 2 | Lee Trevino | | 69-68=137 | −3 |
| T3 | Don Bies | | 70-70=140 | E |
| Charles Coody | | 69-71=140 | ||
| Bruce Devlin | | 71-69=140 | ||
| Jerry Pittman | | 73-67=140 | ||
| T7 | Miller Barber | | 74-68=142 | +2 |
| Julius Boros | | 71-71=142 | ||
| Gay Brewer | | 71-71=142 | ||
| Bob Charles |  | 73-69=142 | ||
| Billy Farrell | | 70-72=142 | ||
| Labron Harris Jr. | | 70-72=142 | ||
| Dave Hill | | 74-68=142 | ||
| Dave Marr | | 70-72=142 | ||
| Jack Nicklaus | | 72-70=142 | ||
| Dan Sikes | | 71-71=142 | ||
| Larry Ziegler | | 71-71=142 |
Third round
Saturday, June 15, 1968
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bert Yancey | | 67-68-70=205 | −5 |
| 2 | Lee Trevino | | 69-68-69=206 | −4 |
| T3 | Charles Coody | | 69-71-72=212 | +2 |
| Jack Nicklaus | | 72-70-70=212 | ||
| T5 | Julius Boros | | 71-71-71=213 | +3 |
| Bobby Nichols | | 74-71-68=213 | ||
| T7 | Billy Casper | | 75-68-71=214 | +4 |
| Bob Charles | | 73-69-72=214 | ||
| Al Geiberger | | 72-74-68=214 | ||
| Jerry Pittman | | 73-67-74=214 | ||
| Dave Stockton | | 72-73-69=214 |
Final round
Sunday, June 16, 1968
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee Trevino | | 69-68-69-69=275 | −5 | 30,000 |
| 2 | Jack Nicklaus | | 72-70-70-67=279 | −1 | 15,000 |
| 3 | Bert Yancey | | 67-68-70-76=281 | +1 | 10,000 |
| 4 | Bobby Nichols | | 74-71-68-69=282 | +2 | 7,500 |
| T5 | Don Bies | | 70-70-75-69=284 | +4 | 5,500 |
| Steve Spray | | 73-75-71-65=284 | |||
| T7 | Bob Charles | | 73-69-72-71=285 | +5 | 3,750 |
| Jerry Pittman | | 73-67-74-71=285 | |||
| T9 | Gay Brewer | | 71-71-75-69=286 | +6 | 2,516 |
| Billy Casper | | 75-68-71-72=286 | |||
| Bruce Devlin | | 71-69-75-71=286 | |||
| Al Geiberger | | 72-74-68-72=286 | |||
| Sam Snead | | 73-71-74-68=286 | |||
| Dave Stockton | | 72-73-69-72=286 |
Scorecard
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −4 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 |
| +2 | +2 | +1 | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | −1 | −1 | −1 | −1 | −1 |
| −4 | −4 | −3 | −3 | −2 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −2 | −1 | −1 | −1 | E | −1 | −1 | E | E | +1 |
| +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +2 |
| +5 | +6 | +6 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +5 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 |
| +9 | +10 | +9 | +8 | +8 | +7 | +8 | +9 | +9 | +8 | +8 | +7 | +7 | +6 | +5 | +4 | +4 | +4 |
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
| Birdie | Bogey |
Source:[7]
References
- "Steady Yancey shoots 68, holds 2-stroke Open lead". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. June 15, 1968. p. 13.
- "U.S. Open history: 1968". USGA. Archived from the original on April 17, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- Jenkins, Dan (June 24, 1968). "Eyes right...but wrong". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
- Grimsley, Will (June 17, 1968). "Trevino's 4 subpar rounds set mark in Open victory; 275 total ties another". Youngstown Vindicator. Associated Press. p. 15.
- Stambaugh, Phil (July 29, 2013). "Q&A: Lee Trevino on historic win at Oak Hill". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on August 10, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
- "National Open golf scores". Youngstown Vindicator. Associated Press. June 17, 1968. p. 15.
- "U.S. Open History – 1968". USGA. Retrieved May 20, 2019.