| 1972 U.S. Open | |
The 1972 U.S. Open was the first U.S. Open ever played at Pebble Beach Golf Links. So it's only appropriate that it was won by Jack Nicklaus, who has since stated that if he had only one round of golf left to play, he'd choose Pebble Beach as the course to play it on.
"... In the final round, a double-bogey 6 left (Nicklaus) just two strokes in front of Arnold Palmer. A key moment came as Nicklaus stood over an 8-foot bogey putt at the par-3 12th right at the time Palmer lined up a 10-foot birdie at 14. Nicklaus converted and Palmer didn’t. Not realizing he trailed by only one shot, Palmer played too aggressively over the next two holes and bogeyed each one to eventually finish with a 4-over 76, four strokes off Nicklaus’ winning score."
Nicklaus' last pursuer was Bruce Crampton, but Nicklaus finished off the win with what many consider one of the best shots in U.S. Open history. On the tee at the par-3 17th, Nicklaus held a three-stroke lead. He removed any doubt about the win by carving a 1-iron through the wind. The ball hit the green, bounced once, and struck the flagstick, settling inches away.
The fourth-round scoring average for the field was 78.8, the highest final-round scoring average in the post-World War II era. Nicklaus' winning total of 290 is the second-highest winning total since World War II.
It was Nicklaus' third U.S. Open victory, and his 11th professional major championship. Counting his two U.S. Amateur wins, it was Nicklaus' 13th combined (amateur and pro) win in a major, tying Bobby Jones' then-record.
1972 U.S. Open Scores
Results from the 1972 U.S. Open golf tournament played at the par-72 Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif. (a-amateur):
| Jack Nicklaus | 71-73-72-74--290 | $30,000 |
| Bruce Crampton | 74-70-73-76--293 | $15,000 |
| Arnold Palmer | 77-68-73-76--294 | $10,000 |
| Homero Blancas | 74-70-76-75--295 | $7,500 |
| Lee Trevino | 74-72-71-78--295 | $7,500 |
| Kermit Zarley | 71-73-73-79--296 | $6,000 |
| Johnny Miller | 74-73-71-79--297 | $5,000 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 73-74-73-78--298 | $4,000 |
| Chi Chi Rodriguez | 71-75-78-75--299 | $3,250 |
| Cesar Sanudo | 72-72-78-77--299 | $3,250 |
| Billy Casper | 74-73-79-74--300 | $2,500 |
| Don January | 76-71-74-79--300 | $2,500 |
| Bobby Nichols | 77-74-72-77--300 | $2,500 |
| Bert Yancey | 75-79-70-76--300 | $2,500 |
| Don Massengale | 72-81-70-78--301 | $1,900 |
| Orville Moody | 71-77-79-74--301 | $1,900 |
| Gary Player | 72-74-75-80--301 | $1,900 |
| a-Jim Simons | 75-75-79-72--301 | |
| Lou Graham | 75-73-75-79--302 | $1,750 |
| a-Tom Kite | 75-73-79-75--302 | |
| Al Geiberger | 80-74-76-73--303 | $1,625 |
| Paul Harney | 79-72-75-77--303 | $1,625 |
| Bobby Mitchell | 74-80-73-76--303 | $1,625 |
| Charles Sifford | 79-74-72-78--303 | $1,625 |
| Gay Brewer | 77-77-72-78--304 | $1,427 |
| Rod Funseth | 73-73-84-74--304 | $1,427 |
| Lanny Wadkins | 76-68-79-81--304 | $1,427 |
| Jim Wiechers | 74-79-69-82--304 | $1,427 |
| Miller Barber | 76-76-73-80--305 | $1,217 |
| Julius Boros | 77-77-74-77-- 305 | $1,217 |
| Dave Eichelberger | 76-71-80-78--305 | $1,217 |
| Lee Elder | 75-71-79-80--305 | $1,217 |
| Jerry Heard | 73-74-77-81--305 | $1,217 |
| Dave Hill | 74-78-74-79--305 | $1,217 |
| Tom Watson | 74-79-76-76--305 | $1,217 |
| Brian Allin | 75-76-77-78--306 | $1,090 |
| Larry Hinson | 78-73-72-83--306 | $1,090 |
| Hale Irwin | 78-72-73-83--306 | $1,090 |
| Barry Jaeckel | 78-69-82-77--306 | $1,090 |
| Ron Cerrudo | 77-77-76-77--307 | $994 |
| Tony Jacklin | 75-78-71-83--307 | $994 |
| Jerry McGee | 79-72-71-85--307 | $994 |
| George Rives | 80-73-79-75--307 | $994 |
| Mason Rudolph | 71-80-86-70--307 | $994 |
| Tom Shaw | 71-79-80-77--307 | $994 |
| Billy Ziobro | 76-77-77-77--307 | $994 |
| Bobby Cole | 72-76-79-81--308 | $930 |
| Gibby Gilbert | 77-77-77-77--308 | $930 |
| David Graham | 77-77-79-75--308 | $930 |
| Ron Letellier | 75-77-74-82--308 | $930 |
| John Schroeder | 78-75-75-80--308 | $930 |
| Mike Butler | 78-73-77-81--309 | $890 |
| Tom Jenkins | 73-80-75-81--309 | $890 |
| Ralph Johnston | 74-72-79-84--309 | $890 |
| Tommy Aaron | 76-76-77-81--310 | $835 |
| Martin Bohen | 77-76-77-80--310 | $835 |
| Bob Brue | 77-75-79-79--310 | $835 |
| Tim Collins | 79-71-81-79--310 | $835 |
| Hubert Green | 75-76-78-81--310 | $835 |
| Bobby Greenwood | 77-75-72-86--310 | $835 |
| Jim Hardy | 78-76-79-77--310 | $835 |
| Mike Hill | 75-77-75-83--310 | $835 |
| Jim Colbert | 74-79-76-82--311 | $800 |
| Bob Murphy | 79-74-83-75--311 | $800 |
| George Archer | 74-74-77-87--312 | $800 |
| Bruce Devlin | 75-78-74-85--312 | $800 |
| Dick Hendrickson | 80-74-79-82--315 | $800 |
| Austin Straub | 76-77-75-87--315 | $800 |
| Dwight Nevil | 76-77-81-82--316 | $800 |
| a-Dan O'Neill | 78-76-77-86--317 |
Back to list of U.S. Open Winners
Related Articles
More on the U.S. Open
• Masters Winners
• British Open Winners
• PGA Championship Winners
• U.S. Open Records
• U.S. Open FAQs
• U.S. Open Index on About.com
