| 1981 U.S. Open | |
Hitting fairways and greens, that's the simple method David Graham used to win the 1981 U.S. Open. Graham trailed third-round leader George Burns by three strokes entering the final round, but then shot 67 to Burns' 73 to win by three. Burns shared second place with Bill Rogers.
Graham became the first Australian golfer to win the U.S. Open. It was his second major, after the 1979 PGA Championship, and the seventh of his eight career wins on the USPGA Tour.
The first-round leader was Jim Thorpe, who became the first African-American golfer ever to lead a U.S. Open. Chi Chi Rodriguez finished tied for sixth, his best showing in any major and one of just four Top 10 finishes in majors for Rodriguez.
1981 U.S. Open Golf Tournament Scores
Results from the 1981 U.S. Open golf tournament played on the par-70 East Course of Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania (a-amateur):
| David Graham | 68-68-70-67--273 | $55,000 |
| Bill Rogers | 70-68-69-69--276 | $24,650 |
| George Burns | 69-66-68-73--276 | $24,650 |
| John Cook | 68-70-71-70--279 | $16,200 |
| John Schroeder | 71-68-69-71--279 | $16,200 |
| Lon Hinkle | 69-71-70-70--280 | $9,920 |
| Sammy Rachels | 70-71-69-70--280 | $9,920 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 69-68-71-72--280 | $9,920 |
| Frank Conner | 71-72-69-68--280 | $9,920 |
| Chi Chi Rodriguez | 68-73-67-72--280 | $9,920 |
| Isao Aoki | 72-71-71-67--281 | $5,500 |
| Jim Thorpe | 66-73-70-72--281 | $5,500 |
| Ben Crenshaw | 70-75-64-72--281 | $5,500 |
| Lanny Wadkins | 71-68-72-71--282 | $3,616 |
| Mark Hayes | 71-70-72-69--282 | $3,616 |
| Calvin Peete | 73-72-67-70--282 | $3,616 |
| Bruce Lietzke | 70-71-71-71--283 | $2,950 |
| Jack Renner | 68-71-72-72--283 | $2,950 |
| Curtis Strange | 71-69-72-71--283 | $2,950 |
| Mike Reid | 71-72-69-72--284 | $2,550 |
| Larry Nelson | 70-73-69-72--284 | $2,550 |
| Tom Kite | 73-74-67-70--284 | $2,550 |
| Johnny Miller | 69-71-73-72--285 | $2,350 |
| Tom Watson | 70-69-73-73--285 | $2,350 |
| Scott Simpson | 72-67-71-75--285 | $2,350 |
| Gary Player | 72-72-71-71--286 | $2,100 |
| Bruce Devlin | 73-71-70-72--286 | $2,100 |
| Jerry Pate | 70-69-72-75--286 | $2,100 |
| Rik Massengale | 70-75-70-71--286 | $2,100 |
| Craig Stadler | 71-76-68-71--286 | $2,100 |
| Tommy Valentine | 69-68-72-77--286 | $2,100 |
| Jim Colbert | 71-69-77-69--286 | $2,100 |
| Lee Elder | 72-74-71-70--287 | $1,827 |
| Billy Kratzert | 69-69-73-76--287 | $1,827 |
| Greg Norman | 71-67-73-76--287 | $1,827 |
| J.C. Snead | 67-77-73-70--287 | $1,827 |
| Peter Jacobsen | 71-74-71-72--288 | $1,660 |
| Forrest Fezler | 70-72-71-75--288 | $1,660 |
| Raymond Floyd | 75-72-68-73--288 | $1,660 |
| Hubert Green | 69-76-71-72--288 | $1,660 |
| Roger Maltbie | 71-74-74-70--289 | $1,570 |
| Seve Ballesteros | 73-69-72-75--289 | $1,570 |
| Andy North | 73-74-72-71--290 | $1,453 |
| Keith Fergus | 74-71-73-72--290 | $1,453 |
| Tim Simpson | 70-75-74-71--290 | $1,453 |
| D.A. Weibring | 71-72-72-75--290 | $1,453 |
| Leonard Thompson | 75-71-74-70--290 | $1,453 |
| Thomas Gray | 75-72-73-70--290 | $1,453 |
| Mike Peck | 76-68-71-75--290 | $1,453 |
| Bobby Wadkins | 70-72-71-77--290 | $1,453 |
| Mick Soli | 77-69-72-72--290 | $1,453 |
| Bob Ackerman | 68-78-71-73--290 | $1,453 |
| Steve Melnyk | 70-75-73-73--291 | $1,350 |
| Mark McNulty | 72-69-75-75--291 | $1,350 |
| Jim Nelford | 74-73-69-75--291 | $1,350 |
| Gary Hallberg | 70-77-69-75--291 | $1,350 |
| Bobby Nichols | 71-71-78-71--291 | $1,350 |
| Greg Powers | 73-73-72-74--292 | $1,310 |
| Ray Carrasco | 74-71-73-74--292 | $1,310 |
| Hale Irwin | 72-75-73-72--292 | $1,310 |
| Joe Hager | 74-73-77-68--292 | $1,310 |
| George Archer | 76-69-70-77--292 | $1,310 |
| Jim Simons | 78-69-67-78--292 | $1,310 |
| Charlie Gibson | 75-72-71-75--293 | $1,300 |
| Bill Pelham | 73-73-73-75--294 | $1,300 |
| Morris Hatalsky | 71-76-72-75--294 | $1,300 |
| a-Joey Rassett | 70-70-78-76--294 | |
| Dave Barr | 74-72-73-76--295 | $1,300 |
| Mark Lye | 70-72-76-78--296 | $1,300 |
| Kip Byrne | 74-72-79-75--300 | $1,300 |
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 FAQ
• U.S. Open Index on About.com
