1977 U.S. Open (golf)

1977 U.S. Open
Tournament information
Dates	June 16–19, 1977
Location	Tulsa, Oklahoma; 36°04′12″N 95°56′46″W / 36.070°N 95.946°W
Course(s)	Southern Hills Country Club
Organized by	USGA
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	70
Length	6,873 yards (6,285 m)
Field	153 players, 60 after cut
Cut	147 (+7)
Winner's share	$45,000
Champion
	Hubert Green
	278 (−2)
Location map
	Southern Hills CC Location in the United States Southern Hills CC Location in Oklahoma
	← 1976 1978 →

The 1977 U.S. Open was the 77th U.S. Open, held June 16–19 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hubert Green won the first of his two major titles, one stroke ahead of runner-up Lou Graham, the 1975 champion.^[1]^[3]^[4]

Green began the final round with the lead, but 11 players were within three shots. Graham made a charge on the back nine, collecting birdies at 12, 14, 15, and 16 en route to a 68 (−2) and a 279 (−1) total. With four holes to play, Green needed to play even-par to win the championship. As he stepped off the 14th green, however, he was approached by tournament officials and a lieutenant with the Tulsa police, who told him that they had received a phone call threatening to assassinate Green while he played the 15th hole.^[5] Green decided to play on, then proceeded to hit his drive into a tree—which probably saved it from going out of bounds. He managed to hit his approach to 35 feet (11 m) and two-putt for par without incident. Green birdied the 16th and took a two-stroke lead to the 18th tee. Although he struggled on the hole, he managed to make a four-footer for bogey and the victory.^[6]

This year marked the final U.S. Open appearance by Sam Snead, two-time champion Julius Boros, and Tommy Bolt, who had won the 1958 Open at Southern Hills. All three received exemptions by the USGA, and all three missed the cut. This was the first time that the television broadcast of the U.S. Open covered all 18 holes of the final round.^[7]

It was the third major championship at Southern Hills; it previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1958 and the PGA Championship in 1970. The U.S. Open returned in 2001 and the PGA Championship in 1982, 1994, 2007, and 2022.

Course layout

hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Total
Yards	447	459	406	366	614	175	383	215	373	3,438	375	165	444	465	207	407	569	354	449	3,435	6,873
Par	4	4	4	4	5	3	4	3	4	35	4	3	4	4	3	4	5	4	4	35	70

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 16, 1977

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Terry Diehl	69	−1
	Rod Funseth
	Hubert Green
	Grier Jones
	Florentino Molina
	Larry Nelson
	Tom Purtzer
T8	Sam Adams	70	E
	George Burns
	Al Geiberger
	Morris Hatalsky
	Joe Inman
	Steve Melnyk
	Mike Morley
	Don Padgett
	Arnold Palmer
	Bob E. Smith

Second round

Friday, June 17, 1977

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Hubert Green	69-67=136	−4
2	Terry Diehl	69-68=137	−3
3	Tom Purtzer	69-69=138	−2
T4	Sam Adams	70-69=139	−1
	Rod Funseth	69-70=139
	Gary Player	72-67=139
T7	Jay Haas	72-68=140	E
T7	Joe Inman	70-70=140	E
T9	Wally Armstrong	71-70=141	+1
	Andy Bean	71-70=141
	Al Geiberger	70-71=141
	Peter Oosterhuis	71-70=141

Amateurs: Miller (+6), Fought (+7), Zabel (+9), Sander (+14), Choate (+15), Sonnier (+15), Cook (+16), King (+16), Gregg (+20), Rheim (+29).

Third round

Saturday, June 18, 1977

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Hubert Green	69-67-72=208	−2
2	Andy Bean	71-70-68=209	−1
T3	Terry Diehl	69-68-73=210	E
	Gary Jacobson	73-70-67=210
	Don Padgett	70-74-66=210
	Gary Player	72-67-71=210
	Tom Purtzer	69-69-72=210
	Tom Weiskopf	71-71-68=210
T9	Wally Armstrong	71-70-70=211	+1
	Rod Funseth	69-70-72=211
	Lou Graham	72-71-68=211
	Jay Haas	72-68-71=211

Final round

Sunday, June 19, 1977

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Hubert Green	69-67-72-70=278	−2	45,000
2	Lou Graham	72-71-68-68=279	−1	23,500
3	Tom Weiskopf	71-71-68-71=281	+1	16,000
4	Tom Purtzer	69-69-72-72=282	+2	13,000
T5	Jay Haas	72-68-71-72=283	+3	10,875
T5	Gary Jacobson	73-70-67-73=283	+3	10,875
T7	Terry Diehl	69-68-73-74=284	+4	8,000
	Lyn Lott	73-73-68-70=284
	Tom Watson	74-72-71-67=284
T10	Rod Funseth	69-70-72-74=285	+5	4,100
	Al Geiberger	70-71-75-69=285
	Mike McCullough	73-73-69-70=285
	Jack Nicklaus	74-68-71-72=285
	Peter Oosterhuis	71-70-74-70=285
	Gary Player	72-67-71-75=285

Amateurs: Lindy Miller (+19), John Fought (+22)

Scorecard

Final round

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	4	4	4	5	3	4	3	4	4	3	4	4	3	4	5	4	4
Green	−2	−2	−3	−4	−4	−4	−4	−4	−3	−2	−2	−2	−2	−2	−2	−3	−3	−2
Graham	+2	+3	+3	+2	+3	+3	+3	+3	+3	+3	+3	+2	+2	+1	E	−1	−1	−1
Weiskopf	E	+1	+1	+1	+1	+1	+2	+2	+2	+2	+3	+3	+3	+2	+1	E	E	+1
Purtzer	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	+1	+1	+1	+1	+2
Haas	+2	+2	+2	+2	+2	+2	+2	+2	+2	+1	+1	+2	+2	+2	+3	+2	+3	+3
Jacobson	+1	+1	+1	+2	+2	+2	+2	+2	+2	+2	+2	+2	+2	+1	+2	+2	+2	+3
Bean	E	E	E	E	E	+1	+2	+2	+2	+2	+3	+5	+6	+6	+6	+7	+7	+8

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

	Birdie		Bogey		Double bogey

Source:^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b "Green meets pressure test en route to first major win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. June 20, 1977. p. 13.
^ "U.S. open results (second round)". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). Associated Press. June 18, 1977. p. 8A.
^ "Green beats real pressure". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. June 20, 1977. p. 1D.
^ Bunch, Ken (June 20, 1977). "Green beats threats in Open". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.
^ Grimsley, Will (June 17, 1977). "Analysis: Green death threat macabre and warped". Nashua Telegraph. (New Hampshire). Associated Press. p. 22.
^ Jenkins, Dan (June 27, 1977). "Talk about total pressure". Sports Illustrated. p. 14. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014.
^ Lasswell, Doug (June 17, 1977). "U.S. Open coverage to include all 18 holes". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). p. 3E.
^ "U.S. Open History". USGA. Retrieved May 1, 2019.

External links

[spkjn77-1] "Green meets pressure test en route to first major win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. June 20, 1977. p. 13.

[2] "U.S. open results (second round)". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). Associated Press. June 18, 1977. p. 8A.

[gbrp-3] "Green beats real pressure". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. June 20, 1977. p. 1D.

[gbtiop-4] Bunch, Ken (June 20, 1977). "Green beats threats in Open". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.

[grims-5] Grimsley, Will (June 17, 1977). "Analysis: Green death threat macabre and warped". Nashua Telegraph. (New Hampshire). Associated Press. p. 22.

[6] Jenkins, Dan (June 27, 1977). "Talk about total pressure". Sports Illustrated. p. 14. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014.

[alleh-7] Lasswell, Doug (June 17, 1977). "U.S. Open coverage to include all 18 holes". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). p. 3E.

[ldr-8] "U.S. Open History". USGA. Retrieved May 1, 2019.

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