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1961 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	June 15–17, 1961
Location	Birmingham, Michigan
Course(s)	Oakland Hills Country Club, South Course
Organized by	USGA
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	70
Length	6,907 yards (6,316 m)
Field	149 players, 57 after cut
Cut	149 (+9)
Prize fund	$60,500
Winner's share	$14,000
Champion
Gene Littler
281 (+1)
← 19601962 →

The 1961 U.S. Open was the 61st U.S. Open, held June 15–17 at the South Course of Oakland Hills Country Club in Birmingham, Michigan, a suburb north of Detroit. Gene Littler shot a final round 68 for 281 (+1) to win his sole major title, one stroke ahead of runners-up Bob Goalby and Doug Sanders, the 54-hole leader.

Amateur Jack Nicklaus tied for fourth at age 21, the second of his three consecutive top-4 finishes at the U.S. Open. The runner-up the previous year, he turned professional in November and won the first of four U.S. Open titles the following year. Defending champion Arnold Palmer made the cut on the number at 149 (+9), then shot even-par twice and climbed into a tie for 14th place, eight strokes behind Littler. Four-time champion Ben Hogan also tied for 14th, the only time since 1940 that he was outside the top ten at this major. This course was the site of his third title a decade earlier in 1951, a rare successful defense. Hogan did not enter for five years and made his final U.S. Open appearances in 1966 and 1967.

The South Course previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1924, 1937, and 1951. It later hosted in 1985 and 1996, and the PGA Championship in 1972, 1979, and 2008.

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 15, 1961

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Bobby Brue	69	−1
T2	Tommy Bolt	70	Even
	Bob Goalby
T4	Rex Baxter	71	+1
	Bruce Crampton
	Marty Furgol
	Al Geiberger
	Paul Harney
	Ben Hogan
	Kel Nagle

Source:

Second round

Friday, June 16, 1961

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Bob Rosburg	72-67=139	−1
	Doug Sanders	72-67=139
T3	Bobby Brue	69-72=141	+1
	Gardner Dickinson	72-69=141
	Doug Ford	72-69=141
	Al Geiberger	71-70=141
	Gene Littler	73-68=141
	Eric Monti	74-67=141
T9	Bruce Crampton	71-71=142	+2
	Bob Goalby	70-72=141
	Kel Nagle	71-71=141
	Bob Harris	75-67=141

Source:

Third round

Saturday, June 17, 1961   (morning)

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Doug Sanders	72-67-71=210	Even
T2	Jacky Cupit	72-72-67=211	+1
	Bob Goalby	70-72-69=211
	Mike Souchak	73-70-68=211
T5	Gardner Dickinson	72-69-71=212	+2
	Doug Ford	72-69-71=212
T7	Gene Littler	73-68-72=213	+3
	Eric Monti	74-67-72=213
	Bob Rosburg	72-67-74=213
T10	Bobby Brue	69-72-73=214	+4
	Dow Finsterwald	72-71-71=214
	Al Geiberger	71-70-73=214
	Jack Nicklaus (a)	75-69-70=214

(a) denotes amateur

Source:

Final round

Saturday, June 17, 1961   (afternoon)

At the start of the final round on Saturday afternoon, Littler was at 213 (+3), three strokes behind 54-hole leader Sanders. After a 34 on the front-nine, Littler tied for the lead with a birdie at 11. With a birdie at 13 combined with a Sanders bogey at the same hole, Littler was two strokes ahead. Sanders rebounded with a birdie at 16 to move within one. As Littler and Sanders reached the 18th, Goalby had already posted a 282 total, two off the pace. Littler needed no worse than bogey to get in ahead of Goalby, and that is what he shot, recording his lone bogey of the round for a 68 and a 281 total. Sanders, meanwhile, narrowly missed a birdie putt at 17, then almost chipped in for birdie at the last that would have forced a Sunday playoff. Sanders' putter cost him the championship, as he three-putted five of the last 36 greens. (He later missed a short putt to win The Open Championship in 1970.) Littler was the only player to break par twice.

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Gene Littler	73-68-72-68=281	+1	14,000
T2	Bob Goalby	70-72-69-71=282	+2	6,000
	Doug Sanders	72-67-71-72=282
T4	Jack Nicklaus (a)	75-69-70-70=284	+4	0
	Mike Souchak	73-70-68-73=284		4,000
T6	Dow Finsterwald	72-71-71-72=286	+6	2,616
	Doug Ford	72-69-71-74=286
	Eric Monti	74-67-72-73=286
T9	Jacky Cupit	72-72-67-76=287	+7	1,750
	Gardner Dickinson	72-69-71-75=287
	Gary Player	75-72-69-71=287

(a) denotes amateur

Source:

References

1. "Palmer, Player top Open field". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. June 15, 1961. p. 7-part 2.
2. ^ "Open lead's shared by Rosburg, Sanders". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. June 17, 1961. p. 8.
3. "U.S. Open history: 1961". USGA. Archived from the original on June 7, 2012. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
4. ^ Bartlett, Charles (June 18, 1961). "Gene Littler takes Open with 281". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, sec. 2.
5. ^ Weiss, Don (June 18, 1961). "Gene Littler charges to U.S. Open victory". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press.
6. ^ Wright, Alfred (June 26, 1961). "Littler eases to a hard win". Sports Illustrated. p. 10.
7. ^ Bartlett, Charles (June 17, 1961). "Sanders ties Rosburg in U.S. Open". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, sec. 5.
8. ""Little Boy Brue's" putter true; leads Open after scrambling 69". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. June 16, 1961. p. 16.
9. Bartlett, Charles (June 16, 1961). "Bobby Brue takes Open lead". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, sec. 4.

External links

• USGA Championship Database
• USOpen.com – 1961

42°32′38″N 83°16′37″W / 42.544°N 83.277°W / 42.544; -83.277

• U.S. Open (golf)
• Golf tournaments in Michigan
• Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
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• June 1961 sports events in the United States