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1968 U.S. Open

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)
Field	149 players, 64 after cut
Cut	148 (+8)
Prize fund	$188,800
Winner's share	$30,000
Champion
Lee Trevino
275 (−5)
← 19671969 →

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. It was also the first win on the PGA Tour for Trevino, age 28.

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, 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. 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.

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 13, 1968

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Bert Yancey	67	−3
T2	Charles Coody	69	−1
	Lee Trevino
T4	Al Balding	70	E
	Don Bies
	Billy Farrell
	John Felus
	Labron Harris Jr.
	Dave Marr
T10	Julius Boros	71	+1
	Gay Brewer
	Bill Collins
	Bruce Devlin
	Gardner Dickinson
	Don January
	Dick Siderowf (a)
	Dan Sikes
	Larry Ziegler

Second round

Friday, June 14, 1968

Place	Player	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	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	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

Source:

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
Trevino	−3	−3	−3	−3	−3	−3	−3	−3	−3	−3	−4	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5
Nicklaus	+2	+2	+1	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1
Yancey	−4	−4	−3	−3	−2	−3	−3	−3	−2	−1	−1	−1	E	−1	−1	E	E	+1
Nichols	+3	+3	+3	+3	+3	+3	+3	+3	+3	+3	+3	+2	+2	+2	+2	+1	+1	+2
Bies	+5	+6	+6	+5	+5	+5	+5	+5	+5	+4	+4	+4	+4	+5	+4	+4	+4	+4
Spray	+9	+10	+9	+8	+8	+7	+8	+9	+9	+8	+8	+7	+7	+6	+5	+4	+4	+4

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Source:

References

1. "Steady Yancey shoots 68, holds 2-stroke Open lead". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. June 15, 1968. p. 13.
2. "U.S. Open history: 1968". USGA. Archived from the original on April 17, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
3. Jenkins, Dan (June 24, 1968). "Eyes right...but wrong". Sports Illustrated. p. 16. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012.
4. ^ 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.
5. 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.
6. "National Open golf scores". Youngstown Vindicator. Associated Press. June 17, 1968. p. 15.
7. ^ "U.S. Open History – 1968". USGA. Retrieved May 20, 2019.

External links

• USGA Championship Database

43°06′47″N 77°31′59″W / 43.113°N 77.533°W / 43.113; -77.533

• U.S. Open (golf)
• Golf tournaments in New York (state)
• Sports competitions in Rochester, New York
• 1968 in golf
• 1968 in American sports
• 1968 in sports in New York (state)
• June 1968 sports events in the United States