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1971 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	June 17–21, 1971
Location	Ardmore, Pennsylvania
Course(s)	Merion Golf Club, East Course
Organized by	USGA
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	70
Length	6,544 yards (5,984 m)
Field	150 players, 64 after cut
Cut	148 (+8)
Prize fund	$192,200
Winner's share	$30,000
Champion
Lee Trevino
280 (E), playoff
← 19701972 →

The 1971 U.S. Open was the 71st U.S. Open, held June 17–21 at the East Course of Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, a suburb west of Philadelphia. Lee Trevino, the 1968 champion, won his second U.S. Open, defeating Jack Nicklaus by three strokes in an 18-hole playoff. It was the second of Trevino's six major titles and the second of four times in which Nicklaus was the runner-up to Trevino in a major; Nicklaus won his third U.S. Open the following year.

The U.S. Open was just part of an outstanding year for Trevino in 1971 and following this playoff win, his confidence soared. Two weeks later he won the Canadian Open in a playoff; the next week the British Open, and became the first to win those three national opens in the same year; only Tiger Woods has done it since, in 2000. Trevino won six times on tour in 1971 with two majors and was PGA Player of the Year. He was named athlete of the year by the Associated Press and Sporting News, and was the Sports Illustrated "Sportsman of the Year." Trevino was the first to win the U.S. and British Opens in the same year in 18 years, last accomplished by Ben Hogan in 1953. The others were Gene Sarazen in 1932 and amateur Bobby Jones in 1926 and 1930, his grand slam year. Subsequent winners of both were Tom Watson in 1982 and Woods in 2000.

For Jim Simons, a Pennsylvania native entering his senior year at Wake Forest, his fifth-place finish remains the most recent top ten by an amateur at the U.S. Open. It is the best since Nicklaus' tie for fourth in 1961, following his runner-up finish the year before at age 20 in 1960. The last victory by an amateur at any major was at the U.S. Open in 1933, won by Johnny Goodman of Omaha. Bobby Jones won four U.S. Opens as an amateur, the last in 1930 was part of his grand slam.

This was the third U.S. Open played at Merion, which previously hosted in 1934 and 1950. A fourth was played in 1981, and a fifth in 2013.

Course layout

East Course

Source:

Lengths of the course for previous U.S. Opens:

• 1950: 6,694 yards (6,121 m), par 70
• 1934: 6,694 yards (6,121 m), par 70

Before the 1971 championship the course was measured for the first time in decades using more accurate equipment and found the previous yardage of 6694 was incorrect and changed to 6544 yards.

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 17, 1971

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Labron Harris Jr.	67	−3
T2	Bob Goalby	68	−2
	Doug Sanders
	Lanny Wadkins (a)
T5	Jim Colbert	69	−1
	Jack Nicklaus
	Bobby Nichols
T8	Gay Brewer	70	E
	Charles Coody
	Dale Douglass
	Ralph Johnston
	Johnny Miller
	Chi-Chi Rodríguez
	John Schlee
	Leonard Thompson
	Lee Trevino
	Tom Weiskopf

Source:

Second round

Friday, June 18, 1971

Place	Player	Score	To par
T1	Jim Colbert	69-69=138	−2
	Bob Erickson	71-67=138
3	Jerry McGee	72-67=139	−1
4	Gay Brewer	70-70=140	E
T5	Arnold Palmer	73-68=141	+1
	Bruce Devlin	72-69=141
	George Archer	71-70=141
	Chi-Chi Rodríguez	70-71=141
	Bobby Nichols	69-72=141
	Jack Nicklaus	69-72=141

Source:

Third round

Saturday, June 19, 1971

Four strokes back after 36 holes, amateur Simons shot a five-under 65 in the third round, one off the U.S. Open record, to take the 54-hole lead. He got out to a fast start on Saturday, and was five-under for the round after ten holes. Simons played even-par on the last eight and ended with seven birdies and two bogeys to lead Nicklaus by two strokes.

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Jim Simons (a)	71-71-65=207	−3
2	Jack Nicklaus	69-72-68=209	−1
3	Bobby Nichols	69-72-69=210	E
T4	Lee Trevino	70-72-69=211	+1
	George Archer	71-70-70=211
	Jim Colbert	69-69-73=211
	Bob Erickson	71-67-73=211
T8	Ken Still	71-72-69=212	+2
	Larry Hinson	71-71-70=212
	Bruce Devlin	72-69-71=212

Source:

Scorecard

Third round

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	5	3	5	4	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	3	4
Simons	+2	+1	+1	+1	+1	E	E	−1	−2	−3	−3	−2	−3	−3	−3	−4	−3	−3
Nicklaus	E	E	E	E	E	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Birdie

Bogey

Source:

Final round

Sunday, June 20, 1971

In the final pairing with Nicklaus, 21-year-old Simons retained the lead through the first nine holes of the final round, and was one shot back on the 18th tee. Needing a birdie to tie, his tee shot found the thick rough; a double bogey six yielded a 76 and he finished three strokes back in a tie for fifth place. Trevino took the lead with a birdie at 14, but then missed an 8-footer (2.4 m) for par at the last. He backed off before the putt after a disturbance in the gallery. Nicklaus' 15-foot (4.5 m) birdie putt for the win on the 72nd green also narrowly missed, and settled for par to force a Monday afternoon playoff. Bob Rosburg also had a chance to join the playoff with a birdie at the last, but he three-putted for bogey and finished two shots back.

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
T1	Lee Trevino	70-72-69-69=280	E	Playoff
	Jack Nicklaus	69-72-68-71=280
T3	Jim Colbert	69-69-73-71=282	+2	9,000
	Bob Rosburg	71-72-70-69=282
T5	George Archer	71-70-70-72=283	+3	6,500
	Johnny Miller	70-73-70-70=283
	Jim Simons (a)	71-71-65-76=283		0
8	Raymond Floyd	71-75-67-71=284	+4	5,000
T9	Gay Brewer	70-70-73-72=285	+5	3,325
	Larry Hinson	71-71-70-73=285
	Bobby Nichols	69-72-69-75=285
	Bert Yancey	75-69-69-72=285

(a) denotes amateur

Scorecard

Final round

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	5	3	5	4	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	3	4
Trevino	+1	E	E	E	E	E	E	+1	+1	+1	+1	E	E	−1	−1	−1	−1	E
Nicklaus	−1	−1	−1	−2	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E
Simons	−3	−2	−2	−2	−1	−1	−1	−1	−1	E	E	E	E	+1	+1	+1	+1	+3

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Birdie

Bogey

Double bogey

Source:

Playoff

Monday, June 21, 1971

Prior to the playoff, the first at the U.S. Open since 1966, Trevino and Nicklaus, both 31, were involved in a famous incident on the first tee involving a toy rubber snake. Trevino had acquired it at a zoo gift shop and used it earlier in the week along with a pith helmet and hatchet during a whimsical photo shoot emphasizing Merion's thick and penal rough. Hot and humid in the early afternoon, Trevino reached into his golf bag for a fresh glove and came across the snake and took it out to entertain the crowd. Nicklaus then asked him to toss it over, which Trevino did. Nicklaus picked it up, laughed with the crowd, then threw it back to Trevino. It would later be written that Trevino had tossed the snake at Nicklaus in an attempt to unnerve his rival; in reality, Nicklaus was the one who asked him to throw the snake.

When the playoff began, Trevino bogeyed the first hole and Nicklaus took the lead, but then hit two poor bunker shots on the next two, allowing Trevino to open a two-stroke lead. Although Nicklaus cut into the lead several times, to within one stroke as late as the 12th tee, Trevino never relinquished it. He carded a 68 to Nicklaus' 71 to win by three. Nicklaus won his third U.S. Open the following year in 1972 at Pebble Beach, and a record-tying fourth at Baltusrol at age 40 in 1980.

Television coverage by ABC Sports for the Monday playoff was scheduled for just an hour, beginning at 4:30 p.m. EDT. A 35-minute weather delay after the sixth hole allowed for lengthened coverage.

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Lee Trevino	68	−2	30,000
2	Jack Nicklaus	71	+1	15,000

Scorecard

Playoff

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	5	3	5	4	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	3	4
Trevino	+1	+1	+1	+1	+1	+1	+1	E	E	E	E	−1	−1	−1	−2	−2	−2	−2
Nicklaus	E	+1	+3	+3	+2	+2	+2	+2	+1	+2	+1	+1	+1	+1	E	E	+1	+1

Birdie

Bogey

Double bogey

Source:

References

1. ^ "Grimmer-than-usual Lee carves up Jack Nicklaus". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. June 22, 1971. p. 11.
2. "U.S. Open history: 1971". USGA. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
3. ^ Werden, Lincoln A. (June 22, 1971). "No fooling for Trevino in victory over Nicklaus". Milwaukee Journal. (New York Times). p. 11.
4. Jenkins, Dan (June 29, 1971). "Remember the Battle of Merion". Sports Illustrated. p. 12.
5. ^ Shedloski, Dave (June 5, 2013). "Looking Back...1971 U.S. Open at Merion". USGA. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
6. Moss, Marv (July 5, 1971). "Lee charged; Wall came tumbling down". Montreal Gazette. p. 17.
7. "Trevino wins Canadian test". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. July 5, 1971. p. 3B.
8. Jenkins, Dan (July 19, 1971). "Now for the Mexican Open". Sports Illustrated.
9. Harig, Bob (June 10, 2013). "Nicklaus and Trevino: Major history". ESPN. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
10. Kirkpatrick, Curry (December 20, 1971). "Sportsman of the year: a common man with an uncommon touch". Sports Illustrated. p. 34.
11. "1971 U.S. Open: Par and yardage for the 71st U.S. Open" (PDF). Trenham Golf History. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 14, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
12. Loomis, Tom (June 18, 1971). "Surprise leader in Open". Toledo Blade. (Oregon). p. 26.
13. "U.S. Open results (second round)". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. June 19, 1970. p. 10.
14. "Amateur takes open lead". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. June 20, 1971. p. 1C.
15. ^ "Jim Simons leads Open". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. June 20, 1971. p. 1-sports.
16. Loomis, Tom (June 20, 1971). "Amateur fires 65, seizes Open lead". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). p. D-2.
17. ^ Sixty, Billy (June 21, 1971). "Trevino, Nicklaus in playoff". Milwaukee Journal. p. 9.
18. "Jack's tip helped Trevino". Palm Beach Post. Associated Press. June 21, 1971. p. C-3.
19. "Favorite U.S. Open moments: 1971". Golf.com. (photo). June 2010. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
20. "Just who was snakebit in Open? Not Lee" (PDF). Golf World. June 29, 1971. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 14, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
21. Juliano, Joe (April 8, 2013). "Fond memories of Merion from Lee Trevino as U.S. Open approaches". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2013.

External links

• USOpen.com - 1971 Archived June 18, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
• Trenham Golf History Archived June 16, 2013, at the Wayback Machine – 1971 U.S. Open
• You Tube.com - Rubber snake at first tee of playoff

40°00′04″N 75°18′43″W / 40.001°N 75.312°W / 40.001; -75.312

• U.S. Open (golf)
• Golf tournaments in Pennsylvania
• 1971 in golf
• 1971 in American sports
• June 1971 sports events in the United States