The 116th edition of the United States Open Golf Championship at Oakmont Country Club outside Pittsburgh is at its midway point. The first 36 holes are in the record books and all those college kids and mini-tour professionals who earned their way into the National Open field are packed up and heading home after encountering the most brutal golf course setup of their careers. Yet there are still another two rounds to be played. Should there turn out to be a tie atop the leader board come Sunday evening, then a Monday morning 18-hole playoff will be on the horizon. There hasn’t been an 18-hole playoff in a grand slam event since 2008.
The United States Open continues to be the only major championship that breaks its 72-hole tie via the 18-hole playoff route the following day. The Masters is finalized at sudden death while a tie in the British Open leads to a four-hole aggregate playoff. The PGA Championship holds a three-hole playoff to break the logjam atop its leader board.
During the earliest days of professional golf in America and England, ties in most tournaments were settled by holding an 18-hole playoff the following day. Long before the era of television, golf tournaments from the turn of the century through the 1950s relied heavily upon the gate. Having a fifth-round playoff on a Monday meant a chance to make more gate money, and if you had the right kind of marquee players involved, golf fans would flock to the tournament site to see the greats of the game up close and personal. In 1928, enormous crowds showed up at Olympia Fields outside Chicago to watch Johnny Farrell defeat amateur great Bobby Jones in an 18-hole playoff. The following year, Jones prevailed at Winged Foot in overtime, beating Al Espinosa. Those 1928 and 1929 playoffs were 36 holes in duration, the predetermined length for the National Open. As an aside, the Jones-Espinosa playoff was over early as Jones went on to win by 23 strokes over 36 holes. Yet an extra day of competitive golf with Bobby Jones certainly helped the USGA’s bank account.
Even in the television era, a great marquee 18-hole playoff can enhance advertising revenues. In 1971, the Open’s 18-hole Monday morning playoff was held at the venerable Merion Golf Club. The combatants, who just so happened to be the Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino, were the top two golfers on the planet in 1971. Nicklaus was in his prime, had dethroned Arnold Palmer as the game’s top dog, and was the product of the country club and college golf. Trevino was from the wrong side of the tracks, enlisted in the Marines, played high-stakes municipal golf, and came right from the caddie yard. Trevino would capture his second National Open championship that Monday afternoon at Merion. His first-tee rubber snake incident would be a popular topic of conversation, and he suddenly had the reputation as the one golfer who could go toe to toe with the Golden Bear.
As we mentioned, the last time the United States Open had to rely upon an 18-hole Monday playoff to determine its champion was in 2008 at Torrey Pines alongside the Pacific Ocean. One of the most entertaining and memorable regulation finishes and its 19-hole playoff was a classic golf story of the star versus the journeyman. It also was all about the star and his fractured leg. On top of that, the golf was epic with a final-hole birdie to jump start the playoff and it concluded on the 91st hole of the Open. In the end, Tiger Woods prevailed over Rocco Mediate to win his 14th major title. It seems like it happened light years ago.
It’s been rare to go eight years between playoffs as is the case today. For instance, from 1927 through 1929 there were three straight years of U.S. Open playoffs and four out of five through 1931. During the 13 years from the turn of the century to Francis Oumet’s stunning playoff win over Ted Ray and Harry Vardon in the 1913 National Open, there were six playoffs. There were five Open playoffs during the 1920s and there were five playoffs from 1939 to 1950, even though the tournament wasn’t played for four years because of World War II.
During golf’s golden age of the 1960s, there was a quartet of National Open playoffs, one more compelling than the others. In 1962, a changing of the guard occurred as rookie Jack Nicklaus defeated hometown hero Arnold Palmer at Oakmont. The following year, the aging Julius Boros won his second National Open after an 11-year period of time, prevailing over Palmer and Jacky Cupit at the Country Club. In 1965, South African Gary Player won his sole U.S. Open in a playoff at Bellerive over Kel Nagle. Nagle is best known for winning the 1960 British Open by one stroke over Arnold Palmer at St. Andrews. Nagle’s 1960 triumph curtailed Palmer’s quest for the grand slam that year, Palmer having already won the Masters and the U.S. Open. The most stunning playoff of the 1960s occurred at San Francisco’s Olympic Club at the 1966 Open. Arnold Palmer carried a seven-stroke lead into the final nine, showed the course management skills of a bogey golfer, and carded a 4-over-par 39. Putting genius Billy Casper made three birdies over the final stretch, shot a 32, and beat Palmer the following day in a playoff. The 1960s at the U.S. Open featured Arnold Palmer as he won in dramatic style in 1960, lost three 18-hole playoffs, and finished second to Nicklaus at Baltusrol in 1967.
During the 1970s and 1980s, there were but two playoffs in the U.S. Open each decade. In 1971 you had the battle of the titans with Trevino and Nicklaus, but you also had the 1975 playoff yawner at Medinah. In sweltering heat, journeyman Lou Graham defeated journeyman John Mahaffey. The 1980s were a whole lot more entertaining. In 1984 Fuzzy Zoeller won the Open at Winged Foot over a dynamic newcomer, namely Greg Norman. In 1988 it was a battle of the game’s top game management professionals as Curtis Strange beat Nick Faldo at the Country Club. It took 91 holes, but in the end Hale Irwin won his third U.S. Open, beating Mike Donald at Medinah. Payne Stewart won his first Open in 1991 at Hazeltine over Scott Simpson, and Ernie Els won at Oakmont in 1994 in oppressive heat, outlasting first Colin Montgomerie, who was greatly affected by the 100-degree temperatures, and finally putting guru Loren Roberts in sudden death. The 2001 Open playoff wasn’t all that memorable either as Retief Goosen beat Mark Brooks at Southern Hills in Tulsa.
The reason I bring all this up is that Oakmont has a history of playoffs with OT wins by Tommy Armour, Nicklaus and Els. Also, there hasn’t been a playoff in eight years, the longest time ever between playoffs. I think there’s a good chance that this U.S. Open has a Monday finish.
