Palmer’s late charge captures ’60 U.S. Open
Entering the final round of the 1960 U.S. Open, no one gave Arnold Palmer a chance — other than Palmer himself.
Even the 30-year-old’s confidence seemed more like bravado as he reached the first tee at Denver’s Cherry Hills Country Club trailing by seven strokes.
But Palmer had something to prove following a lunchtime exchange with legendary sportswriters Bob Drum and Dan Jenkins.
After carding a lackluster 1-over par 72 during the opening 18 of a 36-hole Saturday marathon, Palmer asked the Pittsburgh-based Drum whether a final-round 65 and 280 total would be enough to win.
“Doesn’t 280 always win the Open?” Palmer said, according to an Associated Press account.
“Yeah, when Hogan shoots it,” Jenkins replied.
Drum’s response: “Won’t do you a damn bit of good.”
Palmer was so mad he couldn’t finish his hamburger, the account read.
One furious lash of his driver quickly changed his frame of mind and began one of Palmer’s famous final-round charges to capture one of the most memorable U.S. Opens in history.
After driving the 346-yard, par-4 first hole and making a stress-free birdie, Palmer went on a tear. He birdied five of the next six holes to set the tone for a stunning comeback.
“I felt a powerful surge of adrenaline,” Palmer recalled, according to Sports Illustrated. “Something big was happening.”
The leaderboard that Colorado afternoon will never be matched.
Joining Palmer, whose skyrocketing popularity would take golf to the masses, were 20-year-old Jack Nicklaus, the embodiment of the game’s future, and 47-year-old icon Ben Hogan, aiming for a record fifth U.S. Open title.
With Arnie’s Army swelling in size and volume with each of its man’s front-nine birdies, Palmer cruised to a 6-under-par 65.
Meanwhile, a pair of threeputts by Nicklaus down the stretch left him two shots back but with an invaluable experience. Nicklaus long has said if he had won, it might have been too much success too soon.
Instead, Nicklaus would go on to win a record 18 major championships, including a record-tying four U.S. Opens.
Hogan’s bid for a fifth U.S. Open ended in cruel fashion for the ailing legend.
Tied for the lead on the par-5 17th hole, Hogan hit his ball onto the green, but it spun back into the water hazard to lead to a bogey. Needing a birdie on the 18th hole to tie Palmer, Hogan again found water en route to a triple-bogey.
Earlier, Palmer had tapped in for a par on the 72nd hole before famously flinging his visor into the sky during the biggest win of the season that solidified his spot at the top of the game.
Palmer had won the Masters two months earlier. While he would fall by one shot in July at the British Open during a bid to win the first three legs of the Grand Slam, Palmer won eight times in 1960.
None was bigger than his first and only win at the national championship.