1964 U.S. Open (golf)

1964 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJune 18–20, 1964
LocationBethesda, Maryland
Course(s)Congressional Country Club
Blue Course
Organized byUSGA
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par70
Length7,053 yards (6,449 m)[1]
Field150 players, 55 after cut
Cut150 (+10)
Winner's share$17,000[2]
Champion
Ken Venturi
278 (−2)
Congressional 
Country Club
Location in the United States
Congressional 
Country Club
Location in Maryland

The 1964 U.S. Open was the 64th U.S. Open, held June 18–20 at the Blue Course of Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, a suburb northwest of Washington, D.C. Ken Venturi won his only major title, four strokes ahead of runner-up Tommy Jacobs.[3][4][5][6]

Jacobs held the 36-hole lead after shooting a 64 (−6) in the second round,[7] tying the U.S. Open record at the time for a round, set by Lee Mackey in 1950.[8] In the third round on Saturday morning, he carded an even-par 70 and retained the lead after 54 holes, two strokes ahead of Venturi, who made up four shots with a 66 (−4). Masters champion Arnold Palmer had led after the first round,[9] but hopes of a grand slam faded with a 75 in the third.

Before the final round began on Saturday afternoon, Venturi was advised by doctors to withdraw from the tournament. He was suffering dehydration due to an oppressive heat wave and had to take treatments with tea and salt tablets in between rounds. To play the final round, doctors warned, was to risk heat stroke.[6] Venturi, however, ignored the advice and played on, then shot a 70 to Jacobs' 76 to claim a four-stroke victory. Venturi's score of 206 over the final 54 holes set a new U.S. Open record, as did his score of 136 over the last 36. The win was his first on tour in four years.

Future champion Raymond Floyd made his U.S. Open debut this year at age 21 and finished in 14th place. He played the final two rounds on Saturday with Venturi. This was the last time the championship was scheduled for three days (the final two rounds scheduled on Saturday); the next year it was expanded to four days, concluding on Sunday.

The Blue Course at Congressional was the longest in U.S. Open history to date, at 7,053 yards (6,449 m).[10] A lack of rainfall in the previous six weeks reduced its effective length, and it played firm and fast.[11]

Course layout

Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Yards 405 195 459 423 408 456 168 362 599 3,475 459 399 188 448 434 564 211 410 465 3,578 7,053
Par 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 5 35 4 4 3 4 4 5 3 4 4 35 70

Source:[12][13]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 18, 1964

Place Player Score To par
1 Arnold Palmer 68 −2
2 Bill Collins 70 E
T3 William Campbell (a) 71 +1
Billy Casper
Tony Lema
Johnny Pott
Joe Zakarian
T8 Bob Charles 72 +2
Bruce Crampton
Richard Crawford
Ed Furgol
Labron Harris
Tommy Jacobs
Billy Martindale
Stan Mosel
Bobby Nichols
Jack Nicklaus
Bob Panasiuk
Paul Scodeller
Charlie Sifford
Ken Venturi

Source:[14]

Second round

Friday, June 19, 1964

Place Player Score To par
1 Tommy Jacobs 72-64=136 −4
2 Arnold Palmer 68-69=137 −3
3 Bill Collins 70-71=141 +1
T4 Charlie Sifford 72-70=142 +2
Ken Venturi 72-70=142
T6 Bruce Crampton 72-71=143 +3
Raymond Floyd 73-70=143
Tony Lema 71-72=143
T9 William Campbell (a) 71-73=144 +4
Bob Charles 72-72=144
Al Geiberger 74-70=144
Gene Littler 73-71=144
Bobby Nichols 72-72=144
Johnny Pott 71-73=144

Source:[8][7]

Third round

Saturday, June 20, 1964  (morning)

Place Player Score To par
1 Tommy Jacobs 72-64-70=206 −4
2 Ken Venturi 72-70-66=208 −2
3 Arnold Palmer 68-69-75=212 +2
4 Billy Casper 71-74-69=214 +4
T5 Bob Charles 72-72-71=215 +5
Bill Collins 70-71-74=215
Raymond Floyd 73-70-72=215
T8 Dow Finsterwald 73-72-71=216 +6
Bob Rosburg 73-73-70=216
10 Johnny Pott 71-73-73=217 +7

Source:[3][4]

Final round

Saturday, June 20, 1964  (afternoon)

Place Player Score To par Money ($)
1 Ken Venturi 72-70-66-70=278 −2 17,000
2 Tommy Jacobs 72-64-70-76=282 +2 8,500
3 Bob Charles 72-72-71-68=283 +3 6,000
4 Billy Casper 71-74-69-71=285 +5 5,000
T5 Gay Brewer 76-69-73-68=286 +6 3,750
Arnold Palmer 68-69-75-74=286
7 Bill Collins 70-71-74-72=287 +7 3,000
8 Dow Finsterwald 73-72-71-72=288 +8 2,500
T9 Johnny Pott 71-73-73-72=289 +9 1,950
Bob Rosburg 73-73-70-73=289

Source:[3][4][5]

Scorecard

Final round

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

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Birdie Bogey Double bogey

Source:[15]

Video

References

  1. ^ Wright, Alfred (June 29, 1964). "'Poor Ken' hits it rich again". Sports Illustrated. p. 12.
  2. ^ Gundelfinger, Phil Jr. (June 22, 1964). "Ken Venturi fulfills golfdom's prophecy". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 23.
  3. ^ a b c "Venturi wins Open tourney on comeback". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. June 21, 1964. p. 2B.
  4. ^ a b c Bartlett, Charles (June 21, 1964). "Exhausted Ken Venturi Open champ". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, section 2.
  5. ^ a b "Venturi beats heats, wins U.S. Open". Sunday Star-News. Wilmington, North Carolina. UPI. June 21, 1964. p. 1C.
  6. ^ a b Shedloski, Dave (May 29, 2011). "Californian overcomes heat exhaustion on steamy 36-hole marathon final day at Congressional C.C." USGA. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Bartlett, Charles (June 20, 1964). "Jacobs passes Palmer on 64 in Open!". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, section 2.
  8. ^ a b Gundelfinger, Phil (June 20, 1964). "Jacobs passes Arnie, shoots blistering 64". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 1.
  9. ^ Gundelfinger, Phil (June 19, 1964). "Palmer fires 2-under 68, leads Open". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 1.
  10. ^ "Palmer 198 holes from golf's Slam". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. June 19, 1964. p. 2B.
  11. ^ Gundelfinger, Phil (June 18, 1964). "Congressional set to resist golfing fraternity in 'Open'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 30.
  12. ^ Bartlett, Charles (June 14, 1964). "Hole-by-hole of U.S. Open site". Chicago Tribune. p. 3, section 2.
  13. ^ Wright, Alfred (June 15, 1964). "Congressional: where a small splash will cost big money". Sports Illustrated. p. 38.
  14. ^ "National Open scoreboard". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 19, 1964. p. 21.
  15. ^ "U.S. Open History". USGA. Retrieved April 4, 2020.


38°57′58″N 77°10′35″W / 38.966°N 77.1765°W / 38.966; -77.1765