A look at the good, the bad, the ugly and the champs from 9 U.S. Opens at Oakmont CC
A look back at the nine previous U.S. Opens held at Oakmont Country Club:
1927
The good: The U.S. Open makes its debut at Oakmont.
The bad: There are only two under-par rounds in the tournament.
The ugly: Somebody had to win: Tommy Armour and Harry Cooper go to a playoff tied at 13-over-par.
The champ: Armour wins the war of attrition with a 76 in the 18-hole playoff.
1935
The good: Among the fans is Ed Stimpson, who later invents the Stimpmeter to judge green speeds.
The bad: Only four players break 75 in the final round.
The ugly: Amateur Earl Stokes shoots 93 in the third round.
The champ: Pittsburgh’s Sam Parks Jr. earns his only major title, which also was his only PGA Tour title.
1953
The good: The Open returns to Oakmont after an 18-year absence, brought on, in part, because of World War II.
The bad: Sam Snead trails by only a shot after 54 holes but shoots 76 in the final round as a U.S. Open title continues to elude him.
The ugly: George Fazio trails by two at the midway point but shoots a third-round 77 to fall out of contention.
The champ: Ben Hogan goes wire-to-wire to win his fourth and final Open title.
1962
The good: Latrobe’s Arnold Palmer plays the first of his four U.S. Opens at Oakmont.
The bad: Bob Rosburg ties for the halfway lead but finishes out of the top 10.
The ugly: Amateur Deane Beman — future PGA Tour commissioner — shoots the low round of the tournament: a 67 in the final round. But it follows a third-round 80.
The champ: Jack Nicklaus beats Palmer in a playoff to win the first of his record 18 majors.
1973
The good: Seven-time major winner Sam Snead makes the cut at age 61.
The bad: Another tough near-miss for Palmer. Tied for the 54-hole lead, he shoots 72 in the final round and ties for fourth.
The ugly: Gary Player holds the halfway lead, but seven bogeys lead to a third-round 77.
The champ: Johnny Miller takes the title with his now-legendary final-round 63.
1983
The good: Scott Simpson aces the 16th hole in the first round, the only ace in nine Opens at Oakmont.
The bad: A decade after his 63, Miller shoots 78-76 to miss the cut.
The ugly: Bob Murphy shares the first-round lead but follows his 69 with an 81.
The champ: Larry Nelson shoots 65-67 over the final two rounds to win his second major.
1994
The good: Loren Roberts shoots 69-64 over the middle two rounds.
The bad: Perhaps “bittersweet” is the better word: Palmer plays his final U.S. Open.
The ugly: Temperatures soar to near 100 degrees during the week.
The champ: Ernie Els wins a three-man playoff for his first PGA Tour victory and first of four majors.
2007
The good: Paul Casey produces the low round of the tournament: 66 in the second round.
The bad: The par-3 eighth hole sets a record for longest in a U.S. Open (300 yards).
The ugly: The cut is 10-over.
The champ: Angel Cabrera shoots his second 69 on Sunday to win his first PGA Tour title and first major.
2016
The good: Kevin Na breaks 70 over the final three rounds (68-69-69).
The bad: Tiger Woods is forced to withdraw before the tournament because of an injury.
The ugly: Dustin Johnson is assessed a one-stroke penalty after the fact when his ball moves before he putts on the fifth green.
The champ: Johnson overcomes the hotly debated penalty to win his first major title.
Chuck Curti is a TribLive copy editor and reporter who covers district colleges. A lifelong resident of the Pittsburgh area, he came to the Trib in 2012 after spending nearly 15 years at the Beaver County Times, where he earned two national honors from the Associated Press Sports Editors. He can be reached at ccurti@triblive.com.
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