1981 U.S. Open (golf)

The 1981 U.S. Open was the 81st U.S. Open, held June 18–21 at the East Course of Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia. David Graham won his second major title and became the first Australian to win the U.S. Open, three strokes ahead of runners-up George Burns and Bill Rogers.^[1][2][3]

1981 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	June 18–21, 1981
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)^[1]
Field	156 players, 70 after cut
Cut	147 (+7)
Prize fund	$361,730
Winner's share	$55,000
Champion
David Graham
273 (−7)
← 1980 1982 →

Merion GC

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Location in the United States

After a first round 66, Jim Thorpe made history as the first African-American since 1896 to lead the U.S. Open.^[4] Burns took a one-stroke lead over Graham with a 66 in the second round, then increased his lead to three strokes after 54 holes.

In the final round on Sunday, Graham shot one of the most precise rounds in U.S. Open history. He hit nearly every green in regulation, missed just one fairway, and recorded four birdies, missing several other opportunities from within 10 feet (3 m). The only bogey was a three-putt at the fifth, after his approach shot stopped above the hole.^[5] After a string of eight pars, Graham finally passed Burns with birdies at the 14th and 15th holes. Graham carded a 67 to Burns' 73 to win by three strokes. Rogers shot 69 to tie Burns for 2nd and won the British Open four weeks later.

This was the fourth U.S. Open played at Merion, all at its East Course. Previous editions were hosted in 1934, 1950, and 1971. At 6,544 yards (5,984 m),^[1] the same length as 1971, it was the shortest U.S. Open course since 1947. With heavy rains softening the course before the tournament, 93 rounds of par 70 or better were recorded. Fifteen players were under par after 36 holes, but only five finished under par for the four rounds. Five more were at even par 280, including defending champion Jack Nicklaus, a four-time winner.

After 1981, the U.S. Open was not played at Merion until 2013.

Course layout

See also: Merion Golf Club

East Course

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Total
Yards	355	535	183	600	426	420	350	360	195	3,424	312	370	405	129	414	378	430	224	458	3,120	6,544
Par	4	5	3	5	4	4	4	4	3	36	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	3	4	34	70

Source:^[6]

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

• 1971: 6,544 yards (5,984 m), par 70
• 1950: 6,694 yards (6,121 m), par 70
• 1934: 6,694 yards (6,121 m), par 70

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Player	Country	Year(s) won	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	To par	Finish
Jack Nicklaus	United States	1962, 1967, 1972, 1980	69	68	71	72	280	E	T6
Johnny Miller	United States	1973	69	71	73	72	285	+5	T23
Gary Player	South Africa	1965	72	72	71	71	286	+6	T26
Jerry Pate	United States	1976	70	69	72	75	286	+6	T26
Hubert Green	United States	1977	69	76	71	72	288	+8	T37
Andy North	United States	1978	73	74	72	71	290	+10	T43
Hale Irwin	United States	1974, 1979	72	75	73	72	292	+12	T58

Missed the cut

Player	Country	Year(s) won	R1	R2	Total	To par
Lee Trevino	United States	1968, 1971	72	76	148	+8
Lou Graham	United States	1975	76	74	150	+10
Arnold Palmer	United States	1960	77	78	155	+15

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 18, 1981

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	Jim Thorpe	United States	66	−4
2	J. C. Snead	United States	67	−3
T3	Bob Ackerman	United States	68	−2
	John Cook	United States
	David Graham	Australia
	Jack Renner	United States
	Chi-Chi Rodríguez	United States
T8	George Burns	United States	69	−1
	Rex Caldwell	United States
	Hubert Green	United States
	Lon Hinkle	United States
	Billy Kratzert	United States
	Johnny Miller	United States
	Jack Nicklaus	United States
	Tommy Valentine	United States

Second round

Friday, June 19, 1981

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	George Burns	United States	69-66=135	−5
2	David Graham	Australia	68-68=136	−4
T3	Jack Nicklaus	United States	69-68=137	−3
	Tommy Valentine	United States	69-68=137
T5	John Cook	United States	68-70=138	−2
	Billy Kratzert	United States	69-69=138
	Greg Norman	Australia	71-67=138
	Bill Rogers	United States	70-68=138
T9	Jerry Pate	United States	70-69=139	−1
	Jack Renner	United States	68-71=139
	John Schroeder	United States	71-68=139
	Scott Simpson	United States	72-67=139
	Jim Thorpe	United States	66-73=139
	Lanny Wadkins	United States	71-68=139
	Tom Watson	United States	70-69=139

Amateurs: Rassett (E), Norton (+8), Pavin (+9), DeFrancesco (+10), White (+10), Sindelar (+11), Faxon (+12), Lawrence (+14), Sanchez (+14), Moore (+15), Mudd (+15), Yokoi (+15), Biancalana (+16), Jones (+16), Ludwig (+16), Magee (+17), Hurter (+21), Brodie (+22).

Third round

Saturday, June 20, 1981

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par
1	George Burns	United States	69-66-68=203	−7
2	David Graham	Australia	68-68-70=206	−4
3	Bill Rogers	United States	70-68-69=207	−3
T4	Jack Nicklaus	United States	69-68-71=208	−2
	Chi-Chi Rodríguez	United States	68-73-67=208
	John Schroeder	United States	71-68-69=208
T7	John Cook	United States	68-70-71=209	−1
	Ben Crenshaw	United States	70-75-64=209
	Jim Thorpe	United States	66-73-70=209
	Tommy Valentine	United States	69-68-72=209

Final round

Sunday, June 21, 1981

Place	Player	Country	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	David Graham	Australia	68-68-70-67=273	−7	55,000
T2	George Burns	United States	69-66-68-73=276	−4	24,650
	Bill Rogers	United States	70-68-69-69=276
T4	John Cook	United States	68-70-71-70=279	−1	16,200
	John Schroeder	United States	71-68-69-71=279
T6	Frank Conner	United States	71-72-69-68=280	E	9,920
	Lon Hinkle	United States	69-71-70-70=280
	Jack Nicklaus	United States	69-68-71-72=280
	Sammy Rachels	United States	70-71-69-70=280
	Chi-Chi Rodríguez	United States	68-73-67-72=280

Amateur: Rassett (+14).

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
Graham	−5	−6	−6	−6	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−6	−7	−7	−7	−7
Burns	−7	−7	−7	−6	−6	−6	−6	−6	−6	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−4	−5	−4
Rogers	−3	−3	−3	−3	−3	−2	−2	−3	−4	−3	−3	−4	−4	−4	−4	−3	−3	−4

Cumulative playoff scores, relative to par

Birdie

Bogey

Source:^[7]

References

1. "Graham conquers Open crew". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. June 22, 1981. p. 17.
2. Jenkins, Dan (June 29, 1981). "Graham didn't crack". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
3. Parascenzo, Marino (June 22, 1981). "Graham wins Open with 7-under". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 21.
4. Lieber, Jill (June 19, 1981). "Thorpe makes his name known with 66 in Open". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1-part 2.
5. Shedloski, Dave (May 14, 2013). . United States Golf Association. Archived from the original on July 24, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
6. "Stat Sheet, Golf: U.S. Open yards and par". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. June 18, 1981. p. 28.
7. "Scoreboard: U.S. Open leader cards". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 22, 1981. p. 26.

External links

• USGA Championship Database
• Trenham Golf History June 16, 2013, at the Wayback Machine – 1981 U.S. Open

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