FOUR decades ago David Graham became the first Australian to win the US Open when he finished three strokes clear of Americans Bill Rogers and George Burns on the East Course of Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.
For the record, Graham fired rounds of 68-68-70-67 for a 273 total – seven-under par.
His final round 67 was brilliant as he missed only one fairway and hit 18 greens in regulation, which impressed the great Ben Hogan who said Graham’s final round was “near perfection”.
Since then, only one other Australian has won the US Open – Geoff Ogilvy in 2006.
Ogilvy carded consistent rounds of 71-70-72-72 – 285 (five-over par) to finish one stroke ahead of Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk and Colin Montgomerie.
This year’s championship will be played at The Country Club, Brookline, Massachusetts from June 16-19. Spain’s Jon Rahm is the defending champion.
At the time of writing, Rahm was the bookies favourite at 11/1 followed by Collin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler at 13/1.
Cam Smith leads the charge for Australia and is at 19/1 followed by Jason Day 51/1, Adam Scott and Marc Leishman at 67/1 and Matt Jones at 201/1.
US OPEN STATISTICS
AUSSIE WINNERS
David Graham 1981
Geoff Ogilvy 2006
AUSSIE RUNNER-UPS
Kel Nagle – 1965 to Gary Player
Bruce Crampton – 1972 to Jack Nicklaus
Greg Norman – 1984-’95 to Fuzzy Zoeller, Corey Pavin
Stephen Leaney – 2003 to Jim Furyk
Jason Day – 2011-’13 to Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose
MOST VICTORIES
Willie Anderson – (4) 1901-’03-’04-’05
Bobby Jones – (4) 1923-’26-’29-’30
Ben Hogan – (4) 1948-’50-’51 ’53
Jack Nicklaus – (4) 1962-’67-’72-’80
Hale Irwin – (3) 1974-79-90
Tiger Woods – (3) 2000-02-08
TWO-TIME CHAMPIONS
16 players have won two titles – Alex Smith (1906-10); John McDermott (1911-12); Walter Hagen (1914-19); Gene Sarazen (1922-32); Ralph Guldahl (1937-38); Cary Middlecoff (1949-56); Julius Boros (1952-63); Billy Caster (1959-66); Lee Trevino (1968-71); Andy North (1978-85); Ernie Els (1994-97); Lee Janzen (1993-98); Payne Stewart (1991-99); Retief Goosen (2001-04) and Brooks Koepka (2017-19).
MOST RUNNER-UP FINISHESS
Phil Mickelson (6) 1999-2002-,’04-’06-’09-’13
MOST CONSECUTIVE STARTS
Jack Nicklaus 44 from 1957 to 2000
MOST CONSECUTIVE ATTEMPTS IN TOP 10
Ben Hogan (15) 1940-1960
MOST CONSECUTIVE ATTEMPTS IN TOP 2
Bobby Jones (5) 1922–1926
OLDEST CHAMPION
Hale Irwin 1990 45 years, 15 days
YOUNGEST CHAMPION
John McDermott 1911 19 years, 315 days
FIRST CHAMPION
Horace Rawlins (Eng) – 1895 Score 173 Winner’s share $150
OLDEST PLAYER TO MAKE CUT
Sam Snead – 1973, 61 years old
LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY
Tiger Woods – 2000, 15 strokes
LOWEST WINNER MARGIN
2011 – Rory McIlroy – 268 – 16-under par
2017 – Brooks Koepka – 272 – 16-under par
2019 – Gary Woodland – 171 – 13-under par
2000 – Tiger Woods – 272 – 12-under par
HIGHEST OVER PAR WINNERS
1919 – Walter Hagen – 301 – 17-over par
1927 – Tommy Armour – 301 – 13-over par
1934 – Olin Dutra – 293 – 13-over par
ALL FOUR ROUNDS UNDER 70
Lee Trevino – 1968 – (69–68–69–69)
Lee Janzen – 1993 – (67–67–69–69)
Rory McIlroy – 2011 – (65–66–68–69)
MOST STROKES UNDER PAR FOR 72 HOLES
Rory McIlroy – 2011 – 16-under – 268
Brooks Koepka – 2017 – 16-under – 272
CHAMPIONS BY NATIONALITY
Nationality – Wins – Winners
United States – 86 – 60
Scotland – 12 – 9
England – 7 – 7
South Africa – 5 – 3
Australia – 2 – 2
Northern Ireland – 2 – 2
Jersey – 2 – 2
New Zealand – 1 – 1
Argentina – 1 – 1
Germany – 1 – 1
Spain – 1 – 1
AMATEUR WINNERS
Francis Ouimet – 1913
Jerome Travers – 1915
Chick Evans – 1916
Bobby Jones – 1923-’26-’29-’30
John Goodman – 1933
MOST FREQUENT VENUES
Oakmont Country Club – (9) 1927-’35-’53-’62-’73-’83-’94-’07-’16
Baltusrol Golf Club – (7) 1903-’15-’36-54-’67-’80-’93
Chief writer David Newbery has been living, breathing and writing and editing golf for more than 30 years. His extensive knowledge of the game comes from covering golf around the world. Hired by Inside Golf in 2009, David previously worked as the editor of The Golfer for 25 years and before that worked for numerous daily newspapers in Australia and overseas. The Brisbane-based journalist describes his golf game as “a work in progress”, but has had the privilege of playing golf with some of the game’s best players including nine-time major winner Gary Player. David enjoys travelling, reading, music, photography and spending time with family and friends – on and off the golf course. 
