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.
After a first round 66, Jim Thorpe made history as the first African-American since 1896 to lead the U.S. Open. 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 every green in regulation, missed just one fairway, and recorded four birdies, missing several other opportunities from within. The only bogey was a three-putt at the fifth, after his approach shot stopped above the hole. 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, 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

East Course
Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards3555351836004264203503601953,4243123704051294143784302244583,1206,544
Par453544443364443444343470

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

Made the cut

Missed the cut

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 18, 1981
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Jim Thorpe66−4
2J. C. Snead67−3
T3Bob Ackerman68−2
T3John Cook68−2
T3David Graham68−2
T3Jack Renner68−2
T3Chi-Chi Rodríguez68−2
T8George Burns69−1
T8Rex Caldwell69−1
T8Hubert Green69−1
T8Lon Hinkle69−1
T8Billy Kratzert69−1
T8Johnny Miller69−1
T8Jack Nicklaus69−1
T8Tommy Valentine69−1

Second round

Friday, June 19, 1981
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1George Burns69-66=135−5
2David Graham68-68=136−4
T3Jack Nicklaus69-68=137−3
T3Tommy Valentine69-68=137−3
T5John Cook68-70=138−2
T5Billy Kratzert69-69=138−2
T5Greg Norman71-67=138−2
T5Bill Rogers70-68=138−2
T9Jerry Pate70-69=139−1
T9Jack Renner68-71=139−1
T9John Schroeder71-68=139−1
T9Scott Simpson72-67=139−1
T9Jim Thorpe66-73=139−1
T9Lanny Wadkins71-68=139−1
T9Tom Watson70-69=139−1

Amateurs: Rassett , Norton, Pavin, DeFrancesco, White, Sindelar, Faxon, Lawrence, Sanchez, Moore, Mudd, Yokoi, Biancalana, Jones, Ludwig, Magee, Hurter, Brodie.

Third round

Saturday, June 20, 1981
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1George Burns69-66-68=203−7
2David Graham68-68-70=206−4
3Bill Rogers70-68-69=207−3
T4Jack Nicklaus69-68-71=208−2
T4Chi-Chi Rodríguez68-73-67=208−2
T4John Schroeder71-68-69=208−2
T7John Cook68-70-71=209−1
T7Ben Crenshaw70-75-64=209−1
T7Jim Thorpe66-73-70=209−1
T7Tommy Valentine69-68-72=209−1

Final round

Sunday, June 21, 1981
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
1 David Graham68-68-70-67=273−755,000
T2George Burns69-66-68-73=276−424,650
T2Bill Rogers70-68-69-69=276−424,650
T4John Cook68-70-71-70=279−116,200
T4John Schroeder71-68-69-71=279−116,200
T6Frank Conner71-72-69-68=280E9,920
T6Lon Hinkle69-71-70-70=280E9,920
T6Jack Nicklaus69-68-71-72=280E9,920
T6Sammy Rachels70-71-69-70=280E9,920
T6Chi-Chi Rodríguez68-73-67-72=280E9,920

Amateur: Rassett.

Scorecard

Final round
Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112131415161718
Par453544443444344434
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
Source: