1985 U.S. Open (golf)


The 1985 U.S. Open was the 85th U.S. Open, held June 13–16 at the South Course of Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb northwest of Detroit. Andy North, the 1978 champion, won his second U.S. Open title by a stroke over runners-up Dave Barr, Chen Tze-chung, and Denis Watson.
Chen had a historic beginning to the U.S. Open. In his first three rounds, he established a new course record at Oakland Hills with a 65, made the first double-eagle in U.S. Open history, and established both 36 and 54-hole scoring records. Heading into the final round, he owned a one-stroke advantage over North, who shot 65 in the second round and 70 in the third. Chen increased his lead over North to four shots after just four holes of play. But at the 5th hole, disaster struck for Chen as he suffered one of the biggest single-hole blowups in tournament history. His approach shot found the greenside rough, and when he attempted to chip out he accidentally double-hit the ball. Assessed a stroke penalty, Chen then three-putted for a quadruple-bogey 8. Unnerved by the mistake, Chen proceeded to bogey the next three holes, and North took a one-stroke lead over Barr at the turn. Chen recovered with a birdie at 12, and after North bogeyed 9, 10, and 11, he found himself back in a share of the lead. North, however, would be the last man standing. He birdied 13 while Chen bogeyed 14 and 17 and Barr bogeyed his final two holes to finish at 280. With a two-stroke lead heading to the 18th, North two-putted for bogey and a one-stroke victory.
In the final round North hit only four fairways and recorded just one birdie. For the tournament, he had just nine birdies, the lowest by a champion in post-World War II U.S. Open history. North finished at 279, the only one to finish under par. It was his first PGA Tour win since the 1978 U.S. Open, and was his last on tour.
Jack Nicklaus shot 149 and missed the cut by three strokes, ending a streak of 21 consecutive cuts made at the U.S. Open.
This was the seventh major championship at the South Course, which previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1924, 1937, 1951, and 1961, and the PGA Championship in 1972 and 1979. It later hosted the U.S. Open in 1996 and the PGA Championship in 2008.

Course layout

South Course
Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards4365271994334573594054392173,4724544115601724653994092014533,5246,996
Par453444443354453444343570

Lengths of the course for previous majors:

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Missed the cut

Source:

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 13, 1985
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Chen Tze-chung65−5
2Fred Couples66−4
T3Andy Bean69−1
T3Rick Fehr69−1
T3Jay Haas69−1
T3Tom Kite69−1
T3Mike Reid69−1
T8Dave Barr70E
T8Bill Glasson70E
T8Skeeter Heath70E
T8Andy North70E
T8Gene Sauers70E
T8Payne Stewart70E
T8Lanny Wadkins70E

Second round

Friday, June 14, 1985
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Chen Tze-chung65-69=134−6
T2Jay Haas69-66=135−5
T2Andy North70-65=135−5
4Rick Fehr69-67=136−4
5Denis Watson72-65=137−3
6Dave Barr70-68=138−2
T7Raymond Floyd72-67=139−1
T7Tom Kite69-70=139−1
T7Mark O'Meara72-67=139−1
T7Curtis Strange71-68=139−1

Amateurs: Sigel, Verplank , Randolph, Townes, Van Orman, Tominaga, Janzen, Townes

Third round

Saturday, June 15, 1985
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Chen Tze-chung65-69-69=203−7
2Andy North70-65-70=205−5
3Dave Barr70-68-70=208−2
4Rick Fehr69-67-73=209−1
T5Seve Ballesteros71-70-69=210E
T5Tom Kite69-70-71=210E
T5Denis Watson72-65-73=210E
T8Payne Stewart70-70-71=211+1
T8Lanny Wadkins70-72-69=211+1
T10Raymond Floyd72-67-73=212+2
T10Jay Haas69-66-77=212+2
T10Fuzzy Zoeller71-69-72=212+2

Final round

Sunday, June 16, 1985
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
1Andy North70-65-70-74=279−1103,000
T2Dave Barr70-68-70-72=280E39,185
T2Chen Tze-chung65-69-69-77=280E39,185
T2Denis Watson72-65-73-70=280E39,185
T5Seve Ballesteros71-70-69-71=281+118,458
T5Payne Stewart70-70-71-70=281+118,458
T5Lanny Wadkins70-72-69-70=281+118,458
8Johnny Miller74-71-68-69=282+214,921
T9Rick Fehr69-67-73-74=283+312,439
T9Corey Pavin72-68-73-70=283+312,439
T9Jack Renner72-69-72-70=283+312,439
T9Fuzzy Zoeller71-69-72-71=283+312,439

Amateurs: Scott Verplank, Jay Sigel

Scorecard

Final round
Hole123456789101112131415161718
Par453444443445344434
North−4−4−4−4−4−4−4−4−3−2−1−1−2−2−2−2−2−1
Barr−1−2−2−2−3−3−3−2−2−2−2−3−2−2−2−2−1E
Chen−7−8−8−8−4−3−2−1−1−1−1−2−2−1−1−1EE
Watson+1+1+2+1E+1+1+1+1+1+1EEEEEEE
BallesterosEEEEEEE+1+2+3+2+1+2+2+2+2+1+1
Stewart+1−1−1−1−2−2−2−2−2−2−2−2−1EEEE+1
Wadkins+3+2+2+1+1+1+2+2+1+1+1+1E+1+1+1+2+1

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
EagleBirdieBogeyDouble bogeyTriple bogey+

Source: