1957 U.S. Open Golf Tournament Winner and Scores
The 1957 U.S. Open was the 57th time the tournament was played, and it required an 18-hole playoff to settle the winner. This is also the U.S. Open in which Jack Nicklaus made his tournament debut.
Winner: Dick Mayer, 282
Where it was played: Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio
Tournament dates: June 13-16, 1957
Leader after first round: Jimmy Demaret and Chick Harbert, 68
Leader after second round: Billy Joe Patton, 138
Leader after third round: Jimmy Demaret, 211
What Happened at the 1957 U.S. Open
Dick Mayer defeated defending champion Cary Middlecoff in an 18-hole playoff to win the 1957 U.S. Open, a playoff that is perhaps best remembered for a ... stool. Middlecoff was a painfully slow player, possibly the slowest great player in golf history. Mayer knew he'd spend a lot of time in the playoff waiting. So he came prepared: He brought a fold-out camping stool with him, and whenever Middlecoff made him wait too long, Mayer simply took a seat.It worked (or something did, anyway): Mayer easily won the playoff, beating Middlecoff 72 to 79. Middlecoff was a 3-time major winner already, nearing the end of his career. He won only three more times (for 39 career PGA Tour victories) after this.
Mayer had seven career wins and this was his only major, but 1957 was a great year for him. He made the Ryder Cup team, led the tour in money and was named Player of the Year.
Jimmy Demaret, 47 years old, led Mayer by a stroke at the start of the final round, but Demaret started badly and wound up a stroke out of the playoff. Middlecoff started the final round three behind leader Demaret and two behind Mayer, then shot 68 — including birdies on two of the last three holes — to Mayer's 70 (Demaret carded a 72), forcing the playoff.
In the playoff, Mayer went two ahead with a birdie on the sixth hole, then Middlecoff bogeyed the seventh and eighth holes. Mayer led by three shots at the turn. It was essentially over when Middlecoff made double-bogey on the 10th, and he later added a quadruple-bogey on the 15th.
Mayer was using unusual golf shafts: They were steel wrapped in fiberglass. The golf media of the time called these "glass-shafted clubs" or "glass shafts," and the players referred to them as "glassies."
A 17-year-old amateur named Jack Nicklaus made his U.S. Open debut this year, shooting consecutive 80s and missing the cut. Amateur Billy Joe Patton was tied for the lead after 36 holes, but finished with back-to-back 76s. He still earned low amateur honors. Three-time major winner Denny Shute played in the U.S. Open for the final time this year, missing the cut.
1957 U.S. Open Final Scores
| Dick Mayer | 70-68-74-70—282 |
| Cary Middlecoff | 71-75-68-68—282 |
| Jimmy Demaret | 68-73-70-72—283 |
| Julius Boros | 69-75-70-70—284 |
| Walter Burkemo | 74-73-72-65—284 |
| Fred Hawkins | 72-72-71-71—286 |
| Ken Venturi | 69-71-75-71—286 |
| Roberto De Vicenzo | 72-70-72-76—290 |
| Chick Harbert | 68-79-71-72—290 |
| Billy Maxwell | 70-76-72-72—290 |
| a-Billy Joe Patton | 70-68-76-76—290 |
| Sam Snead | 74-74-69-73—290 |
| Mike Fetchick | 74-71-71-75—291 |
| Dow Finsterwald | 74-72-72-73—291 |
| a-William Hyndman | 77-73-72-69—291 |
| Frank Stanahan | 72-76-69-74—291 |
| Don Fairfield | 78-72-73-69—292 |
| Jim Ferree | 74-74-73-71—292 |
| Doug Ford | 69-71-80-72—292 |
| Bud Ward | 70-74-70-78—292 |
| Bo Wininger | 70-71-76-76—293 |
| George Bayer | 73-77-69-75—294 |
| a-Joe Campbell | 74-72-73-75—294 |
| Ed "Porky" Oliver | 74-73-73-74—294 |
| Peter Thomson | 71-72-74-77—294 |
| Jack Fleck | 72-76-73-74—295 |
| Gerald Kesselring | 74-71-75-75—295 |
| Sam Penecale | 71-73-73-78—295 |
| a-Harvie Ward | 72-75-74-74—295 |
| Leo Biagetti | 73-75-72-76—296 |
| Johnny Revolta | 76-74-74-72—296 |
| a-Charles Kocsis | 76-74-74-73—297 |
| Stan Leonard | 71-76-73-77—297 |
| Gene Littler | 73-76-73-75—297 |
| Jerry Barber | 75-73-73-77—298 |
| Otto Greiner | 76-74-75-73—298 |
| Fred Haas | 72-73-77-76—298 |
| Furman Hayes | 74-75-70-80—299 |
| Babe Lichardus | 72-76-74-77—299 |
| Lew Worsham | 78-72-76-73—299 |
| Johnny Pott | 74-75-74-77—300 |
| Donald Whitt | 71-77-78-75—301 |
| Al Brosch | 72-76-72-82—302 |
| Clarence Doser | 72-78-76-76—302 |
| Bob Gadja | 75-75-78-75—303 |
| Howie Johnson | 72-77-77-77—303 |
| Al Mengert | 77-73-71-82—303 |
| Leland Gibson | 75-75-76-78—304 |
| Stan Mosel | 74-75-77-78—304 |
| a-E. Fred Brown | 74-76-79-76—305 |
| a-Rex Baxter | 77-73-80-78—308 |
| a-Gene Coulter | 73-77-85-81—316 |
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