1978 U.S. Open Winner and Scores
The 1978 U.S. Open was the 78th time the tournament was played. Andy North held on to win by one stroke over Dave Stockton and J.C. Snead. Stockton missed a par putt on the final hole to make it easier for North, and Snead missed a birdie putt that would have made it tougher for North. North made it hard enough on himself, however, bogeying the last.
Winner: Andy North, 285
Where it was played: Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado
Tournament dates: June 15-18, 1978
Leader after first round: Hale Irwin, 69
Leader after second round: Andy North, 140
Leader after third round: Andy North, 211
What Happened in the 1978 U.S. Open
Two months earlier at the 1978 Masters, 42-year-old Gary Player shot a blistering 64 in the final round to surge to the championship. At the 1978 U.S. Open, however, Player went the opposite direction. Trailing Andy North by one stroke entering the final round, Player blew up with a 77. And that opened the door for North to win the championship.North took the lead after shooting 70-70 in the first two rounds. At 140, he was two in front of Player, Jack Nicklaus and J.C. Snead at the midway point. North carded a 71 in the third round and maintained a one-stroke edge on Player. (Nicklaus shot 74-73 on the weekend and finished tied for sixth place.)
For North, it was just his second win on the PGA Tour. In fact, North finished his career with only three PGA Tour wins — but two of them were U.S. Opens (he also won the 1985 U.S. Open).
North was known as a poor driver but excellent putter, and those facets of his game were on display on the tournament's final hole, a par-4 on which he needed to make 5 to win.
North hit his drive into the rough, then his approach fell short and into the rough on the opposite side of the fairway. He flubbed the pitch to the green and found a bunker instead. But then he blasted out and — despite stepping away from the ball twice after taking his address — sank the 4-foot putt to win.
Player finished tied for sixth, four strokes behind. The runners-up were Snead (Sam Snead's nephew), one of his four Top 10 finishes in majors; and two-time major winner Dave Stockton, recording his final Top 10 finish in a major.
Arnold Palmer, playing at Cherry Hills, site of his famous 1960 U.S. Open charge to victory, missed the cut.
1978 U.S. Open Final Scores
| Andy North | 70-70-71-74—285 |
| J.C. Snead | 70-72-72-72—286 |
| Dave Stockton | 71-73-70-72—286 |
| Hale Irwin | 69-74-75-70—288 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 77-73-70-68—288 |
| Andy Bean | 72-72-71-74—289 |
| Billy Kratzert | 72-74-70-73—289 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 73-69-74-73—289 |
| Tom Watson | 74-75-70-70—289 |
| Gary Player | 71-71-70-77—289 |
| Johnny Miller | 78-69-68-74—289 |
| Joe Inman | 72-72-74-73—291 |
| Lee Trevino | 72-71-75-73—291 |
| Mike McCullough | 75-75-73-68—291 |
| Raymond Floyd | 75-70-76-70—291 |
| Jerry Pate | 73-72-74-73—292 |
| Artie McNickle | 74-75-70-73—292 |
| Seve Ballesteros | 75-69-71-77—292 |
| Bob Shearer | 78-72-71-71—292 |
| Wally Armstrong | 73-73-74-73—293 |
| Phil Hancock | 71-73-75-74—293 |
| Bruce Lietzke | 72-73-72-76—293 |
| Tom Kite | 73-73-70-77—293 |
| Dale Douglass | 74-75-74-72—295 |
| Victor Regalado | 74-72-73-76—295 |
| Tom Purtzer | 75-72-72-76—295 |
| Jerry McGee | 74-76-71-75—296 |
| Pat McGowan | 74-73-72-77—296 |
| Peter Oosterhuis | 72-72-78-74—296 |
| Charles Coody | 74-76-76-71—297 |
| Lee Elder | 76-73-73-75—297 |
| Billy Casper | 71-76-73-77—297 |
| Rod Curl | 78-72-74-73—297 |
| a-Bobby Clampett | 70-73-80-74—297 |
| Miller Barber | 74-73-76-75—298 |
| Leonard Thompson | 74-76-73-75—298 |
| Gene Littler | 73-75-77-73—298 |
| Ed Fiori | 74-73-74-77—298 |
| Lou Graham | 78-72-74-74—298 |
| Mark Hayes | 73-70-76-79—298 |
| Steve Melnyk | 79-71-69-79—298 |
| Ray Cragun | 79-71-76-72—298 |
| Mac McLendon | 75-73-69-81—298 |
| Bob Gilder | 76-74-74-75—299 |
| Bill Rogers | 79-69-73-78—299 |
| Chi Chi Rodriguez | 74-73-77-76—300 |
| Wayne Levi | 76-73-74-77—300 |
| Bobby Wadkins | 71-78-77-74—300 |
| George Burns | 74-76-78-72—300 |
| Ed Sneed | 78-70-75-77—300 |
| Tom Ulozas | 73-73-75-79—300 |
| Bobby Nichols | 74-72-80-75—301 |
| Nate Starks | 74-75-78-75—302 |
| Al Geiberger | 71-74-78-79—302 |
| Harry Toscano | 74-75-75-79—303 |
| Dick McClean | 78-71-72-82—303 |
| Bill Brask Jr. | 71-76-78-79—304 |
| a-Jim Holtgrieve | 79-71-78-76—304 |
| Dave Eichelberger | 77-71-80-77—305 |
| Mike Morley | 77-73-78-80—308 |
| Walter Zembriski | 76-73-84-76—309 |
| Bob E. Smith | 74-73-82-81—310 |
| Al Chandler | 75-75-76-86—312 |
