1963 U.S. Open Winner and Scores

The 1963 U.S. Open was the 63rd time the tournament was played, and Julius Boros won his second championship in an 18-hole playoff.

Winner: Julius Boros, 293

Where it was played: The Country Club in Brookline, Massachussetts

Tournament dates: June 20-23, 1963

Leader after first round: Bob Gajda, 69

Leader after second round: Arnold Palmer, Jacky Cupit and Dow Finsterwald, 142

Leader after third round: Jacky Cupit, 218

What Happened at the 1963 U.S. Open

Scores were so high at this U.S. Open that Jacky Cupit shot 75 in the third round and moved into the lead. Going into the final round, Arnold Palmer was among those one stroke back and Julius Boros was three behind Cupit.

But Cupit double-bogeyed the next-to-last hole, then missed a 12-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole that would have won him the tournament. Cupit finished with a 75 in the final round, while Palmer shot 74 to tie. Boros birdied the 16th and 17th holes in the final round en route to a 72 to make it a 3-way tie. The final-round scoring average, in blustery winds, was 77.6, a record-high at the time.

In the 18-hole playoff, Boros started fast with a front-nine 33 and wasn't challenged by either Cupit or Palmer on the back nine, shooting 70 to Cupit's 73 and Palmer's 76. Palmer was three behind after the front nine, but his hopes ended with a triple-bogey on the 11th hole.

The defending champion, Jack Nicklaus, missed the cut. For Palmer, it was was the second consecutive year (and second of three times) he lost in a playoff: Nicklaus beat Palmer in the 1962 U.S. Open playoff.

Boros' winning total of 293 remains the highest winning total in the tournament's post-World War II era. For Boros, it was his second U.S. Open victory (11 years after his first in the 1952 U.S. Open). At age 43 years and 3 months, Boros was, at that time, the second-oldest winner in tournament history. Boros later became the oldest-ever winner of a major at the 1968 PGA Championship, when he was 48.

This was the first U.S. Open in which no amateur golfers made the cut.

1963 U.S. Open Scores

Julius Boros	71-74-76-72—293
Jacky Cupit	70-72-76-75—293
Arnold Palmer	73-69-77-74—293
Paul Harney	78-70-73-73—294
Bruce Crampton T-	74-72-75-74—295
Tony Lema	71-74-74-76—295
Billy Maxwell	73-73-75-74—295
Walter Burkemo	72-71-76-77—296
Gary Player	74-75-75-72—296
Dan Sikes	77-73-73-74—297
Don January	72-74-78-75—299
Dow Finsterwald	73-69-79-79—300
David Ragan	78-74-74-74—300
Mike Fetchick	74-76-77-75—302
Lionel Hebert	71-79-76-76—302
Davis Love Jr.	71-74-78-79—302
Bobby Nichols	74-75-75-78—302
Dean Refram	72-71-80-79—302
Bob Charles	74-76-76-77—303
Ken Still	76-75-78-74—303
Jack Burke Sr.	75-76-78-75—304
Gardner Dickinson	76-71-78-79—304
Gene Littler	75-77-80-72—304
Dave Marr	75-74-77-78—304
Bob McCallister	75-77-76-76—304
Doug Sanders	77-74-75-78—304
Otto Greiner	74-75-76-80—305
Ted Makalena	75-77-76-77—305
Mason Rudolph	76-75-78-76—305
Bob Goetz	79-72-80-75—306
Bill Ogden	73-76-78-79—306
Al Balding	73-78-77-79—307
Tommy Jacobs	73-78-81-75—307
Bill Johnston	77-75-76-79—307
Sam Reynolds	79-72-79-77—307
Phil Rodgers	77-74-77-79—307
Mike Souchak	77-75-82-73—307
Ed Furgol	74-78-79-78—309
Jay Hebert	73-76-83-77—309
Frank Boynton	74-78-77-81—310
Art Wall	73-77-76-84—310
George Bayer	76-74-81-80—311
Sam Snead	74-75-79-83—311
Jimmy Clark	74-74-84-80—312
Stan Thirsk	73-77-79-83—312
Bob Gadja	69-80-84-80—313
Ross Coon	78-71-85-80—314
William Gabal	76-76-81-81—314
Paul Kelly	72-79-80-85—316
R.E. Barnes	77-74-91-78—320
Bob Harris	73-79-86-82—320

Previous and next:
1962 U.S. Open — 1964 U.S. Open