1975 U.S. Open Winner and Scores
The 1975 U.S. Open was the 75th time the tournament was played. It ended with an 18-hole playoff. And the winner of that playoff earned his only major championship victory.
Winner: Lou Graham, 287
Where it was played: Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois
Tournament dates: June 19-23, 1975
Leader after first round: Pat Fitzsimons and Tom Watson, 67
Leader after second round: Tom Watson, 135
Leader after third round: Frank Beard, 210
What Happened at the 1975 U.S. Open
Lou Graham defeated John Mahaffey in an 18-hole playoff for the trophy. The pair tied after 72 holes at 3-over 287. In the playoff, Graham took a 3-stroke lead with a birdie on the 12th hole and Mahaffey was never closer than two strokes after that. Their final scores were 71 for Graham and 73 for Mahaffey.Tom Watson opened the tournament by tying the then-U.S. Open record for 36 holes of 135. But he was 20 strokes worse over the final two rounds. Graham was 11 strokes behind leader Watson after 36 holes. He still holds the tournament record for largest comeback after 36 holes by the winner.
Jack Nicklaus just missed a birdie putt on the 15th hole in the final round that would have tied him for the lead. But then Nicklaus did something exceedingly rare for him: He stumbled to the finish. After that birdie, Nicklaus finished with three consecutive bogeys.
Third-round leader Frank Beard was four strokes ahead of Graham and six ahead of Mahaffey at the start of the final round. But Beard shot 78 in Round 4, including bogeys on Nos. 16 and 17. Mahaffey parred in after a long birdie putt at No. 14, shooting 71 and posting 287. Bob Murphy could have tied, but bogeyed the last hole and tied for third. Ben Crenshaw put a ball in the water on the 17th hole, and he tied Murphy. Defending champion Hale Irwin shot 70, but fell a stroke short of the playoff.
It was Graham's third career win on the PGA Tour; he ended his career with six wins, although he challenged in other U.S. Opens. Mahaffey went on to win the 1978 PGA Championship.
Two years after his final PGA Tour victory, Arnold Palmer tied for ninth place. It was Palmer's last Top 10 finish in a U.S. Open and second-to-last Top 10 in any of the majors. The 1975 U.S. Open was a strong year for amateurs. Jay Haas and Jerry Pate shared low am honors at 293. Pate won the 1976 U.S. Open a year later.
This was the final U.S. Open in which players were not allowed to use their own caddies (they had to use caddies provided by the club).
1975 U.S. Open Final Scores
| Lou Graham | 74-72-68-73—287 |
| John Mahaffey | 73-71-72-71—287 |
| Hale Irwin | 74-71-73-70—288 |
| Bob Murphy | 74-73-72-69—288 |
| Ben Crenshaw | 70-68-76-74—288 |
| Frank Beard | 74-69-67-78—288 |
| Peter Oosterhuis | 69-73-72-75—289 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 72-70-75-72—289 |
| Arnold Palmer | 69-75-73-73—290 |
| Pat Fitzsimons | 67-73-73-77—290 |
| Tom Watson | 67-68-78-77—290 |
| Andy North | 75-72-72-72—291 |
| Raymond Floyd | 76-71-72-72—291 |
| Jim Wiechers | 68-73-76-75—292 |
| Rik Massengale | 71-74-71-76—292 |
| Eddie Pearce | 75-71-70-76—292 |
| Joe Inman | 72-72-71-77—292 |
| Gary Groh | 73-74-73-73—293 |
| Terry Dill | 72-69-77-75—293 |
| a-Jay Haas | 74-69-72-78—293 |
| Hubert Green | 74-73-68-78—293 |
| Grier Jones | 69-73-79-72—293 |
| a-Jerry Pate | 79-70-72-72—293 |
| Kermit Zarley | 73-71-75-75—294 |
| Forrest Fezler | 73-75-71-75—294 |
| Bud Allin | 76-70-73-75—294 |
| Dale Douglass | 71-77-72-74—294 |
| Miller Barber | 74-71-71-78—294 |
| Lee Trevino | 72-75-73-75—295 |
| Don January | 75-71-74-75—295 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 75-71-74-75—295 |
| Steve Melnyk | 75-73-74-73—295 |
| Ed Sneed | 75-74-73-73—295 |
| David Graham | 71-76-74-74—295 |
| Nate Starks | 75-72-76-72—295 |
| Jerry Heard | 77-67-78-73—295 |
| Tommy Aaron | 73-71-82-69—295 |
| John Schlee | 75-73-72-76—296 |
| Johnny Miller | 75-72-76-73—296 |
| Lanny Wadkins | 69-77-77-73—296 |
| Julius Boros | 72-77-72-75—296 |
| Al Geiberger | 72-72-74-78—296 |
| Dave Stockton | 73-73-77-74—297 |
| Gary Player | 75-73-72-77—297 |
| Doug Sanders | 75-73-76-74—298 |
| Gibby Gilbert | 71-76-74-77—298 |
| Dick Rhyan | 74-70-77-77—298 |
| Bob E. Smith | 78-71-72-77—298 |
| J.C. Snead | 76-73-75-75—299 |
| Bob Gilder | 76-71-77-75—299 |
| Beau Baugh | 77-72-73-77—299 |
| Bob Stanton | 77-72-78-72—299 |
| a-Lance Ten Broeck | 71-74-79-75—299 |
| Gary Robinson | 72-72-76-79—299 |
| Gene Littler | 74-73-73-79—299 |
| Wally Armstrong | 73-74-77-76—300 |
| Lynn Janson | 71-73-78-78—300 |
| Bob Panasik | 76-71-76-78—301 |
| Frank Conner | 72-72-76-81—301 |
| Marty Fleckman | 71-77-79-76—303 |
| Bill Rogers | 75-73-81-75—304 |
| Jack Ewing | 76-73-77-79—305 |
| Jack Connelly | 75-74-78-79—306 |
| Bob Goalby | 72-74-80-80—306 |
| Mike Reasor | 72-74-82-80—308 |
| Carlton White | 74-75-76-86—311 |
| Stan Altgelt | 76-72-87-77—312 |
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