Lowest Winning Scores in the U.S. Open (72 Holes, Total Strokes)

Which golfer holds the U.S. Open golf tournament record for lowest winning stroke total? That golfer is Rory McIlroy, who in 2011 became the first golfer to finish below 270 in this major championship.

In the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional, Rory McIlroy carded rounds of 65, 66, 68 and 69. That total of 268 is the lowest winning score in tournament history, and by three strokes.

McIlroy lowered the previous record of 272, first set by Jack Nicklaus in 1980 and later tied by several others.

And McIlroy's 268 was 16-under-par on the par-71 Blue Course at Congressional, which, at that time, lowered the record for lowest winning score in relation to par by four strokes. (See Most Strokes Under Par in the U.S. Open.)

The List: Lowest 72-Hole Totals in U.S. Open

• 268 — Rory McIlroy (65-66-68-69), Congressional Country Club (Blue Course), Bethesda, Md., 2011
• 270 — Wyndham Clark (64-67-69-70), Los Angeles (Calif.) Country Club (North Course), 2023
• 271 — Martin Kaymer (65-65-72-69), Pinehurst Resort & Country Club (No. 2 Course), Village of Pinehurst, N.C., 2014
• 271 — Gary Woodland (68-65-69-69), Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links, 2019
• 271 — *Rory McIlroy (65-67-69-70), Los Angeles (Calif.) Country Club (North Course), 2023
• 272 — Jack Nicklaus (63-71-70-68), Baltusrol Golf Club (Lower Course), Springfield, N.J., 1980
• 272 — Lee Janzen (67-67-69-69), Baltusrol Golf Club (Lower Course), Springfield, N.J., 1993
• 272 — Tiger Woods (65-69-71-67), Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links, 2000
• 272 — Jim Furyk (67-66-67-72), Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club (North Course), 2003
• 272 — Brooks Koepka (67-70-68-67), Erin Hills, Erin, Wis., 2017
  (*did not win)

A few firsts in U.S. Open history: Alex Smith, in 1906, was the first golfer to finish under 300 strokes with a winning score of 295. The first golfer to break 290 in a U.S. Open was Chick Evans (286) in 1916. The first to break 280 was Ben Hogan (276) in 1948. And McIlroy in 2011 was the first to break 270.

Here is the evolution of the U.S. Open's 72-hole scoring record for total strokes:

328 — Fred Herd (84-85-75-84), 1898
315 — Willie Smith (77-82-79-77), 1899
313 — Harry Vardon (79-78-76-80), 1900
307 — Laurie Auchterlonie (78-78-74-77), 1902
303 — Willie Anderson (75-78-78-72), 1904
295 — Alex Smith (73-74-73-75), 1906
290 — George Sargent (75-72-72-71), 1909
286 — Chick Evans (70-69-74-73), 1916
282 — Tony Manero (73-69-73-67), 1936
281 — Ralph Guldahl (71-69-72-69), 1937
276 — Ben Hogan (67-72-68-69), 1948
275 — Jack Nicklaus (71-67-72-65), 1967
272 — Jack Nicklaus (63-71-70-68), 1980
272 — Lee Janzen (67-67-69-69), 1993
272 — Tiger Woods (65-69-71-67), 2000
272 — Jim Furyk (67-66-67-72), 2003
268 — Rory McIlroy (65-66-68-69), 2011

Photo credit: "Rory McIlroy"by Tour Pro Golf Clubs is licensed under CC BY 2.0