1981 U.S. Open (golf)

The 1981 U.S. Open was the 81st U.S. Open, held June 18–21 at the East Course of Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia. David Graham won his second major title and became the first Australian to win the U.S. Open, three strokes ahead of runners-up George Burns and Bill Rogers.^[1][2][3]

1981 U.S. Open

Tournament information
Dates	June 18–21, 1981
Location	Ardmore, Pennsylvania
Course(s)	Merion Golf Club East Course
Organized by	USGA
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Statistics
Par	70
Length	6,544 yards (5,984 m)[1]
Field	156 players, 70 after cut
Cut	147 (+7)
Prize fund	$361,730
Winner's share	$55,000
Champion
David Graham
273 (−7)
← 1980 1982 →

Merion GC

Location in the United States

After a first round 66, Jim Thorpe made history as the first African-American since 1896 to lead the U.S. Open.^[4] Burns took a one-stroke lead over Graham with a 66 in the second round, then increased his lead to three strokes after 54 holes.

In the final round on Sunday, Graham shot one of the most precise rounds in U.S. Open history. He hit nearly every green in regulation, missed just one fairway, and recorded four birdies, missing several other opportunities from within 10 feet (3 m). The only bogey was a three-putt at the fifth, after his approach shot stopped above the hole.^[5] After a string of eight pars, Graham finally passed Burns with birdies at the 14th and 15th holes. Graham carded a 67 to Burns' 73 to win by three strokes. Rogers shot 69 to tie Burns for 2nd and won the British Open four weeks later.

This was the fourth U.S. Open played at Merion, all at its East Course. Previous editions were hosted in 1934, 1950, and 1971. At 6,544 yards (5,984 m),^[1] the same length as 1971, it was the shortest U.S. Open course since 1947. With heavy rains softening the course before the tournament, 93 rounds of par 70 or better were recorded. Fifteen players were under par after 36 holes, but only five finished under par for the four rounds. Five more were at even par 280, including defending champion Jack Nicklaus, a four-time winner.

After 1981, the U.S. Open was not played at Merion until 2013.

Course layout

See also: Merion Golf Club

East Course

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Total
Yards	355	535	183	600	426	420	350	360	195	3,424	312	370	405	129	414	378	430	224	458	3,120	6,544
Par	4	5	3	5	4	4	4	4	3	36	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	3	4	34	70

Source:^[6]

Lengths of the course for previous U.S. Opens:

• 1971: 6,544 yards (5,984 m), par 70
• 1950: 6,694 yards (6,121 m), par 70
• 1934: 6,694 yards (6,121 m), par 70

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 18, 1981

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Jim Thorpe	66	−4
2	J. C. Snead	67	−3
T3	Bob Ackerman	68	−2
	John Cook
	David Graham
	Jack Renner
	Chi-Chi Rodríguez
T8	George Burns	69	−1
	Rex Caldwell
	Hubert Green
	Lon Hinkle
	Billy Kratzert
	Johnny Miller
	Jack Nicklaus
	Tommy Valentine

Second round

Friday, June 19, 1981

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	George Burns	69-66=135	−5
2	David Graham	68-68=136	−4
T3	Jack Nicklaus	69-68=137	−3
	Tommy Valentine	69-68=137
T5	John Cook	68-70=138	−2
	Billy Kratzert	69-69=138
	Greg Norman	71-67=138
	Bill Rogers	70-68=138
T9	Jerry Pate	70-69=139	−1
	Jack Renner	68-71=139
	John Schroeder	71-68=139
	Scott Simpson	72-67=139
	Jim Thorpe	66-73=139
	Lanny Wadkins	71-68=139
	Tom Watson	70-69=139

Amateurs: Rassett (E), Cooksey (+6), Norton (+8), Pavin (+9), DeFrancesco (+10), White (+10), Sindelar (+11), Faxon (+12), Lawrence (+14), Sanchez (+14), Moore (+15), Mudd (+15), Yokoi (+15), Biancalana (+16), Jones (+16), Ludwig (+16), Magee (+17), Hurter (+21), Brodie (+22).

Third round

Saturday, June 20, 1981

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	George Burns	69-66-68=203	−7
2	David Graham	68-68-70=206	−4
3	Bill Rogers	70-68-69=207	−3
T4	Jack Nicklaus	69-68-71=208	−2
	Chi-Chi Rodríguez	68-73-67=208
	John Schroeder	71-68-69=208
T7	John Cook	68-70-71=209	−1
	Ben Crenshaw	70-75-64=209
	Jim Thorpe	66-73-70=209
	Tommy Valentine	69-68-72=209

Final round

Sunday, June 21, 1981

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	David Graham	68-68-70-67=273	−7	55,000
T2	George Burns	69-66-68-73=276	−4	24,650
	Bill Rogers	70-68-69-69=276
T4	John Cook	68-70-71-70=279	−1	16,200
	John Schroeder	71-68-69-71=279
T6	Frank Conner	71-72-69-68=280	E	9,920
	Lon Hinkle	69-71-70-70=280
	Jack Nicklaus	69-68-71-72=280
	Sammy Rachels	70-71-69-70=280
	Chi-Chi Rodríguez	68-73-67-72=280

Amateur: Rassett (+14).

Scorecard

Final round

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	5	3	5	4	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	3	4
Graham	−5	−6	−6	−6	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−6	−7	−7	−7	−7
Burns	−7	−7	−7	−6	−6	−6	−6	−6	−6	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−5	−4	−5	−4
Rogers	−3	−3	−3	−3	−3	−2	−2	−3	−4	−3	−3	−4	−4	−4	−4	−3	−3	−4

Cumulative playoff scores, relative to par

Birdie

Bogey

Source:^[7]