There are a few moments to which we can point and see the trajectory of an entire sport change. In golf, the 1962 U.S. Open was one such turning point as a young challenger named Jack Nicklaus seemingly came out of nowhere to defeat the theretofore unbeatable Arnold Palmer in his own backyard.
The ’62 U.S. Open was supposed to be a coronation of sorts for Palmer, then a five-time major winner who grew up less than an hour from Oakmont Country Club, the tournament’s host. (Oakmont is hosting the U.S. Open for a record 10th time this week).
Instead, it was the beginning of Nicklaus’ historic run, one that ultimately included a record 18 major titles over a 24-year span. It was also the start of an all-time great sports rivalry.
“I sort of felt, going into Oakmont, that that was my tournament,” Nicklaus once said in a USGA documentary about his first major victory. “I didn’t care if it was Arnold Palmer or anybody else. I’m a young kid, 22 years old with blinders on. I only had one thing in my mind: winning that golf tournament.”
Palmer, 32 in 1962, was not only golf’s leading man but a household name throughout the United States. He endeared himself to fans with his unique, homemade golf swing, a flair for the dramatics and otherworldly charisma. Adding to Palmer’s popularity? The start of his career coincided with golf being televised for the first time.
“Arnold just happened to be there at the right time,” Nicklaus said of Palmer. “That little hitch of the pants, the slick of the hair and the cigarette hanging out of his month, he was a blue-collar player in many ways. The common man’s guy. … He willed the ball into the hole, and the people willed the ball in with him.”
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While he had already won two Masters entering the 1960 U.S. Open, Palmer’s popularity was elevated to an even higher level after he completed the greatest comeback in the tournament’s history. Trailing by seven strokes entering the final round, he began his now-famous charge by driving the green on the par-four first hole to set up his two-putt birdie. Ironically, the second-place finisher that day was Nicklaus, whose four-round score of 282 was the lowest by an amateur in the U.S. Open until 2019.
Palmer’s playing style led to a legion of passionate fans nicknamed Arnie’s Army. While many golfers try not to pay much attention to the galleries, Palmer was an exception.
“The crowd was always something that spurred me on,” Palmer said in that documentary. “When they got excited and started rooting real hard, it seemed like I started playing a little better. That was one of the things that I enjoyed very much.”
What makes golf tournaments different from most other sports is the bipartisan fanbase. That was certainly not the case at the 1962 U.S. Open, however, as virtually everyone on hand was rooting for their hometown hero in his quest to capture yet another major title. The crowed roared with approval every time Palmer hit a quality shot. Conversely, the Pittsburgh-based crowd treated Nicklaus — paired with Palmer during the first 36 holes — like he was the entire Cleveland Browns roster.
Fans screamed and jeered at Nicklaus. One held a sign that read, “Hit it here, Ohio Fats.” On several occasions, they stomped on the ground when it was Jack’s turn to putt. Nicklaus’ father, who was watching from the gallery, became so upset by the crowd’s treatment of his son that he had to be restrained by his good friend, then-Ohio State coach Woody Hayes, from confronting one of the rowdy fans.
Amazingly, Nicklaus swears he was completely unfazed by the surroundings.
“I was playing golf,” Nicklaus said. “I paid no attention to anybody [else]. I wasn’t interested in that. I had one thing in mind, winning that golf tournament.”
Conversely, Palmer did hear the comments made towards his playing partner. He didn’t like it.
“That bothered me,” Palmer said years later. “They were all people I knew, so it wasn’t something that I was pleased about at all.”
Palmer’s feelings towards the crowd spoke of the general respect he and Nicklaus shared throughout their rivalry.
“I’ve said many times: I may have had to fight Arnie’s Army, but I never had to fight Arnold,” Nicklaus remarked.
Despite the hostile conditions, Nicklaus only trailed Palmer — the tournament’s co-leader — by three strokes entering the final day. (Back then, the U.S. Open was a three-day event with the last two rounds being played on the third day.) Eight other players were within five strokes of the leaders.
In the third round, Palmer struggled a bit but remained tied atop the leaderboard. Nicklaus was one better than Palmer, cutting his deficit to two strokes entering the final round.
Palmer took solo possession of the lead during the front nine of the final round, and he had a chance to pull away from the Nicklaus on the ninth hole. On the par-5, Palmer was “pin high in two to the right edge in the rough. I wasn’t a total of 20 feet from the hole.”
With a decent chip, it’s conceivable that he would have birdied the hole, extending his lead over Nicklaus to four strokes. Instead, Palmer’s chip failed to reach the green. His next attempt was also short, as was a long attempt to salvage par. Palmer inexplicably carded a bogey, which completely changed the trajectory of the round and tournament.
“From that point on, it truly disturbed me that I made 6 and I felt like I should be making 4,” said Palmer, who acknowledged that he wasn’t aggressive enough during that decisive moment. “That lived with me all my life, and [it] still does.”
At the same time, Nicklaus — playing ahead of Palmer — birdied the 11th, which cut his deficit to one. When Palmer carded another bogey on the 13th, he suddenly found himself tied with Nicklaus.
Ironically, the usually conservative Nicklaus made a uncharacteristic decision on the 17th that could have cost him the tournament. A short par-4 of 292 yards, Nicklaus pulled out his driver in an effort to hit the green. Nicklaus’ shot plopped into a sand trap, and his ensuing attempt out of the bunker landed in a deep rough just off the green. After his birdie putt came up short, Nicklaus had to make a challenging 4-foot putt if he was going to salvage a par and remain tied atop the leaderboard.
“It was left to right downhill,” Nicklaus recalled. “If I missed the putt, I was probably going to putt it right off the green.”
Instead of playing the break, Nicklaus decided to ram the ball straight with enough force that it would hit the flag and plop into the cup. That’s exactly what happened. The putt was not only Nicklaus’ greatest shot in the tournament but the early portion of his career. His excellence in that moment earned praise from golf legend Bobby Jones (the favorite golfer of Nicklaus’ father).
“He said, when I made that putt, he almost came right out of his chair,” Nicklaus recalled. “Bob Jones was in a wheelchair at that time, so that was his way of kind of saying, ‘Hey, that was some putt.'”
Nicklaus parred the 18th, giving Palmer a chance to win the tournament if he could make his uphill birdie putt. While the speed of his try was on the money, the ball rolled just left of the hole. Clearly deflated after missing a chance to win the tournament in walk-off fashion, Palmer settled for par sending the tournament into a playoff.
The 1962 U.S. Open continued Sunday morning with Palmer again making the trek from Latrobe. Nicklaus walked to the first tee wearing the same pants he donned the prior day.
“They were a $12 pair of iridescent olive-green,” Nicklaus said with a smile. “They had blue and green threads through them. I played 36 holes in them [on Saturday]. They were good luck.”
Nicklaus’ wardrobe may not have been up to snuff, but his play was undoubtedly on point. Nicklaus’ talent had become immensely apparent to Palmer, who had initially met his future rival during a driving contest in Athens, Ohio, four years prior.
“He was one of the finest iron players that I had ever seen,” Palmer said. “He could hit a 1 iron and a 2 iron up in the air better than anybody I had ever seen, then and now.”
In the 18-hole playoff, Nicklaus surged out to a four-stroke lead through eight holes. While the deficit was considerable, the expectation among golf fans was that Palmer was about to mount another one of his signature chargers. They were right. Palmer birdied the par-5 9th to pick up a stoke. He made consecutive birdies on the 11th and 12th to move within one stroke of Nicklaus.
As every golfer knows, it’s difficult to have every part of one’s game click at the same time. On that Sunday, Palmer’s putting was off the mark, and it essentially cost him the tournament on the 13th when his birdie putt stopped 6 feet short of the hole. Palmer carded bogey after his third three-putt of the playoff, a gaffe that increased Nicklaus’ lead to two strokes with five holes remaining.
“I thought that, having played there all my life and knowing the greens as I did, I felt like I would putt pretty well there,” Palmer said. “Well, that was the thing that took me down.”
Palmer had 10 three-putts in the tournament. Conversely, Nicklaus had just one in 90 holes, a remarkable feat for any golfer, much less a 22-year-old in pursuit of his first professional win.
Still holding a two-stroke lead, Nicklaus gave Palmer a sliver of hope on the 18th when his drive hit an a patchy part of the rough. While Nicklaus recovered well enough and ultimately salvaged a bogey, Palmer was unable to take advantage of the open door. He hit his approach shot fat and missed a long par putt, effectively ending the playoff.
In Palmer’s mind, the playoff was over as soon as his par putt rolled past the hole. He quickly putted out, then picked up Nicklaus’ ball marker and shook hands with the new U.S. Open champion as an act of concession.
The moment, while profound, did not last. USGA rules stated that a stroke-play competition required each player to complete an 18-hole score. Nicklaus put his ball back, tapped it in, and officially emerged as the national champion.
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While a monumental win for Nicklaus, the tournament result hardly concluded Palmer’s reign as golf’s top player. Palmer won his second Open Championship that year and captured his then-record fourth Masters title two years later. However, he never won another U.S. Open despite being in contention in 1963 and 1966. While those near misses surely hurt, they surely did not compare to the sting of of coming up just short at Oakmont.
“Certainly, I was frustrated,” said Palmer, whose final U.S. Open came at Oakmont in 1994. “Playing Oakmont, in front of the hometown crowd, the things I should have thrived on, I went the other way. Very surprised and disappointed.”
Despite his disappointment, Palmer gave Nicklaus his due credit while displaying a level of class that made him the game’s signature player.
“Arnold actually couldn’t have been nicer,” Nicklaus said. “Put his arm around me as we walked off, congratulated me very nicely. Was very happy for me.”
“He did play well,” Palmer said some 50 years later. “And it was quite an accomplishment for a young man who was really fresh on the tour. I said, ‘Now that that young fella’s out of the cage, he’s gonna be tough. Watch out for him.’ We knew then that Jack was gonna be a great player. We just didn’t know how great.”
No one could have predicted what Nicklaus would ultimately become. He won three more U.S. Opens, three Open Championships, five PGA Championships and a record six Masters. Nicklaus’ 18 major titles stands as three more than the next-closest golfer, Tiger Woods, who won his 15th and most recent major at the 2019 Masters.
In many ways, the 1962 U.S. Open was the dawning of a new era in golf. It was also the start of a rivalry — and friendship — that continued up until Palmer’s death in 2016.
Nicklaus’ moving speech during Palmer’s funeral included a story about the 1962 U.S. Open. Just before the playoff started, Palmer offered to split the gate — funds awarded to the winner. Nicklaus, while appreciative of Palmer’s gesture, elected to instead play for the entire gate, a prize he ultimately won.
“That set up my career,” Nicklaus said of the victory. “My first win, beating Arnold Palmer in a playoff. … The U.S. Open, for me, is the No. 1 tournament to in the world. To have won the U.S. Open as my first championship as a professional, how could it get any better?”
While golf has had since had other iconic moments, it’s hard to top what transpired during those four days at Oakmont when golf’s most successful career and most enduring rivalry were simultaneously born.
“I thought we were both very fortunate to be doing what we were doing,” Palmer once said of the rivalry. “It was exciting, it was competitive, and it was fun.”