Biggest Come From Behind Wins in US Open History
The US Open Championship has seen some crazy comebacks over the years, and no wonder – this is one of the hardest events to win in pro sports. The US Open is traditionally held on the longest golf courses in America, with the deepest rough, the tightest fairways, and putting greens designed to keep your ball as far away from the hole as possible.
No lead is safe at the US Open, and Bodog’s golf betting can be a real minefield in that regard. Tiger Woods was already a legend in golf betting circles heading into the 2008 tournament at Torrey Pines, but he cemented his legacy with an improbable comeback victory over Rocco Mediate, sinking a birdie on the 72nd hole and another on the 18th playoff hole before winning in sudden death. And Woods did it all on a broken leg and a blown-out knee.
Impressive, but that doesn’t make Woods the No. 1 golfer on our list of biggest come from behind wins in US Open history here at Bodog Sportsbook. While he does feature in our top five holes in one of all time, here we’re looking specifically at which golfers came back from the largest deficits after 54 holes, and there’s one man who stands above them all.
Arnold Palmer (1960, seven strokes)
Any way you slice it, Palmer’s win at Cherry Hills remains the most epic comeback in the history of this prestigious tournament – and maybe the entire sport. Palmer was seven strokes behind Mike Souchak after three rounds of play; while Souchak faded, Palmer made birdie on six of the first seven holes to vault back into contention.
This is where business really started to pick up. Joining Palmer in the tug-of-war for first place were four-time US Open champion Ben Hogan, still one of the world’s greatest golfers at age 47, and Jack Nicklaus, the reigning US Amateur champion and already playing his fourth Open at age 20.
As impressive as Palmer’s front nine was, he had to survive two of the greatest legends in golf to earn his first and only US Open victory. Nicklaus struggled with his putting on the back nine, Hogan found water on 17 and 18, and Palmer coolly sunk his par putt on the final hole to win by two strokes over Nicklaus.
Johnny Miller (1973, six strokes)
Palmer deserves the No. 1 spot on this list, but Miller may have delivered the greatest final round golf has ever seen when he posted a tournament-record 63 at Oakmont. That record has since been tied by five golfers, including Nicklaus in 1980, but nobody’s beaten it yet.
Nicklaus had won the previous US Open at Oakmont in 1962, beating Palmer in yet another epic playoff, and the Golden Bear was the favourite going into this tournament – but it was Palmer who held a share of the lead at 3-under after 54 holes, with Nicklaus at +1 and Miller an afterthought at +3 after shooting a 76 the previous round.
Miller’s comeback started strong with four consecutive birdies, then faltered a bit before Miller rattled off four more birdies in five holes, and another at 15 to take the lead. He then barely missed a birdie on 18 before going into the clubhouse and waiting for over an hour to see if anyone would catch him. John Schlee came closest, but finished one stroke behind as Miller won his only US Open title.
Walter Hagen (1919, five strokes)
Four different golfers have won the US Open after coming back from five strokes down. The first to do it was Hagen, still third all-time in the record books with 11 major victories behind Nicklaus (18) and Woods (15). Two of those majors were at the US Open, the second at Brae Burn in 1919 when Hagen was somewhat fortunate to see Mike Brady shoot an 80 on the final round, allowing Hagen to force a playoff.
As the story goes, Hagen spent the night before the playoff partying with Al Jolson, soon to become the biggest star on Broadway. That didn’t stop Hagen from defeating Brady by one stroke, 77-78. After his victory, Hagen resigned as head pro at Oakland Hills in Michigan and recommended they hire Brady, which they did.
Johnny Farrell (1928, five strokes)
If you think 18 holes is a lot for a playoff, try 36. That’s what Johnny Farrell had to endure back in 1928 at Olympia Fields, and those 36 holes were against two-time US Open champion Bobby Jones, arguably the greatest golfer of all time.
Reaching the playoff was a miracle in and of itself. Farrell was five strokes behind Jones after three rounds, and didn’t believe he had a chance of winning after carding a 72 on the final 18. However, Jones was all over the map during the fourth round, and the two wound up competing in the first scheduled 36-hole playoff in US Open history.
The opening playoff round was a good one for Farrell. He led Jones 70-73 after 18, but that lead was gone two holes later, and the two would trade punches back and forth before Farrell closed strong to win his only career major by one stroke.
Byron Nelson (1939, five strokes)
It would take another playoff to determine the winner in 1939, but by this time, the US Open organizers had returned to the 18-hole format – in part because it took two 36-hole playoffs for Billy Burke to win the 1931 Open.
Byron Nelson also needed two playoff rounds to put away Craig Wood and Denny Shute at the Philadelphia Country Club. Sam Snead was the leader after the first two rounds, then tied with Wood and Shute in second, one stroke behind Johnny Bulla with 18 holes left in regulation. Nelson was tied for 10th.
Nelson did his part by shooting a 68 on the final round. Wood birdied 18 to finish tied with Nelson and Shute, but it took a triple-bogey by the overly aggressive Snead on the last hole to set up the three-way playoff. Shute crashed out with a 76, while Nelson and Wood shot 73 to force the second round, which Nelson took 70-73. It was his only US Open win.
Lee Janzen (1998, five strokes)
Comebacks are harder to come by these days. Advancements in equipment and player fitness have narrowed the gap between the contenders and pretenders; the most recent comeback on our list was in 1998 at Olympic Club, where Janzen was five strokes behind Payne Stewart going into the final round.
Not only that, Janzen was down seven strokes after he bogeyed the second and third holes. That ties Janzen with Palmer and Billy Casper (who completed his entire 1966 comeback at this same Olympic Club on the back nine) as the only US Open winners to overcome a seven-stroke deficit at any time during the fourth round.
If that weren’t impressive enough, Janzen’s comeback started after he drove his ball into a tree on the fifth hole. It looked like he was stuck there, but a gust of wind brought the ball down to earth, saving Janzen from having to take a penalty. He managed to chip in for par from 30 feet away off the back edge of the green, then rallied for his second Open title as Stewart carded a 74 to lose by one stroke.
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