US Open – 20 Top Triumphs and Upsets to Remember
By Sam Belden
#12: Lee Trevino’s win at the 1971 US Open sparked one of the great runs in golf history.
The 1971 US Open at Merion was wide open for much of the week. Eventual winner Lee Trevino didn’t even get a whiff of the lead until the back nine on Sunday, but he made the most of the opportunity once he did. The American beat out longtime rival Jack Nicklaus in an 18-hole playoff on Monday, securing the second major title of his career.
Amateur Jim Simons was leading at the start of the final round but cracked under the pressure; he didn’t circle a birdie all day and ended up tying for fifth. Trevino, meanwhile, made two birdies on the back nine, good enough to constitute a charge in the tough scoring conditions. In the playoff, Nicklaus stumbled out of the gate with a double-bogey on three.
Trevino bogeyed the first but logged three birdies and 14 pars for the rest of the day, allowing him to sail to victory. He also had some fun with his opponent, tossing him a rubber snake from his golf bag to entertain the crowd.
Just a couple of months later, Trevino became the first person to win the US Open, Canadian Open and British Open in the same year.
Next: 1982: Tom Watson