PGA TOUR: Ranking the five greatest individual seasons of all time
By Bill Felber
Why it’s the best season in history: Palmer’s nine victories included both the Masters and U.S. Open. He nearly matched Hogan in 1953 by adding the British Open in his debut there, losing by a single stroke to Kel Nagle.
His memorable final round performance at the U.S. Open at Cherry Hills, making up seven strokes on third round leader Mike Souchak with a 65 that featured birdies on six of the first seven holes, gave Palmer the reputation as a “charger” that remained with him all of his life.
His worst performance in a major that season was a tie for seventh at the PGA Championship.
Several of Palmer’s 1960 victories were the stuff of legend. Beyond the Open, he won at Palm Springs by three and at Baton Rouge by seven.
What can be said against it: Empirically, there’s little to criticize in Palmer’s 1960 performance. In fact the harshest criticism that can be offered is that it may not have been his best. In 1962, Palmer was arguably even better. He equaled his 1960 win total with nine – including the Masters – and would have had a 10th plus a second major but for his loss to Jack Nicklaus in a U.S. Open playoff at Oakmont.
The average standard deviation of Palmer’s 1960 performance was -1.21. That’s superb except by the standards of the other seasons under examination.