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The most dominant performances at Winged Foot

By Bill Felber

MAMARONECK, NY - JUNE 18: Colin Montgomerie of Scotland hits his approach shot on the ninth hole during the final round of the 2006 US Open Championship at Winged Foot Golf Club on June 18, 2006 in Mamaroneck, New York. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
MAMARONECK, NY - JUNE 18: Colin Montgomerie of Scotland hits his approach shot on the ninth hole during the final round of the 2006 US Open Championship at Winged Foot Golf Club on June 18, 2006 in Mamaroneck, New York. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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Fuzzy Zoeller on his way to winning the 1984 U.S. Open at Winged Foot. (Photo by Brian Morgan/Getty Images)
Fuzzy Zoeller on his way to winning the 1984 U.S. Open at Winged Foot. (Photo by Brian Morgan/Getty Images) /

1984: Fuzzy Zoeller

For the 1984 event, USGA officials made some effort to take a bit of the punishment out of the Winged Foot layout, softening the greens and easing back on the rough. The result was a tournament that looked more like a typical U.S. Open.

Through three rounds, both Zoeller and Norman lurked behind a familiar name – Irwin – on the leader board. Entering final round play, Irwin stood at five-under, one better than Zoeller and two ahead of Norman.

Winged Foot stood up and fought back on Sunday. Irwin bogeyed three of the first five holes, labored to a 79, and fell back into sixth place. Zoeller, meanwhile, ran off a string of four straight front-nine birdies to lead Norman by four after just six holes.

But that was the end of Zoeller’s Sunday fortune. While he shot three-over the rest of the way home, Norman came in one-under capped by a 50-foot par putt on the 18th – as Zoeller watched from the fairway — to force a Monday playoff.

That playoff belonged to Zoeller, whose birdies on the two opening holes set up a 67. He led Norman by three on the third tee and won by eight. With a 2.74 standard deviation from the moderate (for Winged Foot) 290.86 four-round field average, Zoeller’s is the most dominant Open performance on that course.

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