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Aussie wins and close calls at the US Open

3 minute read

A look at how Australian golfers have fared at the US Open, including wins by David Graham and Geoff Ogilvy and a couple of near-misses from Greg Norman.

JASON DAY of Australia.
JASON DAY of Australia. Picture: Donald Miralle/Getty Images

AUSTRALIAN WINS AND CLOSE CALLS AT THE US OPEN

WINS: 1981 (David Graham) and 2006 (Geoff Ogilvy)

1981: Graham enjoyed one of the most clinical final rounds at the US Open, hitting every green in regulation, missing just one fairway and recording four birdies with only one bogey. After his 1979 US PGA Championship title, Graham won his second major and became the first Australian to win the US Open when he finished three strokes ahead of George Burns and Bill Rogers.

2006: Ogilvy won his only major in one of the most dramatic finishes in US Open history. He saved par on the final two holes at Winged Foot, including a chip-in on 17. Runners-up Jim Furyk, Colin Montgomerie, and Phil Mickelson all failed to par the 72nd hole. Mickelson and Montgomerie double-bogeyed the 72nd while Furyk missed a short par putt to force a play-off.

RUNNER-UPS. Seven (1965-2013).

2013: Day and Mickelson finished runner-up, two strokes behind England's Justin Rose at the famed Merion Golf Club outside Philadelphia.

2011: On his US Open debut, Day finished solo second - eight shots behind record-setting winner Rory McIlroy at Congressional CC near Washington, DC.

2003: Stephen Leaney finished three shots behind Jim Furyk at Olympia Fields course outside Chicago.

1995: Greg Norman suffered one of his many close calls at the US Open, this time shooting a Sunday 73 to finish in solo second - two shots behind Corey Pavin at New York's historic Shinnecock Hills course.

1984: Norman lost to Fuzzy Zoeller at Winged Foot in an 18-hole play-off on Monday, a tiebreaker format the US Open scrapped in 2018 in favour of a two-hole aggregate play-off.

1972: Bruce Crampton finished second, three shots behind golf great Jack Nicklaus at the world-famous Pebble Beach Golf Links.

1965: Legendary Australian golfer Kel Nagle lost in an 18-hole play-off to South African great Gary Player at Bellerive Country Club in St Louis, Missouri, which completed the career grand slam for Player.

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