The 1964 U.S. Open was the 64th U.S. Open, held June 18–20 at the Blue Course of Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, a suburb northwest of Washington, D.C. Ken Venturi won his only major title, four strokes ahead of runner-up Tommy Jacobs.

Jacobs held the 36-hole lead after shooting a 64 (−6) in the second round, tying the U.S. Open record at the time for a round, set by Lee Mackey in 1950. In the third round on Saturday morning, he carded an even-par 70 and retained the lead after 54 holes, two strokes ahead of Venturi, who made up four shots with a 66 (−4). Masters champion Arnold Palmer had led after the first round, but hopes of a grand slam faded with a 75 in the third.

Before the final round began on Saturday afternoon, Venturi was advised by doctors to withdraw from the tournament. He was suffering dehydration due to an oppressive heat wave and had to take treatments with tea and salt tablets in between rounds. To play the final round, doctors warned, was to risk heat stroke. Venturi, however, ignored the advice and played on, then shot a 70 to Jacobs' 76 to claim a four-stroke victory. Venturi's score of 206 over the final 54 holes set a new U.S. Open record, as did his score of 136 over the last 36. The win was his first on tour in four years.

Future champion Raymond Floyd made his U.S. Open debut this year at age 21 and finished in 14th place. He played the final two rounds on Saturday with Venturi. This was the last time the championship was scheduled for three days (the final two rounds scheduled on Saturday); the next year it was expanded to four days, concluding on Sunday.

The Blue Course at Congressional was the longest in U.S. Open history to date, at . A lack of rainfall in the previous six weeks reduced its effective length, and it played firm and fast.

Course layout

Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal Yards4051954594234084561683625993,4754593991884484345642114104653,5787,053Par434444345354434453443570 Source:

Round summaries

First round Thursday, June 18, 1964 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Arnold Palmer 68 −22 Bill Collins 70 ET3 William Campbell (a) 71 +1 Billy Casper Tony Lema Johnny Pott Joe Zakarian T8 Bob Charles 72 +2 Bruce Crampton Richard Crawford Ed Furgol Labron Harris Tommy Jacobs Billy Martindale Stan Mosel Bobby Nichols Jack Nicklaus Bob Panasiuk Paul Scodeller Charlie Sifford Ken Venturi Source:

Second round Friday, June 19, 1964 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Tommy Jacobs 72-64=136 −4 2 Arnold Palmer 68-69=137 −33 Bill Collins 70-71=141 +1T4 Charlie Sifford 72-70=142 +2 Ken Venturi 72-70=142 T6 Bruce Crampton 72-71=143 +3 Raymond Floyd 73-70=143 Tony Lema 71-72=143 T9 William Campbell (a) 71-73=144 +4 Bob Charles 72-72=144 Al Geiberger 74-70=144 Gene Littler 73-71=144 Bobby Nichols 72-72=144 Johnny Pott 71-73=144 Source:

Third round Saturday, June 20, 1964  (morning) PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Tommy Jacobs 72-64-70=206 −4 2 Ken Venturi 72-70-66=208 −2 3 Arnold Palmer 68-69-75=212 +2 4 Billy Casper 71-74-69=214 +4T5 Bob Charles 72-72-71=215 +5 Bill Collins 70-71-74=215 Raymond Floyd 73-70-72=215 T8 Dow Finsterwald 73-72-71=216 +6 Bob Rosburg 73-73-70=21610 Johnny Pott 71-73-73=217 +7 Source:

Final round Saturday, June 20, 1964  (afternoon) PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)1 Ken Venturi 72-70-66-70=278 −2 17,0002 Tommy Jacobs 72-64-70-76=282 +2 8,5003 Bob Charles 72-72-71-68=283 +3 6,0004 Billy Casper 71-74-69-71=285 +5 5,000T5 Gay Brewer 76-69-73-68=286 +6 3,750 Arnold Palmer 68-69-75-74=2867 Bill Collins 70-71-74-72=287 +7 3,0008 Dow Finsterwald 73-72-71-72=288 +8 2,500T9 Johnny Pott 71-73-73-72=289 +9 1,950 Bob Rosburg 73-73-70-73=289 Source:

Scorecard Final round Hole123456789101112131415161718Par434444345 443445344 Venturi −2 −2 −2 −2 −2 −1 −1 −1 −2 −2 −2 −2 −3 −2 −2 −2 −2 −2 Jacobs −4 −2 −2 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 E +1 E E +1 +2 +3 +2 +2 +2 Palmer +1 +1 +1 +2 +2 +3 +3 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +3 +4 +4 +5 +6 +6 Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par BirdieBogeyDouble bogey Source:

Video USGA: 1964 U.S. Open win by Venturi

References

External links USOpen.com - 1964 USGA – Looking back: Venturi wins 1964 U.S. Open