The 1957 U.S. Open was the 57th U.S. Open, held June 12–15 at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. Dick Mayer defeated defending champion Cary Middlecoff in an 18-hole playoff to win his only major title.
Amateur Billy Joe Patton was the 36-hole co-leader with Mayer, but fell back with consecutive 76s and tied for eighth. The 54-hole lead was held by Jimmy Demaret, age 47, attempting to become the oldest U.S. Open champion. Mayer was a shot back, while Middlecoff, Julius Boros, and Roberto De Vicenzo were two back.
With temperatures soaring in the final round with high humidity, Demaret was five-over through eleven holes. He rebounded with three birdies on the back nine to post a 72 and a 283 total, a shot out of the playoff. Mayer carded a 70 and a 282 total, while Middlecoff birdied the last to force a playoff. The Sunday playoff turned out to be a one-sided affair, as Mayer shot 72 to Middlecoff's 79. Temperatures again approached and only one birdie was carded.
This U.S. Open witnessed the debut of 17-year-old amateur Jack Nicklaus, who had consecutive rounds of 80 and missed the cut. It was just the beginning for Nicklaus, as he won a record-tying four U.S. Open titles and a record 18 major championships. While Nicklaus was making his debut, three-time major winner Denny Shute was playing his last Open; he too missed the cut. Two-time champion Gene Sarazen, at 55 in his penultimate Open, also missed the cut. After receiving medical attention for a back ailment, four-time champion and pre-tournament favorite Ben Hogan withdrew prior to his first round on Thursday.
The course was scheduled to play to a length of , but heavy rains caused several new tee boxes to become unplayable and the course was shortened by about .
This was the third U.S. Open at Inverness, which hosted in 1920 and 1931. The U.S. Open returned in 1979 and the PGA Championship followed in 1986 and 1993.
Course layout
Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal Yards3943841754664233854002124663,3054003805271674794684124513303,6146,919Par443444434344453444443670 Source:
Lengths of the course for previous major championships: , par 71 - 1931 U.S. Open , par 71 - 1920 U.S. Open
Round summaries First round Thursday, June 13, 1957 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Jimmy Demaret 68 −2 T2 Julius Boros 69 −1 Doug Ford Ken Venturi T5 Billy Maxwell 70 E Dick Mayer Billy Joe Patton (a) Bud Ward Bo Wininger T10 Jack Burke Jr. 71 +1 Cary Middlecoff Sam Penecale Peter Thomson Don Whitt Source:
Second round Friday, June 14, 1957 PlacePlayerScoreTo parT1 Dick Mayer 70-68=138 −2 Billy Joe Patton (a) 70-68=138T3 Doug Ford 69-71=140 E Ken Venturi 69-71=140T5 Jimmy Demaret 68-73=141 +1 Bo Wininger 70-71=1417 Roberto De Vicenzo 72-70=142 +2 8 Peter Thomson 71-72=143 +3 T9 Julius Boros 69-75=144 +4 Fred Hawkins 72-72=144 Sam Penecale 71-73=144 Bud Ward 70-74=144 Source:
Third round Saturday, June 15, 1957 (morning) PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Jimmy Demaret 68-73-70=211 +1 2 Dick Mayer 70-68-74=212 +2 T3 Julius Boros 69-75-70=214 +4 Roberto De Vicenzo 72-70-72=214 Cary Middlecoff 71-75-68=214 Billy Joe Patton (a) 70-68-76=214 Bud Ward 70-74-70=214T8 Fred Hawkins 72-72-71=215 +5 Ken Venturi 69-71-75=21510 Mike Fetchick 74-71-71=216 +6 Source:
Final round Saturday, June 15, 1957 (afternoon) PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)T1 Dick Mayer 70-68-74-70=282 +2 Playoff Cary Middlecoff 71-75-68-68=2823 Jimmy Demaret 68-73-70-72=283 +3 2,160T4 Julius Boros 69-75-70-70=284 +4 1,380 Walter Burkemo 74-73-72-65=284T6 Fred Hawkins 72-72-71-71=286 +6 840 Ken Venturi 69-71-75-71=286T8 Roberto De Vicenzo 72-70-72-76=290 +10 465 Chick Harbert 68-79-71-72=290 Billy Maxwell 70-76-72-72=290 Sam Snead 74-74-69-73=290 Billy Joe Patton (a) 70-68-76-76=290 0 Source: (a) denotes amateur
Playoff Sunday, June 16, 1957 PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)1 Dick Mayer 72+27,2002 Cary Middlecoff 79 +94,200
Scorecard Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112131415161718Par443444434 445344444 MayerE+1+1+1+1EEE+1+1+1+1+1+1+2+2+2+2 Middlecoff +1+1+1+1+2+2+3+4+4+6+6+6+6+6+8+8+9+9 Cumulative playoff scores, relative to par {|class="wikitable" span = 50 style="font-size:85%; |- |style="background: Pink;" width=10| |Birdie |style="background: PaleGreen;" width=10| |Bogey |style="background: Green;" width=10| |Double bogey |} Source:
References
External links USGA Championship Database