The US Open by numbers: 17 Trends

The US Open by numbers: 17 Trends

By Michael Gales Jun 10, 2013

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The 2013 US Open is the second golf major of the year and will be staged at the infamous East Course at the Merion Club on June 13th. It will be the fourth time the club has hosted the hallowed competition – read more about this and 16 other US Open trends regarding the previous 113 tournaments.

0 – Number of rounds Woods has played at Merion

Tiger Woods recently revealed that he’s never played at Merion Golf Club. The world number one has played a couple of practice rounds recently, but how much of a problem will his lack of tournament golf around the course be as he searches for that illusive 15th major?

4 – Most Us Open victories

Four players have won the US Open four times – Jack Nicklaus (1962, 1967, 1972, 1980), Ben Hogan (1948, 1950, 1951, 1953), Robert T. Jones Jr. (1923, 1926, 1929, 1930) and Willie Anderson (1901, 1903, 1904, 1905).

Tiger Woods has won three US Open tournaments thus far – can he join the elite and claim a fourth?

4 (again) – Four previous US Opens at Merion

The Merion Gold Club has hosted four previous US Opens (1934, 1950, 1971, 1981). An American has won three, while Australian David Graham won the last in 1981.

5 – Players have won Masters then US Open in same year

Adam Scott is planning on becoming just the sixth player in golf history to follow his Masters triumph by winning the US Open. Tiger Woods was the last to do so in 2002, while Ben Hogan completed the feat twice in 1951 and 1953.

5 (again) – Mickelson second best 

Phil Mickelson has won four majors but is yet to win the US Open. In fact he has finished runner-up on five occasions – 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009.  Can the perennial nearly-man do it this time?

6 – Players have defended their title

Six players have defended their title, while Willie Anderson won three consecutive US Open majors from 1903-1905. In the 2013 US Open, Webb Simpson is aiming to become the first player since Curtis Strange (1989) to defend the title.

15 – Biggest winning margin 

Back in 2000, Tiger Woods won the US Open by 15 strokes, which is an all-time record for majors.

16 – McIlroy superb in 2011

Rory McIlroy’s win in the 2011 US Open broke all scoring records. The Northern Irishman won with a score of 16 under par and also broke the records for lowest score after 36 (131), 54 (199) and 72 (268) holes.

19 – Youngest winner 

Back in 1911 John McDermott won the US Open at the tender age of 19 years, 315 days. Rory McIlroy ‘s win in 2011 made him the youngest winner of the modern era at the age of 22.

19 (again) – Ainsley has a nightmare  

Ray Ainsley took 19 strokes on the 16th (par 4) at the 1938 U.S. Open at the Cherry Hills Country Club course to record the most strokes by a player on a single hole at the major.

29 – Percentage of US Opens that have gone to a playoff

33 (29%) of the 113 US Open tournaments have been decided by a playoff. The last saw Tiger Woods beat Rocco Mediate on the first additional playoff hole in 2008.

33 – Number of times a foreign player has won the US Open

A non-American has won the US Open on 33 occasions, by 27 different players. Since 1950 only players from six nations outside of the US have won, with South Africans being the most dominant (5).

A streak of four consecutive non-American winners occurred from 2004 to 2007 for the first time since 1910, while Webb Simpson ended a two-year winning streak by Northern Irishman – Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy – last year.

42 – One-shot wonders

42 hole-in-ones have been recorded at the US Open. Jack Hobens was the first in 1907, while John Peterson was the latest in 2012. However in the four previous US Open’s held at Merion, there have been no hole-in-ones.

Interested in how bettors and bookmakers underweight rare events? Click here to read about the infamous Hole-in-One Gang who in 1991 made a tidy profit from taking advantage of ill informed bookmakers on the probability of a hole in one at a tournament.

45 – Irwin Oldest champion 

Aged 45 years and 15 days, American Hale Irwin became the oldest winner of the US Open when in 1990 he claimed his third title at the Medinah Country Club. Interestingly, the last winner over 40 was Payne Stewart (6th oldest in history) in 1999.

49 times – The leader after 54 holes has gone on to win

The leader after 54 holes has gone on to win the US Open 49 times, while the player leading at the half-way mark has claimed victory on 38 occasions and the man heading the scores after 18 holes has managed to win 20 times. Only on six occasions has the winner not lead before the final round.

63 – Lowest US Open Round

Johnny Miller was the first of four players to shoot a round of 63 at the US Open in 1973 – Jack Nicklaus (1980), Tom Weiskopf (1980) and Vijay Singh (2003) are the others.

6846 – Course extended for 2013 US Open

After concerns over the length of the course, the Merion has been extended for the 2013 US Open and will play 6846 yards. The course is unique with sloped fairways, small tight greens and a number of intricacies that players will need to be aware of.  As Jack Nicklaus once said, “acre for acre, it may be the best test of golf in the world.”

The weather could have an impact on the outcome of the 2013 US Open. A dry and running course will suit the accurate straight hitters who have a solid short game, while a wet course will give the big hitters more of a chance.

Click here to see the latest US Open odds.

*Odds subject to change

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