The 11 Biggest Weekend Comebacks At The U.S Open In The Past 60 Years

You’re setting yourself up for success if you head into the weekend with the lead at any golf tournament, but it would be foolish to get too comfortable with 36 holes left to play. Golfers at the U.S. Open have learned that time and time again based on how much the leaderboard can change from Saturday morning to Sunday evening, and that major has been responsible for some impressive comebacks that unfolded during the home stretch.

The majority of the golfers who’ve managed to win the U.S. Open since 1965 (the first year the final round was played on a Sunday as opposed to having two back-to-back rounds on Saturday) weren’t sitting at the top of the leaderboard when the weekend rolled around.

That obviously means plenty of players had to stage a comeback in order to win the major, and these are the guys who’ve managed to pull of the biggest ones over the course of the last 36 holes in the past 60 years.

Lou Graham: 11 Strokes (1975)

Lou Graham ended up at +4 after shooting a 74 and 72 during the first two rounds of the U.S. Open at Medinah Country Club in 1975 and found himself sitting in a tie for 27th place—11 strokes behind Tom Watson.

He shaved three strokes off of his score with a 68 on Saturday, which catapulted him into a tie for fourth. He still trailed Frank Beard (-3) by four strokes, but he was suddenly in contention.

Beard ultimately created with the 78 that put him one stroke out of the playoff Graham and John Mahaffey ended up needing after both finishing at +3.

The former ended up tallying a 71 to the latter’s 73 on Monday to cap off what remains the biggest 36-hole comeback in the history of the U.S. Open.

Tom Kite: 8 Strokes (1992)

Gil Morgan was sitting at -9 and had a three stroke lead after the first two rounds of the 1992 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, while Tom Kite was one of the 11 golfers tied for 12th at -1.

However, things took a very interesting turn when Morgan dropped five strokes with a 77 on Saturday, and Kite was one of three men who was just one behind and sitting at -3 heading into the final round.

Kite capped things off with an even-par 72, and it was good enough to get the major that had eluded him since he’d turn pro two decades prior by two strokes.

Larry Nelson: 7 Strokes (1983)

John Mahaffey and Joey Rassett ended up in a tie for first at -1 following the conclusion of the second round at the U.S. Open at Oakmont in 1983, while Larry Nelson was one of ten men who were tied for 25th at +6.

He bounced back in a big way after opening the tournament with a 75 and a 73, as he shot up the leaderboard on Saturday after becoming the first person to shoot a 65 that year (three strokes better than any round that had been recorded by that point).

He was still a stroke behind Seve Ballesteros and Tom Watson (who were both at -1), but he put on another dazzling display on Sunday with the 67 that led to him edging out Watson by a stroke.

Webb Simpson: 6 Strokes (2012)

Webb Simpson got his first two wins on the PGA Tour in 2011, but he wasn’t a top candidate to get his third—or his first major—when the U.S. Open was held at the Olympic Club the following year.

That was still the case after the first two rounds wrapped up, as Tiger Woods was sitting in a tie for first alongside Jim Furyk and David Toms at -1. Simpson, on the other hand, was one of the 13 men who trailed that trio at +6 in a tie for 29th.

Furyk ended up tied with Graeme McDowell while remaining at -1 after Saturday’s round, and while Simpson narrowed the gap to four strokes with a 68 to move into a tie for eighth, he still had plenty of work to do heading into Sunday.

He was able to match that 68 on Friday as Furyk and McDowell slipped, and while Michael Thompson tried to rally with a 67, Simpson won the championship by a single stroke.

Corey Pavin: 6 Strokes (1995)

Greg Norman had a two-stroke lead over the field at -5 when the weekend commenced at Shinnecock Hills during the 1995 U.S. Open, and Corey Pavin was one of ten golfers in a tie for 11th after going -1 during the first couple of days.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but “The Shark” saw his game fall apart after taking the lead at a major, although he was still tied for first with Tom Lehman at -1 with 18 holes to go.

Pavin, on the other hand, was among the five golfers three strokes back who were tied for fifth, but he closed things out with a 68 (his best round of the tournament) to beat out Norman by a couple of strokes for his first and only major victory.

Tom Watson: 5 Strokes (1982)

The legendary Tom Watson won eight majors during his career, but he had to rally to get the only one he managed to secure at the U.S. Open when the tournament was held at Pebble Beach in 1982.

Bruce Devlin was the leader at -5 and up by two strokes after 36 holes, while Watson sat in a tie for eighth with the four other golfers who’d shot even par up to that point.

Watson had shot 72 the first two days before getting into the red with a 68 on Saturday, and he and Bill Rogers were tied atop the leaderboard with a couple of strokes on the rest of the competition when things kicked off on Sunday.

Jack Nicklaus attempted to pull off a comeback of his own by posting 69, but Watson prevailed with the 70 that helped him beat The Golden Bear by two strokes.

Ernie Els: 4 Strokes (1994)

A grand total of five golfers have mounted a comparatively miniature weekend comeback to the tune of four strokes, and we’ll start with the most recent and work our way back.

Ernie Els ended up racking up 79 wins on the PGA Tour, and he announced his grand arrival in a big way by winning his first event and major when the U.S. Open made its way to Oakmont in 1994.

Colin Montgomerie had a two-stroke lead at -6 when play concluded on Friday, while Els was one of four guys who ended up at -2.

However, The Big Easy was the man who had a two-stroke lead over everyone else after he shot a 66 on Saturday to improve to -7.

Montgomerie battled back to force a playoff with Els (that also included Loren Roberts) after they all finished at -5 on Sunday. The last two had to go to a sudden-death showdown after they both shot a 73 in the ensuing 18, but the South African finally broke the deadlock on the second hole.

Hale Irwin: 4 Strokes (1990)

The 1990 U.S. Open at Medinah also went the distance and then some, as Hale Irwin finished Friday’s round in a tie for fifth, fell into a tie for 20th with a 74 on Saturday, but forced a playoff with Mike Donald with the 67 that got him to -8.

They both finished at +2  following the 18 holes of Bonus Golf, but Irwin only needed a single hole in sudden death to get the birdie that gave him his third win at the U.S. Open after previous victories in 1972 and 1979.

Raymond Floyd: 4 Strokes (1986)

Raymond Floyd already had three majors to his name when he headed to  Shinnecock Hills in 1986, but he was still looking for his first U.S. Open title after a victory at The Masters and two more at the PGA Championship.

Greg Norman was once again the leader before the weekend began at -1, while Floyd, Tom Watson, and Bob Tway were tied for fourth at +3.

Floyd ended up as a member of the quintet that was tied for fifth at that score in the wake of play on Saturday, and he was still three strikes behind Norman (who was up by one).

The Shark did what he tended to do when he had the chance to win a  major by taking himself out of contention with a 75, which opened up the door for Floyd to surge into first with a 66 and get the win by two strokes.

Lee Trevino: 4 Strokes (1971)

Lee Trevino first made a name for himself with a win at the U.S. Open in 1968, and the fan favorite was expected to be a contender when it transpired at Merion in 1971.

He was in a tie for sixth and four strokes out of contention when he headed to the course on Saturday, and the deficit remained the same after Jim Simons, an amateur, ended up at the top of the leaderboard at -3—two strokes ahead of Jack Nicklaus.

Simons failed to handle the pressure while posting a 76 on Sunday, while Nicklaus and Trevino ended up tied for first with an “E” next to their names.

“Supermex” famously kicked off the playoff with The Golden Bear by tossing a plastic snake he’d stashed in his bag in his direction, and he ultimately went on to win by three strokes.

Orville Moody: 4 Strokes (1969)

We’re wrapping things up with Orville Moody, an Army veteran who won the Korea Open three times in a row while deployed and joined the PGA Tour after 14 years of service.

One of the most unlikely U.S. Open winners in history had to play a little bit of catch-up at Champions Golf Club in 1969, as he was in a tie for eighth at +1 with three other golfers heading into the final two rounds.

He still trailed Miller Barber by three strokes after gaining sole possession of second with a 68, but he was able to beat out three other golfers who finished in a tie for second to get his only major win with a score of +1.