19th Hole

Top 10 hardest U.S. Opens

Published

6 years ago

Sep 16, 2020

The U.S. Open has been known as the toughest test in golf throughout the years, and ahead of this week’s championship from Winged Foot, we thought it’d be fun to take a look at the top 10 bloodbaths in the history of the event.

Over the last 70 years, the U.S. Open has thrown up several brutal tests that have made the best in the world look like mere mortals, so here are the top 10 hardest U.S. Opens from 1950 onwards in relation to the winning score to par.

Top 10 hardest U.S. Opens

10. 1975 U.S. Open

Course: Medinah CC

Winner: Lou Graham

Winning Score: +3

Cut Line: +6

Lou Graham would win his first and only major title at the 1975 U.S. Open, after defeating John Mahaffey in an 18-hole Monday playoff. Graham made four birdies in the playoff, and his level par round of 71 gave him the championship.

9. 1958 U.S. Open

Course: Southern Hills CC

Winner: Tommy Bolt

Winning Score: +3

Cut Line: +14

Tommy Bolt went wire-to-wire for his solo major victory at the 1958 U.S. Open. Bolt beat Gary Player by four strokes to win, in a championship where a +10 four day score was good enough for a top-4 finish.

8. 1954 U.S. Open

Course: Baltusrol GC

Winner: Ed Furgol

Winning Score: +4

Cut Line: +11

Ed Furgol came to Baltusrol in 1954 having missed the cut on his last four consecutive trips to the U.S. Open but would triumph in New Jersey by a margin of one stroke over Gene Littler. Furgol did not break par once on his way to victory at Baltusrol in 1954.

7. 2006 U.S. Open

Course: Winged Foot GC

Winner: Geoff Ogilvy

Winning Score: +5

Cut Line: +9

Australian Geoff Ogilvy was the last man standing at Winged Foot in 2006, managing to close with four straight pars to seal his maiden major title. Phil Mickelson and Colin Montgomerie both double-bogeyed the final hole to miss out on a playoff by one stroke, with the former having only needed a par on the last to win the title outright.

6. 2007 U.S. Open

Course: Oakmont CC

Winner: Angel Cabrera

Winning Score: +5

Cut Line: +10

Angel Cabrera claimed his first of two major titles back in 2007 at Oakmont, and he did it the hard way by staring down Tiger Woods down the stretch on Sunday. The Argentine was the only player in the top-10 on Sunday to shoot under par (-1) for the final round.

5. 1950 U.S. Open

Course: Merion GC

Winner: Ben Hogan

Winning Score: +7

Cut Line: +9

Ben Hogan won his second of four U.S. Open titles at Merion GC in 1950 in an event that went to a three-man playoff finish. Hogan’s round of one under par gave him a comfortable victory in Sunday’s playoff, with his competitors Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio struggling to playoff rounds of three over and five over, respectively.

4. 1951 U.S. Open

Course: Oakland Hills CC

Winner: Ben Hogan

Winning Score: +7

Cut Line: +12

Hogan went back-to-back in 1951, and it was a winning score of +7 that was able to give him the victory without the need of a playoff this time. Hogan won by two strokes over Clayton Heafner, thanks to a final round of 67 – eclipsing his second-best score for the week by four strokes.

3. 1974 U.S. Open

Course: Winged Foot GC

Winner: Hale Irwin

Winning Score: +7

Cut Line: +13

Nicknamed ‘The Massacre at Winged Foot’, Hale Irwin survived the war of attrition in New York in 1974 to claim what would be the first of three major victories for the Missouri native. Irwin finished two strokes ahead of Forrest Fezler to win the title, in a year where not one single player broke even par during round one.

2. 1955 U.S. Open

Course: Olympic Club

Winner: Jack Fleck

Winning Score: +7

Cut Line: +15

In a massive upset, municipal course pro Jack Fleck won his only major title at the 1955 U.S. Open and he did so by defeating the great Ben Hogan in a playoff. Both Fleck and Hogan finished five strokes better than anyone else in regulation, and on Sunday’s playoff finish on the west coast, Flecks’s round of one-under-par was enough to secure his victory by a margin of three strokes.

1. 1963 U.S. Open

Course: Brookline

Winner: Julius Boros

Winning Score: +9

Cut Line: +10

Julius Boros’ +9 total gave him victory at the 1963 U.S. Open, prevailing in a three-man playoff against Jacky Cupit and Arnold Palmer. Boros shot 70 in the playoff to finish one stroke better off than Cupit to secure victory. His +9 four-round total is the highest winning score at the U.S. Open since World War II.

19th Hole

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
T9: Max Homa, $630,00
11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
T12: Jason Day, $427,500
T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
T30: Harris English, $146,250
T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V

— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

Published

1 month ago

Apr 7, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”