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BROOKLINE, Mass. – Get ready for bonus golf this week at the U.S. Open. History says a playoff at The Country Club will be needed to decide the champion. RELATED: Power Rankings | Nine Things to Know: The Country Club | Five Cinderellas to watch Playoffs were necessary to crown a winner in the three previous U.S. Opens at the celebrated venue just outside Boston, and taking things a step further, playoffs have been needed to decide the last six US Opens played in the state of Massachusetts. So, despite the fact it’s been a record 14 years since Tiger Woods outlasted Rocco Mediate in extra holes at Torrey Pines in the 2008 U.S. Open, history suggests 72 holes won’t be enough to get a winner this week. Francis Ouimet famously won the 1913 U.S. Open at Brookline with an 18-hole playoff win over Harry Vardon and Ted Ray and it was another three-man battle to get a winner in 1963 when Julius Boros took down Arnold Palmer and Jacky Cupit. And Curtis Strange beat Nick Faldo over 18 holes in a playoff in the most recent U.S. Open at The Country Club, in 1988. The Boston area also saw Fred McLeod win over Willie Smith in 1908 at Myopia Hunt Club and Walter Hagen defeated Mike Brady in 1919 at Brae Burn Country Club over 18 extra holes. Willie Macfarlane took down Bobby Jones in 1925 in a 36-hole playoff after they tied again in the first 18-holes at Worcester Country Club, as well. Woods’ win over Mediate took 19 extra holes but since then the United States Golf Association’s premier event has moved to a two-hole aggregate playoff format. They just haven’t had to use it yet. Despite the weight of history BetMGM Sportsbook are offering odds of +350 for Brookline to keep its 100% playoff record intact. And if you think the record gap for U.S. Opens without the extra holes will stretch to 14 years, they’re offering -500. Any playoff in 2022 would be played on the 17th and 18th holes, and if still tied after two holes the players would continue that loop in a sudden death mode. Here’s a closer look at the three previous playoffs at The Country Club. 1913: A WIN FOR THE LOCAL LAD This U.S. Open was so good Hollywood made a movie about it called “The Greatest Game Ever Played” where a young Shia LeBeouf plays the Ouimet role beautifully. Ouimet, a 20-year-old amateur and former caddie at Brookline who lived across the road from this week’s 17th hole, was not expected to factor as anything but a local prospect for fans to cheer for. But with his 10-year-old caddie Eddie Lowery by his side, the pair forced their way to the top of the leaderboard against the British superstar duo of Harry Vardon and Ted Ray. A 71st hole birdie proved extremely pivotal. Faced with the task of keeping the trophy in American hands (Scottish or British golfers won the first 16 U.S. Opens before John McDermott became the first American to win in 1911 and 1912) Ouimet was brilliant in the 18-hole playoff on his way to a 72 that bested Vardon’s 77 and Ray’s 78. The trio were all tied through the opening nine holes with Vardon establishing a one-shot lead early on but giving it back before the turn. As the pressure ratcheted up on the back nine, Ouimet was steadfast with seven straight pars leaving him one ahead of Vardon with two to play. His lead was three when he birdied the hole and Vardon bogeyed before closing it out on 18. “I frankly admit that my victory was probably more surprising to me than to any person at The Country Club,” Ouimet said. 1963: BOROS BEATS FATHER TIME The U.S. Open returned to The Country Club to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ouimet’s famous win and it was New England’s Julius Boros who gave the locals something to cheer about this time around. At 43, Boros become the second-oldest U.S. Open winner ever at the time when his 1-under 70 beat Jacky Cupit’s 73 and Arnold Palmer’s laboring 76 in an 18-hole playoff after the trio all finished at 9 over in regulation. Boros needed two birdies in his final three holes during the final round to tie Palmer at the top while Cupit was left to lament a 71st hole double-bogey and a missed 12-foot putt on the 72nd hole that would have claimed the win. In the playoff, Cupit led by one after just two holes before Boros took control. Three front nine birdies helped him to a three-shot lead over Palmer and a four-shot cushion over Cupit at the turn. He was five clear after 12 holes and despite doubling the 13th, he cruised to his second U.S. Open title. 1988: STRANGE REIGNS SUPREME Curtis Strange persevered to claim the first of his back-to-back U.S. Open titles after a wild final round finish left him tied with Nick Faldo at The Country Club. The 54-hole leader infamously three-putted the 71st green to lose his one-shot advantage over Faldo during the final round and then found a greenside bunker on his approach to the 18th, much to the chagrin of the partisan American crowd. Seemingly in the midst of throwing the championship away Strange produced a clutch up and down for par to ensure England’s Faldo would have to return for an 18-hole Monday playoff. The American would never trail in the playoff, setting up a one-shot lead at the turn, before prevailing with an even-par 71 against Faldo’s 4-over 75. While Strange was steadfast down the stretch, Faldo bogeyed three of his last four to surrender his hopes. “This is for my dad. … I’ve been waiting a long time to do this. … This is the greatest feeling I’ve ever had,” Strange, who lost his golf professional father at just 14, emotionally said. “Sometimes dreams don’t come true. Ninety-nine percent of the time they don’t. My dream has come true.”
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Jack Nicklaus admitted he started feeling bad for Jordan Spieth during his slump but the 18-time major winner has no doubt the tide is turning for the Texan – and he wouldn’t be surprised if the former FedExCup champ contended again at this week’s Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. With back-to-back top-10 results at the PGA Championship (T3) and the Charles Schwab Challenge (T8) Spieth has ended a 10-month run without contending, but his winless stretch is now at 22 months. He has moved from 150th to 73rd in the current FedExCup standings over the last two weeks. “You feel bad for the guy. I felt bad for him for some of his play but I think his work ethic and desire to win and play is there and when you have that … well he will do fine,� Nicklaus said. “Jordan is trying to make some adjustments in his swing. He’s been trying this for about a year. He is paying the pains of it a little bit but he will be better off in the end for it.� The 11-time PGA TOUR winner comes to Muirfield Village off the back of making 434 feet, 4 inches worth of putts in the opening three rounds last week. But Sunday he made just 46 feet worth as he tallied 32 putts in the final round (72) and fell into a T8 finish. His final round scoring average of 72.82 ranks 202nd on TOUR. “You are going to have a variety when your putter is the only club in your bag that’s working. But he will fix that, he has a lot of years, don’t worry too much about him, he’s going to be just fine,� Nicklaus said. “A competitor is a competitor and a winner is a winner… and he’s both.� Nicklaus reminded the media throng that Spieth won the Open Championship despite a wayward driver. Related: Catch early-round coverage on PGA TOUR LIVE | Power Rankings | Sleepers | How Jack created a masterpiece | Featured Groups And with just a little more improvement in the ball-striking the hot putter will once again bring wins. Spieth is fourth on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting this season but 192nd Off-the-Tee and 135th Approach-the-Green. “He will ultimately fix it. It is obvious this spring he is getting better with it,� Nicklaus adds. “I think his swing is better, I watch him quite a bit on television because I like him a lot and take a great interest in him. He is swinging better; I don’t think he’s quite where he wants to be yet but he is pretty close.� Spieth missed the cut at Muirfield Village last season but has three previous top-20s at the venue, including a T3 in 2015.
