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| Jones won 13 majors, the last one at Merion Golf Club in 1930 after which he retired with 13 majors. |
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| Ben Hogan's famous second shot at the 18 in the final round of 1950. He needed par from 215 yards to get in a playoff. He did and then won the playoff. |
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| Olin Dutra won in Merion in 1934 |
Tiger is the best in the last 18 years, and that is a long time to be the best at anything. No doubt, and the reason is that he is a championship player, not just a tournament player. Sure he plays to win everywhere, and tries as hard on every shot, but if he is down and in a slump, don't tell him you can beat him, his best will start coming out again, and again. Don't tell him he can't beat jack's record, I can guarantee you, he is still trying and will never give up.
Here is a little story that will add to Johnny Miler's brash reputation; after winning the U.S. Open in 1973 with a record final round of 63, Miller challenged Nicklaus to a match. Nicklaus did not take the bait. It was one of these situations where he couldn't win: if he won, it was expected, so not much gain could come out of it, but, if he lost, he would lose his reputation of invincibility. He allowed the clubs do the talking in championships. He won 18 in total, Johnny won 2.
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| Lee Trevino beat Jack Nicklaus in an 18 hole playoff in 1971 in Merion G.C. Jack won 18 majors, Lee won six. |
Champions get in slumps too, and at times, they may not be playing their best, but you know who the other golfers "fear"... or at least, respect or watch over when they are close to the lead, even when they barely make the cut. Tiger WANTS to win every tournament he enters. If he gets close to the lead, EVERYONE watches out. Everyone fears him as much as they feared Jack.. or Ben, or Sam Snead or Bobby Jones.
And speaking of Jones, the U.S. Open is coming to historic Merion Golf Club, in Ardmore, PA, just about 10 miles out of Philadelphia. Merion is where Bobby Jones won his fourth major championship of 1930, the U.S. Amateur, giving him the "Grand Slam" of his era. Bobby Jones, then 28 years old, retired from championship golf after his great achievement (Jones had also won the U.S. Amateur in Merion once before).
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| David Graham silenced critics that he could not win a 2nd major.... |
The U.S. Open is the second oldest championship of all, and with all of the other majors, any golfer's favorite event. There was a time -up to the late 50's that no matter who was the defending champion, he had to qualify again for the following year. Nowadays, you win the U.S. Open and you get a 10 year exemption. So I would say that Ben Hogan's four U.S. Opens (many say it is five, since he won the Hale America Open in 1942 when the U.S.G.A. substituted the U.S. Open with this eevnt because of World War II and even gave the same gold medal to its winner that they give the U.S. Open Champion) were more difficult to win than Jack's
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| Will Tiger get closer to Jack's record? |
Merion has hosted eleven U.S.G.A. Championships, including six U.S. Amateurs, the last one of which was won by Edoardo Molinari in 2005; and four previous U.S. Opens, first in 1934, won by Olin Dutra who had previously won the 1932 PGA Championship (he won 22 times in all).
Merion is the place where Ben Hogan (9 majors, 62 tour wins, Merion was his second U.S. Open win) made his great comeback in 1950 and won 18 months after his near fatal accident.
Merion is where Australian David Graham won in 1981 with a flawless last round where he hit 17 greens in regulation and missing only one on the fringe, cementing Down Under's reputation for good golfers, Graham also won the 1979 PGA Championship and had 38 other wins.
It is also where Lee Trevino (six majors, 42 wins) won the 1971 U.S. Open playoff against Jack Nicklaus, showing that his first U.S. Open win in 1968 was no fluke....
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| "What will Phil do next?" Will Phill add one more major to his record? |
Who will win? I don't know. No one does. In fact, Ben Hogan is saying from his grave, "I don't know, that's why they are playing it!", but history says that everyone who has won the U.S. Open in Merion, has won a major before, so it is tempting to predict that the winner, "has been there before" and that it will be an addition to his major wins.