Story of Oakmont's Course Record Involves a Remarkable U.S. Open Comeback

Johnny Miller's win at the 1973 U.S. Open is a remarkable tale and resulted in a course record that stands to this day.

Johnny Miller set the Oakmont course record at the 1973 U.S. Open / Sam Greenwood/PGA TOUR Archive via Getty Images

The U.S. Open returns to Oakmont Country Club this week. The course has hosted nine previous U.S. Open tournaments—a storied history with many remarkable performances and epic finishes. This year's field hopes to deliver another memorable weekend in honor of the 125th U.S. Open tournament ever.

But it will be mighty hard to match the course record, which has stood for decades courtesy of Johnny Miller. Miller won the 1973 U.S. Open at Oakmont and set the course record with a tremendous Sunday performance.

The story of that performance, though, is quite something.

Johnny Miller's Oakmont course record

Miller's epic Sunday cannot be mentioned without touching upon his third round on Saturday. Which is a touch less epic, to say the least.

Miller joined the PGA Tour in 1969 and entered the 1973 U.S. Open with two wins under his belt, but no major championships. He was paired with Arnold Palmer for the first two rounds at Oakmont and played quite well relative to how difficult the course famously is in tournament conditions; he entered Saturday at 2 under par.

Then things went terribly wrong thanks to a self-inflicted wound. In a story Miller has told countless times in the years since, he forgot his yardage book for the third round. This would be a tough blunder for a professional golfer at any course, but Oakmont has always been notoriously difficult. Miller also shared in 2023 there were no yardage markers or sprinkler head markers on the course then. In other words, he was forced to eyeball all his shots until his wife, Linda, delivered him the yardage book at the 9th hole.

Predictably, this did not result in a very good round of golf. Miller shot 5 over par that Saturday. It knocked him all the way back to 12th place for Sunday's final round. The golfers ahead of Miller included Palmer and other names like Gary Player, Lee Trevino, and Jack Nicklaus. It would be an understatement to say Miller was not in a good spot.

Of course, some athletes shine when the odds are stacked against them. Miller proved himself such an athlete that day in 1973.

Fully recovered from the yardage book debacle, Miller played an incredible round of golf that Sunday. He shot a 63, 8 under par, which still stands as the course record. In recounting the story to the New York Times years later, Miller said he only had 29 putts in 18 holes. He hit every green in regulation, hit the 9th green in two shots, and says he didn't face a downhill putt all day long. He birdied the first four holes and totaled nine on the day, with only one bogey to mar an otherwise perfect round.

Miller's final score of 63 allowed him to finish at 5 under for the tournament and pushed him just past John Schlee, who finished 4 under to place second. The outstanding final day was also a major record for a long time; it took until 2017 for a golfer to score better than 63 in a major, when Branden Grace shot a 62 at the British Open.

It was a truly historic performance and one that will be mentioned plenty every time the U.S. Open is held at Oakmont. Until somebody comes along to set a new course record, that is.

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