History says a playoff beckons at Brookline

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.

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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 1st 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.”