The 1981 U.S. Open was the 81st U.S. Open, held June 18–21 at the East Course of Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia. David Graham won his second major title and became the first Australian to win the U.S. Open, three strokes ahead of runners-up George Burns and Bill Rogers.

After a first round 66, Jim Thorpe made history as the first African-American since 1896 to lead the U.S. Open. Burns took a one-stroke lead over Graham with a 66 in the second round, then increased his lead to three strokes after 54 holes.

In the final round on Sunday, Graham shot one of the most precise rounds in U.S. Open history. He hit nearly every green in regulation, missed just one fairway, and recorded four birdies, missing several other opportunities from within . The only bogey was a three-putt at the fifth, after his approach shot stopped above the hole. After a string of eight pars, Graham finally passed Burns with birdies at the 14th and 15th holes. Graham carded a 67 to Burns' 73 to win by three strokes. Rogers shot 69 to tie Burns for 2nd and won the British Open four weeks later.

This was the fourth U.S. Open played at Merion, all at its East Course. Previous editions were hosted in 1934, 1950, and 1971. At , the same length as 1971, it was the shortest U.S. Open course since 1947. With heavy rains softening the course before the tournament, 93 rounds of par 70 or better were recorded. Fifteen players were under par after 36 holes, but only five finished under par for the four rounds. Five more were at even par 280, including defending champion Jack Nicklaus, a four-time winner.

After 1981, the U.S. Open was not played at Merion until 2013.

Course layout

East Course Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotalYards3555351836004264203503601953,4243123704051294143784302244583,1206,544 Par453544443364443444343470 Source:

Lengths of the course for previous U.S. Opens: 1971: , par 70 1950: , par 70 1934: , par 70

Round summaries First round Thursday, June 18, 1981 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Jim Thorpe66−42 J. C. Snead67−3T3 Bob Ackerman68−2 John Cook David Graham Jack Renner Chi-Chi RodríguezT8 George Burns69−1 Rex Caldwell Hubert Green Lon Hinkle Billy Kratzert Johnny Miller Jack Nicklaus Tommy Valentine

Second round Friday, June 19, 1981 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 George Burns69-66=135−52 David Graham68-68=136−4T3 Jack Nicklaus69-68=137−3 Tommy Valentine69-68=137T5 John Cook68-70=138−2 Billy Kratzert69-69=138 Greg Norman71-67=138 Bill Rogers70-68=138T9 Jerry Pate70-69=139−1 Jack Renner68-71=139 John Schroeder71-68=139 Scott Simpson72-67=139 Jim Thorpe66-73=139 Lanny Wadkins71-68=139 Tom Watson70-69=139

Amateurs: Rassett (E), Cooksey (+6), Norton (+8), Pavin (+9), DeFrancesco (+10), White (+10), Sindelar (+11), Faxon (+12), Lawrence (+14), Sanchez (+14), Moore (+15), Mudd (+15), Yokoi (+15), Biancalana (+16), Jones (+16), Ludwig (+16), Magee (+17), Hurter (+21), Brodie (+22).

Third round Saturday, June 20, 1981 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 George Burns69-66-68=203−72 David Graham68-68-70=206−43 Bill Rogers70-68-69=207−3T4 Jack Nicklaus69-68-71=208−2 Chi-Chi Rodríguez68-73-67=208 John Schroeder71-68-69=208T7 John Cook68-70-71=209−1 Ben Crenshaw70-75-64=209 Jim Thorpe66-73-70=209 Tommy Valentine69-68-72=209

Final round Sunday, June 21, 1981 PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)1 David Graham 68-68-70-67=273 −7 55,000T2 George Burns 69-66-68-73=276 −4 24,650 Bill Rogers 70-68-69-69=276T4 John Cook 68-70-71-70=279 −1 16,200 John Schroeder 71-68-69-71=279T6 Frank Conner 71-72-69-68=280 E 9,920 Lon Hinkle 69-71-70-70=280 Jack Nicklaus 69-68-71-72=280 Sammy Rachels 70-71-69-70=280 Chi-Chi Rodríguez 68-73-67-72=280

Amateur: Rassett (+14).

Scorecard Final round Hole 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 101112131415161718Par453544443 444344434 Graham −5−6−6−6−5−5−5−5−5−5−5−5−5−6−7−7−7−7 Burns −7−7−7−6−6−6−6−6−6−5−5−5−5−5−5−4−5−4 Rogers −3−3−3−3−3−2−2−3−4−3−3−4−4−4−4−3−3−4 Cumulative playoff scores, relative to par {|class="wikitable" span = 50 style="font-size:85%; |- |style="background: Pink;" width=10| |Birdie |style="background: PaleGreen;" width=10| |Bogey |} Source:

References

External links USGA Championship Database USOpen.com - 1981 Trenham Golf History – 1981 U.S. Open