| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | June 12–15, 1980 |
| Location | Springfield, New Jersey |
| Course(s) | Baltusrol Golf Club, Lower Course |
| Organized by | USGA |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 70 |
| Length | 7,076 yards (6,470 m)[1] |
| Field | 156 players, 63 after cut |
| Cut | 146 (+6) |
| Prize fund | $356,700 |
| Winner's share | $55,000 |
| Champion | |
 Jack Nicklaus | |
| 272 (−8) | |
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The 1980 U.S. Open was the 80th U.S. Open, held June 12–15 at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey, west of New York City. Jack Nicklaus set a new tournament scoring record to win his fourth U.S. Open title, two strokes ahead of runner-up Isao Aoki; in fact, as the tournament transpired these two golfers ended up playing all four rounds together.[2][3][4]
Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf began the tournament by shooting a record-tying 63 in the first round on the Lower Course on Thursday.[5] Weiskopf, however, did not shoot better than 75 in any other round and finished 37th. After a second round 71, Nicklaus owned a two-stroke lead over Isao Aoki. Aoki, however, carded a third consecutive round of 68 in the third to tie Nicklaus.[6]
In the final round on Sunday, Nicklaus birdied the 3rd after Aoki recorded a bogey on 2, taking a two-shot lead. Nicklaus, however, could not separate himself from his challenger. After he hit his approach to 3 feet on 10, Aoki made a long putt from the fringe for a birdie. On the 17th Nicklaus holed a 22-footer for birdie while Aoki made his own 5-footer for birdie. And at the 18th Nicklaus rolled in another birdie from 10-feet to win the championship, his sixteenth major title as a professional.[7]
Nicklaus' winning total of 272 established a new U.S. Open standard, breaking the record 275 he set in 1967 on the same Lower Course. He also tied Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones, and Ben Hogan by winning his fourth U.S. Open title.[7][8] Nicklaus had failed to win a tournament in 1979 for the first time in his career, and at 40 many believed his best days were behind him. He won four more times on the PGA Tour with two majors, including the PGA Championship two months later and the Masters in 1986.
Seve Ballesteros, the reigning champion of the British Open and Masters, was late to the course on Friday, missed his tee time, and was disqualified; he had carded a 75 on Thursday.[9][10]
The U.S. Open returned to the Lower Course in 1993, and the PGA Championship was played there in 2005 and in 2016.
- ^ "Site of 1980 U.S. Open". Chicago Tribune. June 12, 1980. p. 6, section 4.
- ^ "Jack is back!". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. June 16, 1980. p. 15.
- ^ Parascenzo, Marino (June 16, 1980). "Jack Nicklaus regains form, wins 4th Open". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 1.
- ^ Jenkins, Dan (June 23, 1980). "The Owner of the Open". Sports Illustrated. p. 22.
- ^ Loomis, Tom (June 13, 1980). "Nicklaus, Weiskopf fire twin record-tying scores". Toledo Blade. Ohio. p. 23.
- ^ "Nicklaus' putter turns Open into tie". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. June 15, 1980. p. 3C.
- ^ a b Loomis, Tom (June 16, 1980). "Nicklaus wins fourth Open". Toledo Blade. Ohio. p. 13.
- ^ Etzel, Pete (June 16, 1980). "Nicklaus resurrected amid wave of love". Milwaukee Journal. p. 8, part 2.
- ^ Lyon, Bill (June 14, 1980). "USGA says adios, Seve". Chicago Tribune. Knight-Ridder News Service. p. 2, section 2.
- ^ "Ballesteros disqualified in Open". Toledo Blade. Ohio. Associated Press. June 13, 1980. p. 23.