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US Open: Recent years

Unlike the US Masters, where European golfers were to the fore through the 1980s, the US Open has been almost exclusively dominated by American golfers. Indeed, the recent run of four foreign winners is the longest spell without an American victor since the first decade of the 1900s. The leading players of each era have all performed strongly in the tournament. Ben Hogan won four titles just after the war, and is one of only four golfers to have achieved that number of victories. The only other post-war quadruple champion is Jack Nicklaus, whose remarkable victory in the 1962 Championship at the Oakmont Country Club came in his first season as a professional. Other multiple winners include Lee Trevino, who won in 1968 and 1971; Ernie Els, victorious in 1994 and 1997, and Tiger Woods, who claimed the title in 2000 and 2002.

Woods' victory in 2000 at the Pebble Beach Golf Links was astounding for the number of US Open records that he broke. His 12-under par aggregate score of 272 was the lowest ever score to par in the Championship. He was the only player to break par in the entire tournament and finishing a massive fifteen shots clear of his nearest rivals, Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jiminez. He broke the record for the largest margin of victory in a Major, which Old Tom Morris had held since 1862. The US Open has been played at a number of different courses since its inception, with the most frequent venues being the Oakmont Country Club (eight Championships between 1927 and 2007), and the Baltusrol Golf Club (seven Championships between 1903 and 1993).

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