He’s the golfer who holds the course record at Oakmont after beating Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer to win the US Open

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With the US Open coming up at Oakmont Country Club in less than a week, it’s a fair shout to look back at the course record and what could be a score that simply never gets beaten.

Oakmont is expected to provide one of the very toughest tests of the year for the world’s best golfers.

Long rough and rapid greens, coupled with some potentially bad weather, could make Oakmont a nightmare for everyone and we might well see a repeat of the plus five winning score Angel Cabrera carded to win in 2007.

• READ MORE: Watch Arnold Palmer’s emotional interview where he broke down in tears after playing his final ever US Open at Oakmont

However, while Oakmont is going to be playing tough, that doesn’t mean shooting a low score is impossible and if we go back to 1973, that’s exactly where we’ll find the course record.

How Johnny Miller shot the course record at Oakmont to win the US Open

Every so often, a golfer produces something magical and that’s exactly what Johnny Miller had to do to win the US Open in 1973 and see off the great Jack Nicklaus.

Going into the event at Oakmont, Nicklaus was very much the top player in the world, while Miller was yet to even win a major championship.

All that was about to change though as Miller showed up on day four and produced what many believe to be one of the finest rounds of golf ever played in a major.

Quite remarkably, Miller actually started the fourth round some six shots back, as four players – including Arnold Palmer – sat atop the leaderboard on minus three.

However, after making birdie on the opening four holes, Miller suddenly saw a chance open up and it was one he wasn’t going to let slip.

After making an unexpected bogey on eight, Miller then birdied four of the next five holes before making one more birdie and lipping out for another to post a brilliant 63.

In the end, it was enough for Miller to win out, as he held off the likes of Nicklaus, Palmer, Lee Trevino and John Schlee and Tom Weiskopf behind him to win his first major.

Remarkably, Miller’s US Open record score stood right up until 2023, when Xander Schauffele and Rickie Fowler both posted the first ever 62s in US Open history.

• READ MORE: He is the golfer whose only PGA Tour win came at the US Open after going head-to-head with Tiger Woods

What Johnny Miller said about his round of 63 at the 1973 US Open

Any golfer shooting a 63 knows full well they can play the game well but it makes it all the more sweeter when such a brilliant low score captures you a major championship.

Indeed, that was the feeling Miller had with his own 63, admitting it would have meant little had he not ended up winning.

“I shot 63 on the final day,” Miller has said. “The secret of a 63 is the fact that I shot it on Sunday and it was enough to win the U.S. Open. There will be guys that will shoot 61 or 62, but can they do it on Sunday to win? That’s what makes the round what it is.

“It wouldn’t have done any good if I finished second. It would have been a nice round, but the fact that to win it and to beat Arnold Palmer in his backyard.”

Miller would go on to add the 1976 Open Championship to his resume, while three second place finishes at the Masters never quite got converted into that beloved green jacket.