The 1962 US Open proved to be a hugely significant event in golfing history as it provided the stage for Jack Nicklaus to win the first of his 18 major championships.
As an amateur, Jack Nicklaus had remarkably finished inside the top five at the US Open both in 1960 and 1961. But the 1962 event was taking place at Oakmont, a course less than an hour away from Arnold Palmer‘s hometown.
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So it was no surprise that the crowd was on Palmer’s side as the King ended up in a playoff with the youngster. The two were the only players to finish the week under par.
Despite the hostility he faced, Nicklaus controlled the 18-hole playoff. He took the lead after Palmer made a bogey on the first. And he never gave it up, ultimately winning by three.
What Jack Nicklaus never did again after winning the 1962 US Open
It was clearly a key moment in Nicklaus’ career. But that does not mean that the Golden Bear was entirely happy with his own actions that week in Pennsylvania.
Speaking to Golf Digest in 2016, Nicklaus suggested that he was left horrified when he was provided with the footage of his triumph.
“On December 10th 1962, I received the official USGA U.S. Open film. It had a scene of me putting on the 13th hole of the playoff. After I missed the putt, I reached down and picked up my cigarette and stuck it in my mouth. So there I am, this cigarette dangling from my mouth as I tapped in. I thought it looked awful,” he wrote.
“I thought, That is the worst example of being a role model for youth I’ve ever seen. I never smoked another cigarette on the golf course. In fact, I phoned L&M, the cigarette brand Arnold and I both had contracts with, and canceled then and there. I sent them their money back. It was years before I stopped smoking completely, but on the golf course, that was the end.”
How Arnold Palmer felt about the criticism Jack Nicklaus faced at Oakmont
Unfortunately, the criticism Nicklaus received from the galleries crossed the line. As noted by CBS Sports, his father was left incredibly upset by what he heard.
And it seems that Palmer himself was extremely disappointed by how sections of the crowd behaved.
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“That bothered me,” Palmer said. “They were all people I knew, so it wasn’t something that I was pleased about at all.”
Nicklaus insisted that he was not affected by the abuse. He also noted that Palmer himself could not have been more gracious.
The pair would ultimately enjoy golf’s most important rivalry and finish first and second in five majors, with Nicklaus winning three of those events.
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