Page "Jack Nicklaus" Paragraph 9

At the 1960 U. S. Open, Nicklaus shot a two-under par 282, finishing second by two strokes to Arnold Palmer, who won the tournament with a final round charge of six-under-par 65.

This score remains the lowest ever by an amateur in the U. S. Open.

Nicklaus played the final 36 holes with Ben Hogan, who later remarked he had just played 36 holes with a kid who should have won by 10 shots.

During the final 36 holes, Nicklaus was two-under-par, and never shot a single round above par during the entire tournament, the only entrant to do so.

Nicklaus had led by two shots with six holes to play.

In 1960, Nicklaus also tied for 13th in the Masters Tournament.

He tied for fourth in the 1961 U. S. Open, three shots behind champion Gene Littler, having played the final 54 holes one under par.

Each of these three major championship finishes designated Nicklaus as Low Amateur.

However, Nicklaus ' one-under-par 287 tied for seventh in the 1961 Masters Tournament, and was second that year only to Charles Coe's low amateur placing, when he tied for second with Arnold Palmer at seven-under par 281, one shot behind champion Gary Player.