US Open countdown: Player completes career Grand Slam at 1965 Open
65th U.S. Open | June 17-21, 1965
Bellerive Country Club, St. Louis, Missouri
Leaderboard
| p-Gary Player, South Africa | 70 | - | 70 | - | 71 | - | 71 | — | 282 |
| Kel Nagle, Australia | 68 | - | 73 | - | 72 | - | 69 | — | 282 |
| Frank Beard, United States | 74 | - | 69 | - | 70 | - | 71 | — | 284 |
| Julius Boros, United States | 72 | - | 75 | - | 70 | - | 70 | — | 287 |
| Al Geiberger, United States | 70 | - | 76 | - | 70 | - | 71 | — | 287 |
| p-won playoff |
The golf spotlight in the 1960s often landed on Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, two Americans who gobbled up major championships and made U.S. Opens dramatic stages for triumphs and failures.
But they were just two thirds of what became known as golf’s Big Three.
The third member was South African Gary Player. His triumph in the broiling sun at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis elevated him to a level even Palmer and Nicklaus had yet to reach in 1965.
His three-shot playoff victory over Kel Nagle — along with his victories at the British Open (1959), the Masters (1961) and the PGA Championship (1962) — gave the 29-year-old Player the career Grand Slam. Only Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan had done it before Player. Since then only Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have accomplished it.
His victory also is notable for several other reasons:
dale.phelps@thenewstribune.com
This story was originally published April 28, 2015 at 4:02 PM with the headline "US Open countdown: Player completes career Grand Slam at 1965 Open."