2006 US Open and the 10 Worst Massacres In Golf History

It wasn't just Phil Mickelson that was massacred at Winged Foot in 2006, the entire field was.  The winning score was five-over par.  It is not very often that the winner is unable to break par.  However, on certain occasions at the United States Open and British Open, this has been the case.  While a champion ends up being crowned, the real winner is the course.

It's not a knock on the player when this happens.  In fact, when the field ends up scoring so high, it can be even more difficult to win.  Getting into trouble can spell doom.

The list includes only tournaments that were post-World War II.  Making comparisons from beyond that far back in history is nearly impossible.  With that, here are the 10 worst massacres in golf history.

10. 2004 US Open

Retief Goosen and Phil Mickelson both broke par for the tournament at Shinnecock Hills.  However, the final day was as tough as it gets.  No one in the field shot under par.  The average score was a record-high 78.7.  Mickelson recorded a double-bogey on the 17th hole to fall out of the lead.

Goosen won by two strokes, finishing at four-under par.  He shot one-over for the day.  Ernie Els was in contention after 54 holes, but shot 80 in the final round.  The tournament was criticized for letting the course get out of hand on Sunday.  Crews were watering greens between players because they had become too fast.

9. 1972 US Open

Jack Nicklaus won at Pebble Beach by finishing at two-over par.  He was three strokes clear of runner-up Bruce Crampton.  A score of 11-over par was good for a top 10 finish.  Among those who finished in the top 10, the lowest score on Sunday was a 74 by Nicklaus.

No player managed to break par in more than one round.  Lee Trevino was one shot off Nicklaus going into Sunday, but he shot a 78.  Arnold Palmer finished in third place, despite shooting 77 on Thursday and 76 on Sunday.

8. 1950 and 1951 US Opens

There was a three-way tie between Ben Hogan, Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio at seven-over par following four rounds.  Hogan shot a 69 in the 18-hole playoff the next day to win at Merion Country Club in Pennsylvania.  It was his first win after a car accident caused him to miss all of 1949.

The 36-hole Saturday seemed to get to the players, as many struggled in their final rounds.  Mangrum shot a 76 to blow his lead.  Hogan's 74 wasn't stellar either.  Fazio played well to get in the playoff with a 70.

Dutch Harrison shot a 76 to miss the playoff by one stroke.  Cary Middlecoff and Johnny Palmer both shot 79's on the final day to fall out of contention.  They finished in a tie for 10th place at 12-over par.

1951 was another win for Ben Hogan, this time at Oakland Hills Country Club.  Hogan shot a final round 67, but only finished at seven-over par.  Following his win, he described the course as a "monster." Clayton Heafner finished two strokes back at nine-over.  In third place was Bobby Locke at 11-over par.

The 1950 and 1951 Opens seem to have been a response to the lower scores that had been seen following World War II.

7. 2008 British Open

Padraig Harrington won his second straight British Open, finishing at three-over par.  He shot a final round 69 to win by four strokes at Carnoustie.  Greg Norman had the lead after three rounds, but showed his age on Sunday with a 77.  Jim Furyk and Chris Wood finished at 10-over par, which was good for a fifth-place finish.

6. 1955 US Open

This was yet another US Open in the 1950's that played tough.

Ben Hogan was involved again, but this time he lost in a playoff to Jack Fleck.  Fleck birdied the 72nd hole to shoot a 67 on the final day, catching Hogan at seven-over par.  Fleck shot a 69 and won the playoff by three strokes.

Hogan and Fleck were five strokes clear of the field at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.  Tommy Bolt and Sam Snead were in third place at 12-over par.  Shooting a whopping 20-over par was good for a 15th-place finish.

5. 1963 US Open

The US Open returned to The Country Club fifty years after the famous 1913 edition.

They made the course a complete monster.  After 72 holes, there was a three-way tie at nine-over par.  Julius Boros beat Arnold Palmer and Jacky Cupit in a playoff the following day.

Palmer was in good shape after two rounds, but his final three were complete train-wrecks.  He shot 77, 74 over the weekend and 76 in the playoff.  Boros shot a third-round 76, but recovered with a 72 on Sunday and won the playoff with a 70.  Cupit shot a 75 on Sunday to fall back into the playoff.

Dow Finsterwald was tied with Palmer after two rounds, but shot consecutive 79's and finished in 12th place.  Dan Sikes mark of 13-over par was good for a 10th place finish.

4. 2006 US Open

Lost in the collapse of Phil Mickelson was the overall difficulty of this tournament.  Winged Foot brought down the entire field.  Geoff Ogilvy won with a score of five-over par.  He did not have a single round under par.  Colin Montgomerie and Jim Furyk also stumbled on the final hole.  Padraig Harrington played poorly down the stretch.

It really isn't a surprise that so many players couldn't make pars at the end.  This was a tournament that was not yielding any low scores.

3. 1999 British Open

This was another tournament remembered for a dramatic collapse.

Jean Van de Velde had a three-stroke lead on the last hole, but famously made a triple bogey.  He lost in a playoff to Paul Lawrie, with Justin Leonard also participating.  What is forgotten is that the playoff number was a staggering six-over par.  This the highest score since the Massacre at Winged Foot.

Tiger Woods was on the verge of playing some of the greatest golf ever seen, but he failed to break par once.  Greg Norman finished one stroke ahead of him at nine-over par.  Lawrie's 67 to make the playoff was truly an unbelievable round on a course that wasn't yielding low scores.

2. 1974 US Open

It's the tournament known as the Massacre at Winged Foot.  Hale Irwin shot a final-round 74 to win at seven-over par.  The 1973 Open featured low scoring—Johnny Miller shot a record 63.  There wasn't going to be a repeat of that.

Winged Foot's rough essentially was a hazard.  It was so deep that it was nearly impossible not to lose a stroke by hitting into it.  The fairways were narrow, and the greens were exceptionally slick.

The cut after 36 holes was 13 over-par.  The course proved to be too tough for a young Tom Watson.  He shot a final-round 79 and finished five behind Hale Irwin.  Also at 12-over was Arnold Palmer, shooting 76 on Sunday.  Jack Nicklaus shot a very nice 69 on Sunday. However, he was 15-over par by that point. 

1. 2007 US Open

At Oakmont in 2007, only six players broke 10-over par.

Angel Cabrera shot 5-over par to fend off Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk by one stroke.  Cabrera was one-under par on Sunday, while Woods shot two-over. 54-hole leader Aaron Baddeley imploded with a final round 80.  There were only eight rounds under par in the entire tournament.

In this modern era, where players are so often overpowering golf courses, the fact that only six players broke 10-over par is mind boggling.  Since the 2006 and 2007 Opens, the winning score has not been over par, with the USGA trying to avoid a repeat of such high scores.  However, they probably took it too far this year when Rory McIlroy shot 16-under par at Congressional.