Top 10 Major Meltdowns

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Arnold Palmer

1966 US Open,

Olympic Club

Arnie’s Army had been triumphantly on the march for three and a half days as their man raced into a seven-shot lead with only nine holes of the final round to play. Yet, by the end of it he was tied with Billy Casper and would go on to lose the 18-hole playoff the following day. What on earth happened?

            Simple: the King melted. After going out in only 32 strokes, Palmer slumped to a 39 on the back-nine, which included bogeys at 15 and 17 and a double bogey at 16. Casper, by contrast, birdied the 15th and was able to par in to match the 7-time Major champion to force extra time, which he would end up winning by four stokes after firing an impressive 69. Casper enjoyed a stellar week with his flat stick, never three-putting over the entire five rounds. In fact, Casper’s record during much of the 1960’s eclipsed that of the “Big Three” – Nicklaus, Palmer and Player – making him arguably the most under appreciated player of his generation. Palmer, despite recording a flurry of top-10 finishes in future Majors, would never win another.