Evening star., 1960-06-19
NickIuus I'd
With 282 in
Wild Finish
By MERRELL WHITTLESEY
Star Stan Writer

star stan writer
Denver, June 18-The great
est finish in National Open his
tory gave the title to Arnold
Palmer today as he fired a
final-round IS for 280, just Is
minutes after Ben Hogan had
broken the hearts of his loyal
followers by collapsing on the
last two holes for one of the
most pathetic windups.
Palmer tore Cherry Hills
apart wit hSix brides in the
first seven holes. passed IA
players and came from seven
shots back of Mike Souchak on
the last 18 to win $14, 400 as he
added the Open crown to his
Masters title. He had 30-35 on
the final round over a course
that was rock hard after two
hot, dry days.
Palmer, a = to = / favorite,
started this tournament with a
double bogey six Thursday aft
ernoon and never seemed to
get untracked until he birdied
the first four holes this after
noon. He had rounds of 71-72-
1866, and broke or tied a pas
sci of records such as greatest
comeback, best last round of a
champion, low nine holes, and
others.
NickIaus Sets Mark
Palmer finished two strokes
ahead of Jack Nicklaus, the 20
year-old National Amateur
champion from Ohio State, who
was in the drivers seat until
midway on the back nine when
he three-putted two straight
green's and then missed a short
birdie put.
Nicklaus finished with II for
282, the best round for an anna
teur in National Open history
by three strokes, including, of
course, the totals of Bobby
Jones, four-time winner as an
amateur.
Hogan shared the heartbreaks
with big Mike Souchak, who
led after each Of the first three
rounds. even though he started
to slip at the end of the third
round. Souchak had a double
bogey on the last hole of the
morning round when a specta-
tor with a hidden camera
caused him to finch and knock
his tee shot out of bounds.
Souchak lost 10 strokes to
Palmer on the final round as
he finished with rs for 283 and
a six-way tie for third. To add
to Mikes bitter memories of
a tournament he dominated for
three rounds, he missed an 18-
inch putt on the final hole that
cost him 2,400.
Ranks With Snead's 8
Hogan's finish of CT will
rank with Sam Snead's un-
forgettable eight on the ninth
hole at Spring Mill in 1899. Ben,
who had hit "a consecutive
greens in regulation figures in
. one of the great shotmaking
performances in National Open
r history, had 69-73 for the last
, two rounds and wound up in a
; ninth-place tie at 284 with
Jerry Barber and Don Cherry.
( Souchaks collapse and Pal
: mer's surge had turned the last
: round into a free-for-all, with
, Mike, Arnold, Hogan, Jack
( Fleck, Julius Boros Dutch Har-
} rison, Cherry. Barber, Nicklaus
and Ted Kroll all having a run
: at it.
S But the intangible pressure
of the open championship
: dropped one after the other by
J the wayside, and very late on
: this ideal afternoon everybody
in this near-record gallery Of
! 1928 knew it was between
! Palmer and Hogan.
: Finsterwald, Harrison, Boros,
: Kroll and Fleck all slipped,
winding up with Souchak at
, 283.
, Crisis On 18th
The real payoff came on the
| 17th hole, a 548-yard par five
with a 20-foot creek in front of
: the green. Naturally the pin
alwaSyS is on the front of the
green to make the third shot
more tantalizing. Only two or
: three players in the tourna-
, ment dared shoot for the green
, in two. The percentage was
, against it.
Hogan. playing two matches
ahead of Palmer, and Arnold
both were on the 17th hole at
the same time, and both were
four under par for 10 holes.
See OPEN, Page F-2