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Top 5 U.S. Open Golfers  
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Tags: US, Open, golf, best, top, five, Bobby Jones, Hale Irwin, Jack Nicklaus

Who are the best players in the history of the U.S. Open golf tournament, those golfers who played the best over the years in the U.S. national championship? Here are Brent Kelley's picks for the Top 5 U.S. Open players (from About.com):

1.	Bobby Jones - After reading Nicklaus' U.S. Open accomplishments, some might be wondering how anyone could best the Bear. But our pick for greatest U.S. Open golfer is Bobby Jones. The great amateur played the U.S. Open 11 times. Eight of those times, he finished either first or second. Only once did he finish outside the Top 10, and that was an 11th-place showing. Jones' four victories came in 1923, 1926, 1929 and 1930. He was runner-up in 1922, 1924, 1925 and 1928. Here are Bobby Jones' placements at each U.S. Open he played, from 1920 to 1930: 8, 5, 2, 1, 2, 2, 1, 11, 2, 1, 1. That 11-year run of victories and near-victories ended only when Jones retired at age 28.
2.	Jack Nicklaus - And Jack Nicklaus is the man who broke Hogan's scoring record, shooting 275 to win in 1967. In 1980, Nicklaus lowered the record to 272, which still stands (Lee Janzen and Tiger Woods have since tied the mark). Nicklaus' two other U.S. Open victories came in 1962 and 1972. The Golden Bear finished second four more times and in the Top 5 11 times (both shared records). He holds the record alone for most Top 10 finishes - 18. In 1960, Nicklaus set a record that still stands for low 72-hole total (282) for an amateur in the U.S. Open; he's also the second-oldest player to make the U.S. Open cut (age 58 in 1998). He shares the record for lowest 18-hole score (63 in 1980) and holds the record for most consecutive starts (44).
3.	Ben Hogan - Hogan's four U.S. Open wins came in 1948, 1950, 1951 and 1953. He actually won three in a row, too, in a certain manner: Hogan was unable to play the 1949 Open, so he won three in a row in which he appeared. Hogan's record in the U.S. Open is remarkably good and remarkably consistent. After missing the cut in his first three Opens, and finishing 62nd in his next, he placed in the Top 5 at his next nine appearances. In 15 appearances over the span from 1940 to 1960, Hogan never finished outside the top 10. In his 1948 victory, Hogan set a 72-hole scoring record (276) that stood for 19 years.
4.	Willie Anderson - What Harry Vardon was to British golf in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Willie Anderson - a native of Scotland - was to American golf. Anderson dominated the early days of professional golf in the U.S. He was the first golfer to break 300 for 72 holes in a pro event in the U.S. And he won four Western Opens at a time when that tournament was easily the second biggest pro event in the U.S. It's his four U.S. Open wins - in 1901, 1903, 1904 and 1905 - that earned him his place in history. You might have noticed that three of Anderson's wins came consecutively - he's the only golfer to accomplish that. He also finished in the Top 5 11 times (in only 14 U.S. Open appearances), a record he shares with Jack Nicklaus. Anderson might hold many more U.S. Open records, but he died at age 30 in 1910.
5.	Hale Irwin - Hale Irwin has the reputation of a great golfer on tough courses. U.S. Open courses and setups are among the toughest, so it's no surprise that Irwin would win the U.S. Open. In fact, he won it three times. Irwin's wins came in 1974, 1979 and 1990. In 1990, he became the oldest U.S. Open champion at age 45 years and 15 days. His 1974 victory came at what is now called "The Massacre at Winged Foot," because of the daunting course setup. Irwin's winning total that year was 7-over-par. Surprisingly, outside of his three wins Irwins finished in the Top 10 at U.S. Opens only four other times. But three wins are three wins - and that's more than anyone else except the four golfers ahead of Irwin on this list. At one point Irwin had played in 32 consecutive U.S. Opens, the second-longest such streak.

Lister: Pratt
Source: Brent kelly @ About.com

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