The 1991 U.S. Open was the 91st U.S. Open, held June 13–17 at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, a suburb southwest of Minneapolis. Payne Stewart defeated 1987 champion Scott Simpson in an 18-hole Monday playoff to win the first of his two U.S. Open titles. It was the second of Stewart's three major championships.

Stewart held the lead through each of the first three rounds, but in the final round he found himself trailing Simpson by a stroke heading to the 18th. Simpson hit his drive into the rough and could only manage a bogey to Stewart's par, forcing an 18-hole playoff. Both players shot a final-round 72 to finish at 282 total, three shots clear of Larry Nelson and Fred Couples. In the playoff, Simpson led by two-strokes heading to the 16th. He then bogeyed the hole, however, while Stewart made birdie to even up the contest. At the par-3 17th, Simpson found the water on his tee shot and recorded another bogey, giving Stewart a one-shot advantage. Simpson then made bogey on the 18th while Stewart made a par, giving Stewart a two-stroke win and the championship. Stewart's winning score in the playoff of 75 was the highest since Tommy Armour won with a 76 in 1927.

Play was interrupted during the first round due to a severe thunderstorm. Six people were struck by lightning while seeking shelter near the 11th tee, and one person was killed.

It was the final U.S. Open appearance for two-time champion Lee Trevino; Phil Mickelson won low-amateur honors for the second consecutive year, finishing in 55th place.

This was the second U.S. Open at Hazeltine; the first was in 1970. It later hosted the PGA Championship in 2002 and 2009.

Course layout

Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards4404355801944124055181664323,5824105564322043575903841824523,5677,149
Par445344534364543454343672

Source: Previous course length for major championships

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 13, 1991

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
T1United States Nolan Henke67−5
United States Payne Stewart
3United States Tom Byrum68−4
T4United States Mark Calcavecchia69−3
United States Scott Hoch
United States Brian Kamm
T7United States Keith Clearwater70−2
United States Fred Couples
United States Jim Gallagher Jr.
United States David Jackson
United States Davis Love III
United States Jack Nicklaus
Australia Craig Parry
United States Peter Persons
United States Scott Simpson

Second round

Friday, June 14, 1991

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1United States Payne Stewart67-70=137−7
T2United States Nolan Henke67-71=138−6
United States Corey Pavin71-67=138
United States Scott Simpson70-68=138
T5United States Fred Couples70-70=140−4
United States Scott Hoch69-71=140
United States Craig Stadler71-69=140
T8United States Jodie Mudd71-70=141−3
Wales Ian Woosnam73-68=141
T10Australia Rodger Davis74-68=142−2
United States Jim Gallagher Jr.70-72=142
United States Ed Humenik72-70=142
United States Brian Kamm69-73=142
Scotland Sandy Lyle72-70=142
United States Andy North71-71=142

Amateurs: Mickelson (+1), Doyle (+6), Gorgone (+7), Lee (+14).

Third round

Saturday, June 15, 1991

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
T1United States Scott Simpson70-68-72=210−6
United States Payne Stewart67-70-73=210
T3United States Scott Hoch69-71-74=214−2
Zimbabwe Nick Price74-69-71=214
T5United States Fred Couples70-70-75=215−1
United States Nolan Henke67-71-77=215
United States Brian Kamm69-73-73=215
T8United States Rick Fehr74-69-73=216E
United States Hale Irwin71-75-70=216
Scotland Sandy Lyle72-70-74=216
Australia Craig Parry70-73-73=216

Final round

Sunday, June 16, 1991

PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)
T1United States Payne Stewart67-70-73-72=282−6Playoff
United States Scott Simpson70-68-72-72=282
T3United States Fred Couples70-70-75-70=285−362,574
United States Larry Nelson73-72-72-68=285
5United States Fuzzy Zoeller72-73-74-67=286−241,542
6United States Scott Hoch69-71-74-73=287−136,090
7United States Nolan Henke67-71-77-73=288E32,176
T8United States Raymond Floyd73-72-76-68=289+126,958
Spain José María Olazábal73-71-75-70=289
United States Corey Pavin71-67-79-72=289

Amateur: Phil Mickelson (+12)

Source:

Scorecard

Final round

Hole123456789101112131415161718
Par445344534454345434
United States Stewart−6−6−7−7−7−6−6−6−6−6−6−6−6−6−6−6−6−6
United States Simpson−6−6−6−6−6−6−7−7−7−8−8−8−8−8−8−7−7−6
United States Couples−1−1−2−2−2−2−3−2−2−1−1−2−2−2−2−2−2−3
United States Nelson+1+1+1EE−1−2−2−2−2−3−3−4−3−3−3−3−3
United States Zoeller+2+2+2+2+2+2+1+1EEEEE−1−1−1−1−2
United States Hoch−1−1−1−1E+2+1+1+1+1EEE−1−1E−1−1
Zimbabwe Price−1EE+1+1+2+1+1+1+1E+1+1+2+3+3+4+4

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

BirdieBogeyDouble bogey

Source:

Playoff

Monday, June 17, 1991

PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)
1United States Payne Stewart38-37=75+3235,000
2United States Scott Simpson37-40=77+5117,500

Scorecard

Hole123456789101112131415161718
Par445344534454345434
United States StewartEEEE+1+1+1+2+2+2+2+2+2+3+4+3+3+3
United States Simpson+1+2+2+2+1+1E+1+1+2+2+2+3+2+2+3+4+5

Cumulative playoff scores, relative to par

Birdie Bogey

Source:

External links