1961 U.S. Open: Gene Littler wins at Oakland Hills C.C.
Gene Littler won the 1961 U.S. Open at Oakland Hills C.C. in Birmingham, Michigan with 281 (+1), by 1 stroke over Bob Goalby and Doug Sanders.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1961 in the U.S. Open room, or every year on the U.S. Open winners list.
- Dates
- June 15, 1961 to June 17, 1961
- Course
- Oakland Hills C.C., Birmingham, Michigan
- Edition
- 61st U.S. Open
- Champion
- Gene Littler · USA · born San Diego, California, USA
- Champion's title
- 1st U.S. Open title
- Winning score
- 281 (+1) · won by 1 stroke
- Runners-up
- Bob Goalby, Doug Sanders
Winner and runners-up
| Pos. | Player | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gene Littler | 281 | +1 |
| T2 | Bob Goalby | ||
| T2 | Doug Sanders |
What happened at the 1961 U.S. Open
Littler edged two players by one.
How this was built
Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's U.S. Open data. A value no source confirmed is left out; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the organizer's own record is used.
Data: us-open-years.json (the U.S. Open room's data); dates from GNN's U.S. Open final-day dates table (Wikipedia infoboxes).