Arnold Palmer was left unhappy with Billy Casper when his playing partner stopped talking to him during the final round of the 1966 US Open at Olympic Club.
It is no surprise that Palmer felt confident that he was on course to win his second US Open title when he made the turn on Sunday.
At the time, Palmer was seven shots clear of Casper. As reported by Golf Channel, Casper’s focus was on holding onto second place with Jack Nicklaus his closest challenger.
That meant that there was a supportive atmosphere between Palmer and Casper in the final group. In fact, the King claimed that he would do anything he could to help Casper see off the Golden Bear.
How Billy Casper upset Arnold Palmer at the 1966 US Open
Casper and Palmer had won the US Open in successive years, 1959 and 1960 respectively. Remarkably, Palmer had only been beaten in both 1962 and 1963 after contesting playoffs.
But it seemed inevitable that he was going to win the trophy for a second time in 1966.
However, Casper played the final nine holes in three under par. Meanwhile, Palmer made five bogeys to ensure that he would end up in yet another playoff.
Golf Channel noted that the talking between the pair stopped with just a handful of holes left of the last round, with Casper sensing that there was an opportunity there for him.
However, that upset Palmer. He felt aggrieved that Casper had looked to him for encouragement and was now making his own charge for the trophy.
Unfortunately for Palmer, he was to endure further playoff agony. He actually had a two-shot lead as they made the turn on Monday.
However, he was five over par for the final seven holes to finish four shots back of Casper.
Arnold Palmer’s days of finishing second at the US Open were not done
Sadly, Arnold Palmer had already won the final major of his career by that stage. That had come at The Masters in 1964.
He would actually end up in second place again at the 1967 US Open, though he finished four shots behind Jack Nicklaus on that occasion.
Casper finished fourth that week. That would prove to be the last time he finished inside the top five at golf’s toughest test.
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