1. Arnold Palmer, 1966 U.S. Open
In 1960 at Cherry Hills, Palmer began the final round seven shots behind - and won.
In 1966 at Olympic Club, Palmer had a 7-shot lead in the final round - and lost.
Palmer started the fourth round three shots better than Billy Casper, and when the players made the turn, Palmer had stretched his lead to seven strokes.
But then Casper went on a tear (he'd shoot 32 on the back nine) and Palmer cooled off. Arnie gave up a stroke at the 10th, then lost another at the 13th. The players halved the 14th, so to speak, which left Palmer with a 5-stroke lead with four holes to play.
And Casper completely erased that lead over the next three holes. Palmer gave two back at the 15th, then gave up another two on the 16th. When Palmer bogeyed the 17th, the entire 7-stroke lead was gone. Palmer and Casper were tied.
Palmer staggered home but managed to tie Casper on the 18th, forcing an 18-hole playoff the following day.
And once again, in the playoff, Palmer let a lead slip away. Arnie was up by two in the playoff with eight holes to go, but gave up six shots over the remaining holes. Casper won the playoff, 69 to 73, and the U.S. Open.
Palmer didn't play as poorly, overall, in the fourth round of the 1966 U.S. Open as did Greg Norman at the 1996 Masters. Norman shot 78 that day, while Palmer posted the very respectable score of 71.
In some respects, what happened to Palmer in 1966 might not even qualify as a "collapse." Can you really call a round of 71 a "collapse"?
And yet, Palmer's faltering in the final round of the 1966 U.S. Open was even worse than the Shark's because, well, because he's Arnie - a much better player than Norman, one of the greats. But mostly because Palmer lost a 7-shot lead entirely on the back nine - and then compounded the blunder by losing another lead in the ensuing 18-hole playoff.
Billy Casper deserves a tremendous amount of credit for winning this championship - probably more credit for winning the title than Palmer deserves blame for losing it. Casper went out and shot a 68, with a sizzling 32 on the back nine.
But consider it a measure of Palmer's greatness and mystique that we're putting this episode No. 1 on our list of worst golf chokes and collapses. It's easy to imagine, say, Jean Van de Velde or Greg Norman blowing a big lead with a few holes to play.
But Arnie? Losing a 7-shot lead over the final nine holes of a U.S. Open? That's a collapse, all right.
Honorable Mention
Even the great Bobby Jones tried to choke away a win. At the 1929 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, Jones blew up with a 79 in the final round that included a pair of 7s. He had to make a curling 12-footer on he final hole just to tie Al Espinosa, forcing a playoff. How do you turn what might be remembered as a choke into a U.S. Open victory for the ages? Do what Jones did: in the 36-hole playoff, Jones beat Espinosa by 23 strokes.
