Least memorable U.S. Open winners

Looking for an easy way to win a bar bet? Ask who won the first U.S. Open. Yes, it was Rawlins, at Newport Golf Club in Rhode Island. Rawlins was one of 11 golfers to enter the one-day tournament, and it's believed to be the only professional event he ever won. 

Lloyd won the third U.S. Open at the Chicago Golf Club, outlasting stars of the day like Willie Anderson and James Foulis. Lloyd, however, was unable to duplicate that kind of success. Following a fourth-place finish the next year, he failed to place better than 16th in his next 10 U.S. Opens. 

Auchterlonie shot below 80 in all four rounds — the first to do so at the U.S. Open — en route to his victory at the Garden City Golf Club on Long Island. He was six strokes better than Stewart Gardner and Walter Travis, who tied for second, thus adding little drama to the victory.

Ross won the U.S. Open at the Philadelphia Cricket Club by shooting under 80 for all four rounds but is still not the most well-known member of his own family. That belongs to his older brother, Donald, one of the most renowned golf course architects in history, who also happened to place 10th in the 1907 U.S. Open.

Sargent's four-day total of 290 at New Jersey's Englewood Golf Club was a U.S. Open record at the time. Though Sargent posted only three professional victories, his biggest contribution to the game came as president of the PGA of America during the 1920s.

Goodman remains the last amateur to win the U.S. Open but gets lost among names like Bobby Jones and Chick Evans when discussing the most famous amateur golfers of all time. Goodman maintained the lead after the second and third rounds and held off soon-to-be two-time champion Ralph Guldahl for the title.

The 25-year-old Parks, who had never won any type of tournament prior to this one, overcame the poor weather conditions at Oakmont to post one of the most unlikely U.S. Open victories ever. A local golf pro, Parks was familiar with the famed Pittsburgh-area course's layout and used that to his advantage.

Before there was the same-named "Saturday Night Fever" character portrayed by John Travolta, this unknown New York native made his presence — though briefly — felt on the golf course. Manero claimed his only major victory by shooting a final-round 67 at Baltusrol after trailing third-round leader Harry Cooper by four shots. 

Worsham's lone major victory was overshadowed by the fact that Sam Snead suffered another near miss at the U.S. Open, which he never won but placed second in four times, including 1947. Worsham won in an 18-hole playoff at the St. Louis Country Club, but Snead's shortcoming stole the headlines.

Furgol won the first U.S. Open televised for a national audience, but he still isn't a name that is common with the event. Furgol led after the third round and bested better-known Gene Littler by one stroke at Baltusrol for his lone major championship.

Mayer was one of the more successful golfers in the early to mid-1950s, winning four times from 1953-56, and his 18-hole playoff victory over defending champion Cary Middlecoff at Inverness provided some excitement. However, Mayer won just two more times after this U.S. Open triumph, and his career took a downward path as he struggled with alcoholism.

At age 35, Moody won his only PGA Tour event after going through local and sectional qualifiers just to get to Cypress Creek. Moody steadily climbed the leaderboard and proved victorious after Miller Barber blew his third-round, three-shot lead with a final-day 78. Moody, though, is probably best known for his success (11 wins) on the PGA's Senior Tour.

Though Simpson was a steady presence on the PGA Tour for years, his only major victory was somewhat forgettable. A nonfactor after the first round, Simpson shot a 68 on Friday at the Olympic Club and the same Sunday to surpass Tom Watson for the title. Many probably also forget that Simpson finished sixth at the U.S. Open each of the next two years.

Hardly a household name, Jones proved to be the ultimate U.S. Open feel-good story, perhaps of all time. However, many probably don't remember how he even got to Oakland Hills, let alone how he earned this improbable victory. After being injured in a dirt bike accident five years prior, Jones took the sectional-qualifying road to the U.S Open and hung around long enough to win, as third-round leader Tom Lehman slipped up on Sunday.  

The native New Zealander, who made the field via sectional qualification, was handed the biggest tournament win of his career at Pinehurst after Retief Goosen blew the three-shot lead he held entering Sunday. Though Campbell held off Tiger Woods to win by two shots and won the Match Play later in 2005, he was not really heard from until last year when he announced he would come out of retirement. He played in the New Zealand Open earlier this year.

A known commodity at the time after winning the Match Play Championship, Ogilvy's solid play late in the final round put him in position to win at Winged Foot. However, the event is probably most memorable for big-name contenders Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk and Colin Montgomerie all failing to par the final hole, thus tying for second while Ogilvy stole the championship for his lone major. 

The first golfer from Argentina to win a U.S. Open, Cabrera earned his first of two major titles simply by hanging around long enough at Oakmont to somehow claim victory with a score of plus-5. Cabrera, best known for enjoying a cigarette or two on the course, led after two rounds but was tied for seventh heading into Sunday. When a group of six golfers ahead of him fell back to the pack, the steady Cabrera was left standing as the surprise winner.

Rainy conditions and the announcement that Phil Mickelson would temporarily step away from the game after this event to be with his wife as she battled breast cancer overshadowed Glover's only major victory. Glover was two shots better than Mickelson, David Duval and Ricky Barnes at Bethpage's Black Course, but he's posted just one victory since, which came in 2011.

Though Simpson is a seasoned PGA Tour veteran now, at the time he was a blossoming talent who won twice in 2011. However, he wasn't given much chance to win at the Olympic Club, but back-to-back 68s over the weekend propelled Simpson from nowhere to champion in his second U.S. Open. Since then, Simpson had fallen off the map some while posting just one victory (2013) before winning The Players Championship last month.  

When Koepka won his first U.S. Open two years ago, he was considered a fine golfer but wasn't a name that easily rolled off the tongue when asked to name the winner of the 2017 event at Wisconsin's Erin Hills. That has changed, after Koepka repeated as the U.S. Open winner last year at Shinnecock Hills. Now all eyes are on him as we head to Pebble Beach to see if he can three-peat.