Tom Watson won his only U.S. Open, two strokes ahead of runner-up Jack Nicklaus,[3] for the sixth of his eight major titles.

[2] Pebble Beach Golf Links Thursday, June 17, 1982 Winner of five professional majors, Watson entered the 1982 U.S. Open as one of the favorites and as the number one golfer in the world.

On a tough scoring day at Pebble Beach, the 72 put him just two back of first round leaders Bruce Devlin and Bill Rogers.

Nicklaus had also finished one shot off the pace at the 1977 PGA Championship, the last professional major held at Pebble, a course he considered perhaps his favorite in the world.

Devlin too was in the declining phase of his career, but had 17 wins worldwide by that time, and had 15 top tens in majors to his credit.

"[6] A master of the short game, Watson made several saves from the thick U.S. Open rough thanks to his skill chipping and putting.

Amateurs: Crosby (+6), Pavin (+7), Marlowe (+8), Faxon (+9), Wilson (+9), Nelson (+11), Wood (+12), Fogt (+13), Fuhrer (+13), Perry (+13), Player (+16), Bill (+17), Crowl (+18), Bliss (+22), Dupre (+22).

Saturday, June 19, 1982 Watson's Open turned around for him on the weekend, which he attributed to minor swing adjustments before the third round.

On a day that saw a number of sub-70 rounds (including a 67 by Lanny Wadkins, who won the 1977 PGA Championship also played at Pebble Beach), Watson was the best of the leaders, firing a 4-under 68.

On Sunday, Nicklaus was one-over after the two relatively easy starting holes, and then electrified the tournament crowd with five consecutive birdies at 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.

That the ball remained in play was encouraging, but it was so embedded in thick rough that it was difficult to find - it looked to be all Watson could do to save bogey.

His tee shot at 16 landed in a narrow neck of a fairway bunker, requiring Watson to come out sideways.

His confidence carried over to the final hole, which he also birdied, giving him a hard-fought 70 and, at 6-under for the tournament, a two shot win over Nicklaus.

Amateurs: Nathaniel Crosby (+15), Corey Pavin (+16) Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par Source:[4]