Ernie Els, age 24, won the first of his four major titles on the second sudden-death hole to defeat Loren Roberts, after Colin Montgomerie was eliminated in an 18-hole playoff.

After he hit his opening drive into deep rough, a tournament official ruled that a broadcast truck and aerial camera was in his line of play.

Afterwards, some pundits suggested that the ruling was wrong and Els should have been forced to play from his original location, since it was possible to move the aerial camera out of the way.

Els needed par on the last to hold off Roberts and Montgomerie, but he hit his drive into the rough and made bogey from there, forcing a three-way playoff.

It was the first three-way playoff at the U.S. Open in 31 years, when Julius Boros defeated Jacky Cupit and Palmer in 1963.

After halving the first extra hole with pars, they headed to the 11th where Roberts found a greenside bunker on his approach while Els safely hit the green.