But it was not only Palmer’s phenomenal final round — and the fact that he won the first two majors of that year — that made the tournament what book author Julian Graubart called “Golf's Greatest Championship” ever. It was also that 47-year-old four-time U.S. Open champion Ben Hogan shared the lead going into the 71st hole before hitting into the water on No. 17 at Cherry Hills. And rotund 20-year-old amateur Jack Nicklaus — who would go on to win the Open four times — finished the runner-up to Palmer. It was a nexus of three generations of golf royalty.

    The 1960 U.S. Open had “a great story and a great finish,” Helen Russell, an associate producer on HBO’s project, noted this week.

   "You had three generations of stars,” HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg said earlier this year in the Houston Chronicle.  “Each had a unique relationship with his father, and each grew up in a different era, and there they were, fighting it out on the back nine at Cherry Hills. It's a rich story in a sport that we've never wandered into."

    HBO hasn’t formally released all the details about its one-hour documentary, but one report says it’s scheduled to air on June 11, on the eve of the 2008 U.S. Open.

    Russell has been publicly soliciting footage, radio calls and photos from the ‘60 Open, but hasn’t been overwhelmed with responses.

    “It’s 48 years out,” she said. “We’re into a second generation of families. ... Sometimes I feel like a private investigator. You just never know when you might find something.”

     Russell said that though the tournament aired on NBC, no copy of the telecast exists. But HBO does have some footage and hopes to obtain more.

     It’s been a year and a half since Arnold Palmer announced he will no longer play competitive golf, 35 years since Arnie won his last PGA Tour event, and 44 years since the King last conquered a major championship.

     Yet Palmer left such an indelible mark on the fabric of golf that he’s never far from the limelight, even to this day. This week, of course, he’s on center stage as the host of a PGA Tour event, the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando. But there’s an ongoing fascination with the 78-year-old who played such an integral role in popularizing golf in the 1950s and ‘60s.

     A year ago, in conjunction with CBS’ coverage of the Masters, the network aired a special on Palmer’s 1960 victory at Augusta. And now, HBO is in the production stages on Palmer’s win a couple of months later at the U.S. Open at Cherry Hills Country Club south of Denver. HBO produces three or four sports documentaries a year, and this is next on the schedule.

     The 1960 U.S. Open remains one of the most memorable moments in Colorado sports history. Palmer won the only U.S. Open of his career in spectacular fashion, starting the last round (of a 36-hole final day) seven shots out of the lead, but driving the green on the par-4 first hole en route to birdies on six of the first seven holes. His famous charge netted a 65 and a two-shot victory.

HBO Hopes to Bring Historic 1960 U.S. Open to Life

Charge at Cherry Hills netted Palmer his only U.S. Open title; Nicklaus, Hogan were also in hunt

By Gary Baines

Colorado Golf Journal, Friday, March 14, 2008