The California/Florida domination of the Championship was ended when Bob Byman, 17, of Boulder, Colo., defeated Scott Simpson, of San Diego, Calif., 2 and 1, in the final round at the Brookhaven Country Club, Dallas, Texas. Since 1968, the Champion had come from one of those two states. Mike Brannan, of Salinas, Calif., the 1971 Champion, was upset in the first round by Ron Kilby, of Houston, Texas, 3 and 2.

Byman, the qualifying medalist with a 144, was forced to go 18 holes in only one of his six match-play rounds; Jim Stewart, of the Republic of Singapore, took him 19 holes before losing in the semi-final match. In the final round against Scott Simpson, Byman was 4 up after eight holes. Simpson rallied with a winning birdie on the 11th hole, halved the next three, and won 15 and 16 to pull within one hole.

The 17th was his downfall, however; he hit his drive into water and three-putted from 20 feet to lose the hole and the match. A high school student, Byman won the Colorado State Amateur Championship in 1971. He qualified for the Open in 1972 -the youngest player in the field.