1973 Open Championship
The 1973 Open Championship was the 102nd Open Championship, played 11–14 July at Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland. Tom Weiskopf won his only major championship by three strokes over runners-up Neil Coles and Johnny Miller, the winner of the U.S. Open a month earlier. Weiskopf was a wire-to-wire winner and his four-round total of 12-under-par 276 matched the then-existing Open Championship record set by Arnold Palmer on the very same course in 1962.[4]
Tournament information | |
---|---|
Dates | 11–14 July 1973 |
Location | Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland |
Course(s) | Troon Golf Club, Old Course |
Tour(s) | European Tour PGA Tour |
Statistics | |
Par | 72[1] |
Length | 7,064 yards (6,459 m)[1][2][3] |
Field | 153 players 84 after 1st cut 60 after 2nd cut[1] |
Cut | 152 (+8) (1st cut) 224 (+8) (2nd cut)[1] |
Prize fund | £50,000 $130,000 |
Winner's share | £5,500 $14,300 |
Champion | |
Tom Weiskopf | |
276 (−12) | |
Gene Sarazen, 71, made a hole-in-one in the first round at the famous 8th hole, a 126-yard (115 m) par-3 named the "Postage Stamp," due to its small green.[5][6][7] Lee Trevino's bid for a third straight Open fell short, thirteen strokes back in a tie for tenth place.[8]
This was the course's last Open Championship under the name Troon Golf Club; it became Royal Troon Golf Club five years later in 1978,[9] and next hosted in 1982.
Course
Old Course
Hole | Name | Yards | Par | Hole | Name | Yards | Par | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Seal | 362 | 4 | 10 | Sandhills | 437 | 4 | |
2 | Black Rock | 391 | 4 | 11 | The Railway | 481 | 5 | |
3 | Gyaws | 381 | 4 | 12 | The Fox | 432 | 4 | |
4 | Dunure | 556 | 5 | 13 | Burmah | 468 | 4 | |
5 | Greenan | 210 | 3 | 14 | Alton | 180 | 3 | |
6 | Turnberry | 577 | 5 | 15 | Crosbie | 457 | 4 | |
7 | Tel-el-Kebir | 389 | 4 | 16 | Well | 542 | 5 | |
8 | Postage Stamp | 126 | 3 | 17 | Rabbit | 223 | 3 | |
9 | The Monk | 427 | 4 | 18 | Craigend | 425 | 4 | |
Out | 3,419 | 36 | In | 3,645 | 36 | |||
Source:[1][2][3] | Total | 7,064 | 72 |
Lengths of the course for previous Opens (since 1950):[10]
Opens from 1962 through 1989 played the 11th hole as a par-5.
Past champions in the field
Made both cuts
Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jack Nicklaus | United States | 1966, 1970 | 69 | 70 | 76 | 65 | 280 | −8 | 4 |
Bob Charles | New Zealand | 1963 | 73 | 71 | 73 | 71 | 288 | E | T7 |
Lee Trevino | United States | 1971, 1972 | 75 | 73 | 73 | 68 | 289 | +1 | T10 |
Tony Jacklin | England | 1969 | 75 | 73 | 72 | 70 | 290 | +2 | T14 |
Arnold Palmer | United States | 1961, 1962 | 72 | 76 | 70 | 72 | 290 | +2 | T14 |
Gary Player | South Africa | 1959, 1968 | 76 | 69 | 76 | 69 | 290 | +2 | T14 |
Roberto De Vicenzo | Argentina | 1967 | 72 | 75 | 74 | 72 | 293 | +5 | T28 |
Peter Thomson | Australia | 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1965 | 76 | 75 | 70 | 73 | 294 | +6 | T31 |
Kel Nagle | Australia | 1960 | 74 | 76 | 73 | 73 | 296 | +8 | T39 |
Missed the first cut
Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | Total | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Max Faulkner | England | 1951 | 78 | 75 | 153 | +9 |
Gene Sarazen | United States | 1932 | 79 | 81 | 160 | +16 |
Fred Daly | Northern Ireland | 1947 | 83 | 90 | 173 | +29 |
Round summaries
First round
Wednesday, 11 July 1973
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tom Weiskopf | United States | 68 | −4 |
T2 | Jack Nicklaus | United States | 69 | −3 |
Bert Yancey | United States | |||
4 | Johnny Miller | United States | 70 | −2 |
T5 | Peter Butler | England | 71 | −1 |
Neil Coles | England | |||
Bruce Crampton | Australia | |||
Lanny Wadkins | United States | |||
Peter Wilcock | England | |||
T10 | Vin Baker | South Africa | 72 | E |
Roberto De Vicenzo | Argentina | |||
Bruce Devlin | Australia | |||
Arnold Palmer | United States | |||
Chi-Chi Rodríguez | United States | |||
David J. Russell (a) | England |
Second round
Thursday, 12 July 1973
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tom Weiskopf | United States | 68-67=135 | −9 |
T2 | Johnny Miller | United States | 70-68=138 | −6 |
Bert Yancey | United States | 69-69=138 | ||
4 | Jack Nicklaus | United States | 69-70=139 | −5 |
5 | Christy O'Connor Snr | Ireland | 73-68=141 | −3 |
6 | Bernard Gallacher | Scotland | 73-69=142 | −2 |
T7 | Brian Barnes | Scotland | 76-67=143 | −1 |
Peter Butler | England | 71-72=143 | ||
Neil Coles | England | 71-72=143 | ||
T10 | Bob Charles | New Zealand | 73-71=144 | E |
Lanny Wadkins | United States | 71-73=144 |
Amateurs: Edwards (+6), Homer (+7), Russell (+7), Foster (+8),
Stuart (+9), Milne (+10), Hedges (+13), Bonallack (+15), Sym (+15), Burch (+16), Eyles (+18), James (+24)
Third round
Friday, 13 July 1973
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tom Weiskopf | United States | 68-67-71=206 | −10 |
2 | Johnny Miller | United States | 70-68-69=207 | −9 |
3 | Bert Yancey | United States | 69-69-73=211 | −5 |
T4 | Brian Barnes | Scotland | 76-67-70=213 | −3 |
Neil Coles | England | 71-72-70=213 | ||
6 | Lanny Wadkins | United States | 71-73-70=214 | −2 |
T7 | Jack Nicklaus | United States | 69-70-76=215 | −1 |
Christy O'Connor Snr | Ireland | 73-68-74=215 | ||
9 | Doug McClelland | England | 76-71-69=216 | E |
T10 | Peter Butler | England | 71-72-74=217 | +1 |
Bob Charles | New Zealand | 73-71-73=217 | ||
Bernard Gallacher | Scotland | 73-69-75=217 |
Amateurs: Edwards (+5), Foster (+10), Russell (+12), Homer (+16)
Final round
Saturday, 14 July 1973
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money (£) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tom Weiskopf | United States | 68-67-71-70=276 | −12 | 5,500 |
T2 | Neil Coles | England | 71-72-70-66=279 | −9 | 3,625 |
Johnny Miller | United States | 70-68-69-72=279 | |||
4 | Jack Nicklaus | United States | 69-70-76-65=280 | −8 | 2,750 |
5 | Bert Yancey | United States | 69-69-73-70=281 | −7 | 2,450 |
6 | Peter Butler | England | 71-72-74-69=286 | −2 | 2,150 |
T7 | Bob Charles | New Zealand | 73-71-73-71=288 | E | 1,717 |
Christy O'Connor Snr | Ireland | 73-68-74-73=288 | |||
Lanny Wadkins | United States | 71-73-70-74=288 | |||
T10 | Brian Barnes | Scotland | 76-67-70-76=289 | +1 | 1,350 |
Gay Brewer | United States | 76-71-72-70=289 | |||
Harold Henning | South Africa | 73-73-73-70=289 | |||
Lee Trevino | United States | 75-73-73-68=289 |
References
- "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 63, 203. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
- "Nicklaus favored in Open". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. 11 July 1973. p. 16.
- "Course card". Glasgow Herald. Scotland. 12 July 1973. p. 4.
- "Weiskopf arrives with British Open win". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. 15 July 1973. p. 1C.
- "Postage Stamp, hole #8". Royal Troon Golf Club. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
- "Gene Sarazen gets ace in British Open golf". The Day. New London, Connecticut. Associated Press. 12 July 1973. p. 28.
- Archer, Ian (12 July 1973). "Gene Sarazen gives Open Championship a touch of class". Glasgow Herald. Scotland. p. 4.
- Jenkins, Dan (23 July 1973). "His first hurrah". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
- "Now it's Royal Troon". Glasgow Herald. Scotland. 5 June 1978. p. 16.
- "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 33, 203. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
- "1973 Open Championship results". databasegolf.com. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
External links
- 102nd Open - Royal Troon 1973 (Official site)
- 102nd Open Championship - Royal Troon (European Tour)
- 1973 Open Championship (about.sports)