1976 Open Championship

The 1976 Open Championship was the 105th Open Championship, played 7–10 July at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Johnny Miller won his only Open championship, six strokes ahead of runners-up Seve Ballesteros and Jack Nicklaus. It was Miller's second and last major championship title; his first was the U.S. Open in 1973.[2][3][4]

1976 Open Championship
Tournament information
Dates7–10 July 1976
LocationSouthport, England
Course(s)Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Tour(s)European Tour
PGA Tour
Statistics
Par72[1]
Length7,001 yards (6,402 m)[1]
Field155 players
84 after 1st cut
66 after 2nd cut[1]
Cut152 (+8) (1st cut)
226 (+10) (2nd cut)[1]
Prize fund£75,000
$135,000
Winner's share£7,500
$13,500
Champion
Johnny Miller
279 (−9)
Southport
Location in England
 Royal Birkdale
 Golf Club
Location in Southport, Merseyside,
north of Liverpool, England

Ballesteros, age 19, was the 54-hole leader at 211 (−5), two strokes ahead of Miller.[5] In the final round, he was seven over par after twelve holes, which included a triple-bogey at the eleventh. Ballesteros rallied on the final six holes, with three birdies and an eagle, to tie Nicklaus for second place.

Defending champion Tom Watson carded an 80 (+8) in the third round for 227 (+11) and missed the second cut by a stroke. U.S. Open champion Jerry Pate was level par after two rounds, but also missed the second cut with an 87 for 231.[6] Masters winner Raymond Floyd finished in fourth at 286 (−2), a stroke behind Ballesteros and Nicklaus.

Past champions in the field

Made both cuts
PlayerCountryYear(s) wonR1R2R3R4TotalTo parFinish
Jack Nicklaus United States1966, 197074707269285−3T2
Tom Weiskopf United States197373727671292+4T17
Gary Player South Africa1959, 1968, 197472727971294+6T28
Roberto De Vicenzo Argentina196777717672296+8T32
Tony Jacklin England196973777672298+10T42
Arnold Palmer United States1961, 196275727677300+12T55

Source:[4]

Missed the second cut
PlayerCountryYear wonR1R2R3TotalTo par
Tom Watson United States1975757280227+11
Bob Charles New Zealand1963727681229+13

Source:[6]

Missed the first cut
PlayerCountryYear(s) wonR1R2TotalTo par
Sam Snead United States19467975154+10
Peter Thomson Australia1954, 1955,
1956, 1958, 1965		7579154+10
Kel Nagle Australia19608174155+11
Bobby Locke South Africa1949, 1950,
1952, 1957		8381164+20
Fred Daly Northern Ireland19478689175+31
Gene Sarazen United States1932WD

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, 7 July 1976

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Seve Ballesteros Spain69−3
Christy O'Connor Jnr Ireland
Norio Suzuki Japan
T4Brian Barnes Scotland70−2
Tom Kite United States
Jack Newton Australia
T7Bill Brask United States71−1
John Fourie South Africa
Graham Marsh Australia
T10Bob Charles New Zealand72E
Jan Dorrestein Netherlands
Hubert Green United States
Johnny Miller United States
Gary Player South Africa

Second round

Thursday, 8 July 1976

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Seve Ballesteros Spain69-69=138−6
2Johnny Miller United States72-68=140−4
T3Hubert Green United States72-70=142−2
Christy O'Connor Jnr Ireland69-73=142
T5Brian Barnes Scotland70-73=143−1
Raymond Floyd United States76-67=143
Tommy Horton England74-69=143
T8George Burns United States75-69=144E
Carl Higgins United States77-67=144
Guy Hunt Wales76-68=144
Tom Kite United States70-74=144
Graham Marsh Australia71-73=144
Jack Newton Australia70-74=144
Jack Nicklaus United States74-70=144
Jerry Pate United States73-71=144
Gary Player South Africa72-72=144
Norio Suzuki Japan69-75=144

Amateurs: McEvoy (+12), Squires (+12), Powell (+14), Poxon (+14), McNally (+15), McLean (+17), Ridley (+22).

Third round

Friday, 9 July 1976

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Seve Ballesteros Spain69-69-73=211−5
2Johnny Miller United States72-68-73=213−3
3Tommy Horton England74-69-72=215−1
T4Graham Marsh Australia71-73-72=216E
Jack Nicklaus United States74-70-72=216
Raymond Floyd United States76-67-73=216
T7Tom Kite United States70-74-73=217+1
Christy O'Connor Jnr Ireland69-73-75=217
T9Bobby Cole South Africa75-71-72=218+2
Brian Barnes Scotland70-73-75=218

Source:[6]

Final round

Saturday, 10 July 1976

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney (£)
1Johnny Miller United States72-68-73-66=279−97,500
T2Jack Nicklaus United States74-70-72-69=285−35,250
Seve Ballesteros Spain69-69-73-74=285
4Raymond Floyd United States76-67-73-70=286−23,800
T5Mark James England76-72-74-66=288E2,820
Hubert Green United States72-70-78-68=288
Tom Kite United States70-74-73-71=288
Christy O'Connor Jnr Ireland69-73-75-71=288
Tommy Horton England74-69-72-73=288
T10George Burns United States75-69-75-70=289+11,975
Peter Butler England74-72-73-70=289
Vicente Fernández Argentina79-71-69-70=289
Norio Suzuki Japan69-75-75-70=289

Source:[4][7]

Scorecard

Final round

Hole1234;56789101112131415161718
Par444344344443535455
Miller−2−3−3−3−3−3−3−4−4−4−4−5−7−7−7−7−8−9
Ballesteros−5−4−4−4−4−2−2−1−1−2+1+2+1EEE−2−3
NicklausEE−1−2−2EEEEEE+1E1−1−1−2−3
FloydEEEE−1−2−1−1E−1−1E−1−1−1−1−1−2

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Eagle Birdie Bogey Double bogey Triple bogey+

Source:[4]

References
  1. "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 60, 203. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  2. Jenkins, Dan (19 July 1976). "At last, he's out of the crowd". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
  3. "Miller wins British Open". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. 11 July 1976. p. 1, sec. 3.
  4. "Miller turns it into runaway". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. 11 July 1976. p. B1.
  5. "Ballesteros is Bullish in British". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. 10 July 1976. p. 1, sec. 2.
  6. "Golf: British Open scores". Chicago Tribune. 10 July 1976. p. 2, sec. 2.
  7. "1976 Open Championship results". databasegolf.com. Retrieved 4 July 2012.

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