The 1980 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 109th Open Championship, held from 17 to 20 July at Muirfield Golf Links in Gullane, Scotland. Tom Watson won his third Open Championship, four strokes ahead of runner-up Lee Trevino.[2][3] It was the fourth of Watson's eight major titles; he won two additional Opens in 1982 and 1983. It was Watson's first win in a major in three years.[4]
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 17–20 July 1980 |
| Location | Gullane, Scotland |
| Course(s) | Muirfield |
| Tour(s) | European Tour PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 71[1] |
| Length | 6,926 yards (6,333 m)[1] |
| Field | 151 players 87 after 1st cut 65 after 2nd cut[1] |
| Cut | 149 (+7) (1st cut) 219 (+6) (2nd cut)[1] |
| Prize fund | £200,000 $480,000 |
| Winner's share | £25,000 $60,000 |
| Champion | |
 Tom Watson | |
| 271 (−13) | |
Trevino, 40, had won the last Open played at Muirfield in 1972, successfully defending his 1971 title and ending the grand slam bid of Jack Nicklaus.[5] Nicklaus, also 40, tied for fourth. He won at Muirfield in 1966 and was runner-up by a stroke in 1972.
This was the first Open scheduled to end on a Sunday, with a Thursday start. The Open previously began on Wednesday and ended on Saturday. Prior to 1966, the final two rounds were scheduled for Friday. In 1970 and 1975, 18-hole playoffs were held on Sunday.
Round summaries
editFirst round
editThursday, 17 July 1980
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Lee Trevino |
68 | −3 |
| Tom Watson
| |||
| T3 |  Nick Faldo |
69 | −2 |
 Vicente Fernández
| |||
| Mark James
| |||
 Jack Newton
| |||
| Glenn Ralph
| |||
| T8 |  Ken Brown |
70 | −1 |
| Ben Crenshaw
| |||
| Mark Hayes
| |||
| Sandy Lyle
| |||
| Gil Morgan
|
Second round
editFriday, 18 July 1980
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee Trevino |
68-67=135 | −7 |
| T2 | Ken Brown |
70-68=138 | −4 |
| Jerry Pate |
71-67=138 | ||
| Tom Watson |
68-70=138 | ||
| T5 |  Seve Ballesteros |
72-68=140 | −2 |
| Andy Bean |
71-69=140 | ||
| Ben Crenshaw |
70-70=140 | ||
| Gil Morgan |
70-70=140 | ||
| Jack Newton |
69-71=140 | ||
| Jack Nicklaus |
73-67=140 |
Amateurs: Sigel (+2), Rafferty (+9), McLean (+10), Mitchell (+10), Evans (+11), Gallagher (+12), Way (+12), Boxall (+13), McEvoy (+13), Deeble (+14), McCathie (+17), Hay (+19)
Third round
editSaturday, 19 July 1980
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Watson |
68-70-64=202 | −11 |
| T2 | Ken Brown |
70-68-68=206 | −7 |
| Lee Trevino |
68-67-71=206 | ||
| 4 | Ben Crenshaw |
70-70-68=208 | −5 |
| T5 | Andy Bean |
71-69-70=210 | −3 |
| Hubert Green |
77-69-64=210 | ||
| T7 |  Isao Aoki |
74-74-63=211 | −2 |
| Sandy Lyle |
70-71-70=211 | ||
| Carl Mason |
72-69-70=211 | ||
| Gil Morgan |
70-70-71=211 | ||
| Jack Nicklaus |
73-67-71=211 | ||
| Craig Stadler |
72-70-69=211 |
Amateurs: Sigel (+5)
Final round
editSunday, 20 July 1980
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Watson |
68-70-64-69=271 | −13 | 25,000 |
| 2 | Lee Trevino |
68-67-71-69=275 | −9 | 17,500 |
| 3 | Ben Crenshaw |
70-70-68-69=277 | −7 | 13,500 |
| T4 | Carl Mason |
72-69-70-69=280 | −4 | 9,250 |
| Jack Nicklaus |
73-67-71-69=280 | |||
| T6 | Andy Bean |
71-69-70-72=282 | −2 | 7,250 |
| Ken Brown |
70-68-68-76=282 | |||
| Hubert Green |
77-69-64-72=282 | |||
| Craig Stadler |
72-70-69-71=282 | |||
| T10 | Gil Morgan |
70-70-71-72=283 | −1 | 5,750 |
| Jack Newton |
69-71-73-70=283 |
Source:[6]
- Amateurs: Sigel (+7)
- The exchange rate at the time was approximately 2.37 dollars (US) per pound sterling.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 56, 203. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ "Watson wants the ones he hasn't won yet". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. 21 July 1980. p. 1C.
- ^ Jenkins, Dan (28 July 1980). "Elementary at least for Watson". Sports Illustrated. p. 22. Archived from the original on 19 January 2013.
- ^ "It's Watson in waltz to British Open title". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. 21 July 1980. p. 1-part 2.
- ^ "Watson earns emotional win at Muirfield". The Palm Beach Post. wire services. 21 July 1980. p. B3.
- ^ "1980 Open Championship results". databasegolf.com. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ "British Pound / US Dollar Historical Reference Rates from Bank of England for 1980". PoundSterling. July 1980. Retrieved 18 July 2024.