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)
 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. The championship is also well remembered for the one and only appearance of Maurice Flitcroft who posed as a professional to gain entry and carded a record 121 for his first round qualifier before being banned by the R&A.[7]

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, 7 July 1976

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
T1 Seve Ballesteros69−3
Christy O'Connor Jnr
Norio Suzuki
T4 Brian Barnes70−2
Tom Kite
Jack Newton
T7 Bill Brask71−1
John Fourie
Graham Marsh
T10 Bob Charles72E
Jan Dorrestein
Hubert Green
Johnny Miller
Gary Player

Second round

Thursday, 8 July 1976

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1 Seve Ballesteros69-69=138−6
2 Johnny Miller72-68=140−4
T3 Hubert Green72-70=142−2
Christy O'Connor Jnr69-73=142
T5 Brian Barnes70-73=143−1
Raymond Floyd76-67=143
Tommy Horton74-69=143
T8 George Burns75-69=144E
Carl Higgins77-67=144
Guy Hunt76-68=144
Tom Kite70-74=144
Graham Marsh71-73=144
Jack Newton70-74=144
Jack Nicklaus74-70=144
Jerry Pate73-71=144
Gary Player72-72=144
Norio Suzuki69-75=144

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

Third round

Friday, 9 July 1976

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1 Seve Ballesteros69-69-73=211−5
2 Johnny Miller72-68-73=213−3
3 Tommy Horton74-69-72=215−1
T4 Graham Marsh71-73-72=216E
Jack Nicklaus74-70-72=216
Raymond Floyd76-67-73=216
T7 Tom Kite70-74-73=217+1
Christy O'Connor Jnr69-73-75=217
T9 Bobby Cole75-71-72=218+2
Brian Barnes70-73-75=218

Source:[6]

Final round

Saturday, 10 July 1976

PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney (£)
1 Johnny Miller72-68-73-66=279−97,500
T2 Jack Nicklaus74-70-72-69=285−35,250
Seve Ballesteros69-69-73-74=285
4 Raymond Floyd76-67-73-70=286−23,800
T5 Mark James76-72-74-66=288E2,820
Hubert Green72-70-78-68=288
Tom Kite70-74-73-71=288
Christy O'Connor Jnr69-73-75-71=288
Tommy Horton74-69-72-73=288
T10 George Burns75-69-75-70=289+11,975
Peter Butler74-72-73-70=289
Vicente Fernández79-71-69-70=289
Norio Suzuki69-75-75-70=289

Source:[4][8]

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+1E−1−1−1−2−3
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. @ajcdeane (21 February 2021). "Maurice's memoirs remain tragically..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. "1976 Open Championship results". databasegolf.com. Retrieved 4 July 2012.

53.622°N 3.033°W / 53.622; -3.033

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