1970 Open Championship
Tournament information | |
---|---|
Dates | 8–12 July 1970 |
Location | St Andrews, Scotland |
Course(s) | Old Course at St Andrews |
Statistics | |
Par | 72[1] |
Length | 6,951 yards (6,356 m)[1] |
Field |
134 players 80 after 1st cut 57 after 2nd cut[1] |
Cut |
149 (+5) (1st cut) 223 (+7) (2nd cut)[1] |
Prize fund |
₤40,000 $96,000 |
Winner's share |
₤5,250 $12,600 |
Champion | |
![]() | |
283 (−5), playoff | |
«1969 1971» |


The 1970 Open Championship was the 99th Open Championship, played 8–12 July at the Old Course at St Andrews in St Andrews, Scotland. Jack Nicklaus won the second of his three Opens in an 18-hole Sunday playoff over Doug Sanders, 72 to 73.[2] In gusty winds during the fourth round on Saturday, Sanders saved par from the Road Hole bunker and led by one heading to the 72nd hole. After a lengthy drive on the short par-4, he took four shots from just 74 yards (68 m) and missed a downhill putt for par from 3 feet to win.[3][4]
This was the first playoff at The Open since 1963 and the first at 18 holes. The previous playoffs were 36 holes on Saturday. Prior to 1966, the final two rounds of The Open were played on Friday. The playoff format was changed again to the four-hole aggregate after the 1985 Open, first used in 1989.
Past champions in the field
Made both cuts
Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jack Nicklaus | ![]() | 1966 | 68 | 69 | 73 | 73 | 283 | −5 | 1 |
Tony Jacklin | ![]() | 1969 | 67 | 70 | 72 | 77 | 286 | −2 | 5 |
Peter Thomson | ![]() | 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1965 | 68 | 74 | 73 | 74 | 289 | +1 | T9 |
Arnold Palmer | ![]() | 1961, 1962 | 68 | 72 | 76 | 74 | 290 | +2 | 12 |
Bob Charles | ![]() | 1963 | 72 | 73 | 73 | 74 | 292 | +4 | T13 |
Roberto De Vicenzo | ![]() | 1967 | 71 | 76 | 71 | 75 | 293 | +5 | T17 |
Kel Nagle | ![]() | 1960 | 71 | 74 | 73 | 79 | 297 | +9 | T32 |
Missed the second cut
Player | Country | Years won | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gary Player | ![]() | 1959, 1968 | 74 | 75 | 75 | 224 | +8 |
Missed the first cut
Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | Total | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Max Faulkner | ![]() | 1951 | 74 | 76 | 150 | +6 |
Bobby Locke | ![]() | 1949, 1950, 1952, 1957 | 77 | 81 | 158 | +14 |
Denny Shute | ![]() | 1933 | 82 | 78 | 160 | +16 |
Fred Daly | ![]() | 1947 | 80 | 85 | 165 | +21 |
Gene Sarazen | ![]() | 1932 | 81 | 85 | 166 | +22 |
Round summaries
First round
Wednesday, 8 July 1970
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Neil Coles | ![]() | 65 | −7 |
2 | Tommy Horton | ![]() | 66 | −6 |
T3 | Maurice Bembridge | ![]() | 67 | −5 |
Harold Henning | ![]() | |||
Tony Jacklin | ![]() | |||
Florentino Molina | ![]() | |||
John Richardson | ![]() | |||
T8 | Tommy Aaron | ![]() | 68 | −4 |
Brian Huggett | ![]() | |||
Jack Nicklaus | ![]() | |||
Arnold Palmer | ![]() | |||
Doug Sanders | ![]() | |||
Peter Thomson | ![]() | |||
Lee Trevino | ![]() | |||
Guy Wolstenholme | ![]() |
Second round
Thursday, 9 July 1970
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lee Trevino | ![]() | 68-68=136 | −8 |
T2 | Tony Jacklin | ![]() | 67-70=137 | −7 |
Jack Nicklaus | ![]() | 68-69=137 | ||
T4 | Clive Clark | ![]() | 69-70=139 | −5 |
Neil Coles | ![]() | 65-74=139 | ||
Harold Henning | ![]() | 67-72=139 | ||
Tommy Horton | ![]() | 66-73=139 | ||
John Richardson | ![]() | 67-72=139 | ||
Doug Sanders | ![]() | 68-71=139 | ||
T10 | Christy O'Connor Snr | ![]() | 72-68=140 | −4 |
Arnold Palmer | ![]() | 68-72=140 |
Amateurs: Melnyk (-1), Bonallack (+1), Humphreys (+2), George (+2), Webster (+5),
MacDonald (+7), Berry (+8), Steel (+10), Mosey (+11), Sumner (+11), Sweeny Jr (+11), Farmer (+14).
Third round
Friday, 10 July 1970
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lee Trevino | ![]() | 68-68-72=208 | −8 |
T2 | Tony Jacklin | ![]() | 67-70-73=210 | −6 |
Jack Nicklaus | ![]() | 68-69-73=210 | ||
Doug Sanders | ![]() | 68-71-71=210 | ||
T5 | Neil Coles | ![]() | 65-74-72=211 | −5 |
Peter Oosterhuis | ![]() | 73-69-69=211 | ||
7 | Harold Henning | ![]() | 67-72-73=212 | −4 |
T8 | Tommy Horton | ![]() | 66-73-75=214 | −2 |
Hugh Jackson | ![]() | 69-72-73=214 | ||
Christy O'Connor Snr | ![]() | 72-68-74=214 |
Amateurs: Melnyk (+3), Humphreys (+6), Bonallack (+8), George (+9), Webster (+11).
Final round
Saturday, 11 July 1970
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money (₤) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
T1 | Jack Nicklaus | ![]() | 68-69-73-73=283 | −5 | Playoff |
Doug Sanders | ![]() | 68-71-71-73=283 | |||
T3 | Harold Henning | ![]() | 67-72-73-73=285 | −3 | 2,750 |
Lee Trevino | ![]() | 68-68-72-77=285 | |||
5 | Tony Jacklin | ![]() | 67-70-73-76=286 | −2 | 2,200 |
T6 | Neil Coles | ![]() | 65-74-72-76=287 | −1 | 1,750 |
Peter Oosterhuis | ![]() | 73-69-69-76=287 | |||
8 | Hugh Jackson | ![]() | 69-72-73-74=288 | E | 1,400 |
T9 | Tommy Horton | ![]() | 66-73-75-75=289 | +1 | 1,200 |
John Panton | ![]() | 72-73-73-71=289 | |||
Peter Thomson | ![]() | 68-74-73-74=289 |
Amateurs: Melnyk (+10), Humphreys (+13).
Source:[5]
Playoff
Sunday, 12 July 1970
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money (£) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jack Nicklaus | ![]() | 72 | E | 5,250 |
2 | Doug Sanders | ![]() | 73 | +1 | 3,750 |

References
- 1 2 3 4 "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 66, 203. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
- ↑ "Nicklaus tops Sanders, wins British title". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. 13 July 1970. p. 3B.
- ↑ "Sanders, Nicklaus tie for golf title". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. 12 July 1970. p. 4B.
- ↑ Jenkins, Dan (20 July 1970). "Virtue in the Valley of Sin". Sports Illustrated. p. 12.
- ↑ "1970 Open Championship results". databasegolf.com. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
External links
Coordinates: 56°20′36″N 2°48′10″W / 56.3433°N 2.8028°W