Open Championship winners at St Andrews Old Course 1957 to 2015

St Andrews Old Golf Course – The Open Championship on St Andrews Old Course

The Open is generally held at St Andrews every five years which is typically more frequent than at others courses on the rota. The 150^th Open has been delayed a year because of Covid 19. It is due to take place in 1922.

86th Open 1957 – Bobby Locke South Africa - The Championship of 1957 had been programmed to take place at Muirfield. However with the Suez Crisis leading to temporary rationing of petrol and oil, it was decided that St Andrews, still served by a railway line at the time, was an easier venue for players and spectators to reach. Bobby Locke was already a three time Champion Golfer when he teed it up in ‘The Open’. Locke won the Open title four times. He led almost from start to finish scoring 278. Locke had been second and fourth in the previous two Opens at the ‘Home of Golf’ and made sure he would not suffer another near-miss as he beat Thomson by three strokes. He survived a possible disqualification when he marked his ball on the 72nd green moving it two putter heads from his fellow competitors line. When he replaced his ball he failed to put it in the correct place. The Royal and Ancient decided that because he had a three shot lead and did not gain an advantage. In the spirit of the game, he should not be disqualified. The winner's share was £1,000.

89th Open 1960 - Kel Nagle Australia -  The star attraction of The 89^th and Century Open was certainly Arnold Palmer who was competing in the Championship for the first time. Palmer’s appearance had a significant impact in raising the global profile of the tournament and he would go on to triumph in each of the next two years. At St Andrews the popular American was bested by a shock Champion Kel Nagle. The contest was marred by a cloudburst late on the third day. Manhole covers were thrown up, water was everywhere and the ‘Valley of Sin’ was flooded. Nagle scored 69, 67 and 71 which put him in  a strong position. Because of the flooding the final round was delayed a day. Nagle held his nerve despite a characteristic final round charge from Palmer, scoring another 71. Palmers 68  left him in second place by one shot. The winner's share was £1,250.

93rd Open 1964 - Tony Lema U.S.A.  – This tournament came at the perfect time for Tony Lema, who was in the form of his life. He made his first trip to Great Britain having won three times in the space of four weeks on the PGA Tour in June. Arnold Palmer did not play and the guidance of his previous caddie Tip Anderson proved invaluable for Lema. He became only the seventh player to win ‘The Open’. on his debut.

Tip said that Lema was the most accurate driver of a golf ball that he had ever served. This was ideal for St Andrews as he could place the ball on the given line from the caddie. He had never previously played links golf and was only able to manage nine holes of practice. He had  arrived just 36 hours ahead of the Championship. On the final hole of the fourth round he was left 50 to 60 yards from the pin and the crowd expected a full pitch. Instead he played a low running shot to the green as if he had played St Andrews many times. The American’s winning streak continued at St Andrews as he beat Jack Nicklaus by five strokes and his winner's share was £1,500. Tragically, he would only play in golf’s original Championship on two further occasions before dying in a plane crash in 1966 at the age of 32.

99th Open 1970 -  Jack Nicklaus U.S.A. – The most famous putt is that of Doug Sanders in 1970. He made a disastrous putt on the final green. He had pitched to the green with his second and needed two putts to win the Claret Jug. His tricky downhill putt was left about 2.5 feet short. He then needed to make the short putt to win the Claret Jug. Nicklaus looked set to finish second again as Doug Sanders lined up the short putt for victory on the 72nd hole. He then missed the putt and was tied with Jack Nicklous for a playoff which was played in a very strong wind. When Sanders famously missed Nicklaus threw his putter skywards in celebration. Nicklaus had already won seven majors including the 1966 Open at Muirfield, when he headed to St Andrews in 1970. He was seeking to improve on his runner-up finish at the venue six years earlier. The next day he won the 18-hole play-off. It was his second Open title and eighth overall major, the winner's share was £5,250.

107th Open 1978 -  Jack Nicklaus U.S.A. -  Nicklaus won again over the Old Course in 1978 ending a three year spell in the doldrums. He was pressed by a young New Zealand golfer Simon Owen but he overshot the 16^th green ending his challenge. Nicklaus came from four behind at the halfway stage with successive 69s over the weekend and a winning two stroke lead. The runners up were three Americans Raymond Floyd, Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw. He had completed the career Grand Slam (winning all four majors in your career at least once) for the third time making it his third Open Championship. The winner's share was £12,500. 

113th Open - 1984 Seve Ballesteros Spain - When Seve Ballesteros won the 1984 Open at St. Andrews Old Course he led the most  star studded first page of a leader board to be seen so far at a major. Bernhard Langer and Tom Watson tied for second and were followed by Fred Couples, Lanny Wadkins, Nick Faldo, and Greg Norman. Two of Seve’s three Open wins came at Royal Lytham & St Anne’s, but his most famous triumph came at the Home of Golf in 1984. Tom Watson had won five of the last nine Opens including each of the last two and was well positioned as the final groups reached the back nine. Ian Baker-Finch had led early on and was joint leader. His approach on the first spun back into the Swiken Burn and a poor 79 left him well out of contention. Watson and Langer were in contention but Watson failed at the Road hole. Nothing was going to stop Seve from achieving his moment of glory. He birdied the last and celebrated with vigour which further endeared him to the British crowds. The leader board showed that he had beaten many of the best players Bernhard Langer, Tom Watson, Fred Couples, Lanny Wadkins, Nick Faldo, and Greg Norman, a truly  epic final round at St Andrews. Ballesteros won by two shots and his winner's share was £50,000. In the years that have passed you can be sure that thousands of visitors to the Old Course have had Seve in their mind upon reaching the final green. Before the Open there was a ceremony at St Andrews University where Jack Nicklaus was made an Honorary  Doctor of Law for his services to golf. He could then be known as Doctor Jack Nicklaus.

119th Open 1990 -  Nick Faldo England -  Harry Vardon is the only European to have won more majors than Sir Nick Faldo, who was simply unrelenting at St Andrews in the 119th Open. In fine weather there was a keen battle over the weekend in prospect with Greg Norman when both players raced to 12 under par through 36 holes. Faldo however took charge on Saturday with a round of took 67 to Norman’s poor 76, this opened up a five-stroke advantage over the field. Unprecedented crowds flocked to the Old Course for the final day. Unfortunately the crowd did get out of control when Faldo and his partner Ian Baker-Finch were on the final hole. A final putt gave Faldo a 71 and a record total score aggregate of 270. It won him his second of what would be three Open successes in just of five years. The runners up were Mark McNulty and Payne Stewart. He is the last Englishman to have lifted the Claret Jug when he won at Muirfield in 1992. Faldo set the Open championship scoring record shooting 18 under par, winning his second major of the year, his second Open Championship and his fourth overall major. The winner's share was £85,000.

124th Open 1995 - John Daly USA - John Daly’s remarkable powerful hitting  undoubtedly benefited him at St Andrews in 1995, but his victory in ‘The Open’ depended just as much to his splendid touch around the greens. He had been a surprise winner of the PGA Championship in 1991 having started as ninth reserve and not expecting to play. Daly took the clubhouse lead shooting 71 in the final round in windy conditions. He was in pole position for a second major win. Costantino Rocca duffed a chip before holing an astonishing putt from the Valley of Sin. It was an incredible birdie at the eighteenth which ensured a play off for the Italian. Daly was not to be denied and with his big hitting he dominated the additional holes to win by five shots and join the distinguished list of Open winners at the ‘Home of Golf’. This Open was noteworthy because it was the first that Tiger Woods played in, and also was the last for Arnold Palmer making his farewell to St Andrews. John Daly earned a cheque for £125,000.

129th Open 2000 - Tiger Woods USA - Tiger Woods has had a career with numerous  successes but the crowd at St Andrews witnessed one of his finest performances in 2000. He shot an outstanding 19 under par at St. Andrews, a tournament record at the time. He also completed a grand slam. Jack Nicklaus unfortunately fell foul of the  treacherous ‘Hells Bunker’ failing to escape many times and ending with 10 for the hole. Winning the 2000 Open was Tiger Woods's second consecutive major championship, making him the fifth golfer and the youngest to complete the career Grand Slam. Having won the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, he went on to complete the "Tiger Slam" by winning the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club and the 2001 Masters at Augusta National. Woods did not find a single one of the 112 bunkers during the whole tournament at St Andrews. He  won by eight strokes and the winner's share was £500,000.

134th Open 2005 - Tiger Woods USA - Tiger was a popular favourite following his excellent 2000 performance. He was triumphant again winning this time by five shots, when ‘The Open’ returned to St Andrews five years later. He next defended his crown at Royal Liverpool in 2006, ensuring his tally of Open wins matched the likes of Nicklaus, Ballesteros and Faldo. Tiger Woods led from start to finish for his tenth major title, he was five shots ahead of runner-up Colin Montgomerie. The win was Woods second Open Championship, both at St. Andrews, and completed his second career grand slam at age of 29. The tenth major and second slam were firsts for a player under the age of 30. At age 65, Jack Nicklaus made his final appearance at a major championship. Jack Nicklaus's like Arnold Palmer finished at the Old Course. This was also Tiger's 10th major championship and the fourth one he had won by five or more strokes, the winner's share was £720,000.

139th Open 2010  - Louis Oosthuizen South Africa -  Louis had finished second in major tournaments six times. However, he won his first major in truly forceful fashion, shooting a 16 under par 272 and winning by seven shots at St Andrews Old Course. He began his final round leading by four shots and then increased his lead as if celebrating the Birthday of Nelson Mandela. Oosthuizen was close again in 2015 at St Andrews when he finished normal play tied for the lead, only to lose to Zach Johnson in a play-off that also featured Marc Leishman. With such a fantastic record at St Andrews, the Champion Golfer of 2010 will surely be one to watch at ‘The 150th Open’ now scheduled for 2022. Oosthuizen played consistently well, and the winner's share was £850,000.

144th Open 2015 - Zach Johnson USA -  All eyes were on Jordan Spieth the last time ‘The Open’ was held at St Andrews, but it was another American who walked away with the Claret Jug. Spieth was pursuing the third leg of an exceptional calendar year Grand Slam and played impressively to finish on 14 under par. Johnson started three off the lead but worked his way into contention with six birdies in his first 10 holes and another with a lengthy putt for a three on the final green. This birdie at the last gained him a position in a three-way play-off with Leishman and Oosthuizen. In the 4 hole playoff  he made two more birdies and ultimately beat Oosthuizen by one. He was the sixth person after victory at Augusta to succeed at St Andrews, Johnson said: “I’m grateful, I’m humbled and I’m honoured.”  The final round was on Monday because of poor weather on earlier days. After four playoff holes he was the only player under par. He had triumphed under intense pressure to win the tournament. The winner's share was £1,150,000.