1964 Open Championship
The 1964 Open Championship was the 93rd Open Championship, played 8–10 July at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. Tony Lema won his only major championship, five strokes ahead of runner-up Jack Nicklaus. He led by seven strokes after 54 holes and shot a final round 70. Neither had played the Old Course before and Lema had never played in Britain; he gave much of the credit for his victory to his caddy, Tip Anderson. It was Lema's fourth victory in six weeks; he won three events on the PGA Tour in June. Nicklaus equaled the course record with a 66 in the third round.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 8–10 July 1964 |
| Location | St Andrews, Scotland |
| Course(s) | Old Course at St Andrews |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 6,926 yards (6,333 m) |
| Field | 120 players, 45 after cut |
| Cut | 153 (+9) |
| Prize fund | £8,500 $23,800 |
| Winner's share | £1,500 $4,200 |
| Champion | |
| Tony Lema | |
| 279 (−9) | |
The PGA Championship was played the next week in Columbus, Ohio, one of five times in the 1960s that these two majors were played in consecutive weeks in July.
Lema played in two more Opens; two weeks after competing in 1966 at Muirfield, he and his pregnant wife were killed in a plane crash near Chicago.