1977 Open Championship
The 1977 Open Championship was the 106th Open Championship, held 6–9 July on the Ailsa Course at Turnberry, Scotland. Tom Watson won the second of his five Open titles by one stroke over runner-up Jack Nicklaus. The two played together in the final two rounds and had separated themselves from the field under clear skies, leading this Open to be remembered as the "Duel in the Sun." This was the first Open held at Turnberry, which renamed its 18th hole after the duel. Three months earlier, Watson had held off Nicklaus to win his first green jacket at the Masters.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 6–9 July 1977 |
| Location | Ayrshire, Scotland |
| Course(s) | Ailsa Course, Turnberry |
| Tour(s) | European Tour PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 70 |
| Length | 6,875 yards (6,286 m) |
| Field | 156 players 87 after 1st cut 64 after 2nd cut |
| Cut | 150 (+10) (1st cut) 221 (+11) (2nd cut) |
| Prize fund | £100,000 $170,000 |
| Winner's share | £10,000 $17,000 |
| Champion | |
| Tom Watson | |
| 268 (−12) | |
In the second round, Mark Hayes rebounded from his opening 76 (+6) with 63 to establish a new single round record at The Open Championship by two strokes. The previous record of 65 was set by Henry Cotton in the second round in 1934 at Royal St. George's and later equaled by nine others. Lightning briefly interrupted play in the third round on Friday.
Americans dominated the final leaderboard, filling the top eight spots and eleven of the first twelve. The first page of the leaderboard was loaded with future members of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
The leader after 36 holes, Roger Maltbie, finished with 80 for 289 (+9), in a tie for 26th place.
The previous year, Watson was defending champion, but missed the 54-hole cut after an 80 in the third round, while Nicklaus finished in a tie for second.