1989 Open Championship

The 1989 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 118th Open Championship, held from 20 to 23 July at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland. Mark Calcavecchia won his only major championship in a playoff over Greg Norman and Wayne Grady. It was the first playoff at the Open in fourteen years and the first use off the four-hole aggregate playoff, adopted in 1985. The playoff was formerly 18 holes the following day (and 36 holes prior to 1964). Calcavecchia was the first American champion at The Open in six years. Norman shot a course record 64 (−8) in the final round to get into the playoff. In the playoff, over holes 1-2-17-18 of the course, Norman started off in the same form he had finished the main round, with birdies at the first two holes. Calcavecchia also scored a birdie at the second, Grady only making par at both: but at the short 17th, Calcavecchia was the only one to make par while Norman dropped a shot, back into a tie for the lead, and Grady also bogeyed it to be two shots behind. Then Calcavecchia made a birdie at the last, and Grady a regulation par, whereas Norman found two bunkers in succession and then mishit his third shot out of bounds, following which he picked up his ball and conceded without completing the hole, to drop behind Grady and accept third place.