1970 Open Championship


The 1970 Open Championship was the 99th Open Championship, played 8–12 July at the Old Course 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. 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 and missed a downhill putt for par from three feet to win.
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.
A thunderstorm late in the opening round on Wednesday evening caused a suspension in play; it was competed early the next day.

Course

^ The 10th hole was posthumously named for Bobby Jones in 1972
Previous lengths of the course for The Open Championship :

Made both cuts

Missed the second cut

Missed the first cut

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, 8 July 1970
Thursday, 9 July 1970
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Neil Coles65−7
2Tommy Horton66−6
T3Maurice Bembridge67−5
T3Harold Henning67−5
T3Tony Jacklin67−5
T3Florentino Molina67−5
T3John Richardson67−5
T8Tommy Aaron68−4
T8Brian Huggett68−4
T8Jack Nicklaus68−4
T8Arnold Palmer68−4
T8Doug Sanders68−4
T8Peter Thomson68−4
T8Lee Trevino68−4
T8Guy Wolstenholme68−4

Source:

Second round

Thursday, 9 July 1970
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Lee Trevino68-68=136−8
T2Tony Jacklin67-70=137−7
T2Jack Nicklaus68-69=137−7
T4Clive Clark69-70=139−5
T4Neil Coles65-74=139−5
T4Harold Henning67-72=139−5
T4Tommy Horton66-73=139−5
T4John Richardson67-72=139−5
T4Doug Sanders68-71=139−5
T10Christy O'Connor Snr72-68=140−4
T10Arnold Palmer68-72=140−4

Source:
Amateurs: Melnyk, Bonallack, Humphreys, George, Webster ,
MacDonald, Berry, Steel, Mosey, Sumner, Sweeny Jr, Farmer

Third round

Friday, 10 July 1970
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Lee Trevino68-68-72=208−8
T2Tony Jacklin67-70-73=210−6
T2Jack Nicklaus68-69-73=210−6
T2Doug Sanders68-71-71=210−6
T5Neil Coles65-74-72=211−5
T5Peter Oosterhuis73-69-69=211−5
7Harold Henning67-72-73=212−4
T8Tommy Horton66-73-75=214−2
T8Hugh Jackson69-72-73=214−2
T8Christy O'Connor Snr72-68-74=214−2

Source:
Amateurs: Melnyk, Humphreys , Bonallack, George, Webster

Final round

Saturday, 11 July 1970
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
T1Jack Nicklaus68-69-73-73=283−5Playoff
T1Doug Sanders68-71-71-73=283−5Playoff
T3Harold Henning67-72-73-73=285−32,750
T3Lee Trevino68-68-72-77=285−32,750
5Tony Jacklin67-70-73-76=286−22,200
T6Neil Coles65-74-72-76=287−11,750
T6Peter Oosterhuis73-69-69-76=287−11,750
8Hugh Jackson69-72-73-74=288E1,400
T9Tommy Horton66-73-75-75=289+11,200
T9John Panton72-73-73-71=289+11,200
T9Peter Thomson68-74-73-74=289+11,200

Source:
Amateurs: Melnyk, Humphreys

Playoff

Sunday, 12 July 1970
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
1Jack Nicklaus72E5,250
2Doug Sanders73+13,750

Source: