1972 Open Championship


The 1972 Open Championship was the 101st Open Championship, held 12–15 July at Muirfield Golf Links in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. Lee Trevino won his second straight Claret Jug, the first to successfully defend his title since Arnold Palmer in 1962. Trevino finished one stroke ahead of runner-up Jack Nicklaus, ending his bid for the Grand Slam. Nicklaus had won the first two majors in 1972 and was the odds-on favorite at Muirfield, where he won his first Open in 1966. He also held the PGA Championship title from February 1971; a win at Muirfield and he would become the first to hold all four major titles at once.
Six strokes back at even-par after 54 holes, Nicklaus shot a final round 66 on Saturday to tie the course record, but played the final three holes at one-over par. Trevino posted his own 66 in the third round and held on with an even-par 71, which included a chip-in for par at 17, to gain the fourth of his six major titles.
It was the third of four times that Nicklaus was a runner-up to Trevino in a major championship.
Trevino's win concluded a stretch where American-born golfers won eight consecutive major championship. This is the fourth-longest stretch in history for American-born golfers after stretches that ended at the 1930 Open Championship, 1947 U.S. Open, and the 1977 PGA Championship.
Thirty years later, Tiger Woods became the first since Nicklaus to win the first two major tournaments of the year. His bid for a Grand Slam in 2002 also ended at Muirfield.

Past champions in the field

Made both cuts

Missed the first cut

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, 12 July 1972
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Peter Tupling68−3
2Tony Jacklin69−2
T3Frank Beard70−1
T3Craig Defoy70−1
T3Dave Marr70−1
T3Jack Nicklaus70−1
T3Peter Townsend70−1
T8Brian Barnes71E
T8John Garner71E
T8Antonio Garrido71E
T8Gary Player71E
T8Doug Sanders71E
T8Peter Thomson71E
T8Lee Trevino71E

Second round

Thursday, 13 July 1972
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Tony Jacklin69-72=141−1
T1Lee Trevino71-70=141−1
T3John Garner71-71=142E
T3Johnny Miller76-66=142E
T3Jack Nicklaus70-72=142E
T3Gary Player71-71=142E
T3Doug Sanders71-71=142E
T3Peter Townsend70-72=142E
T3Peter Tupling68-74=142E
T10Brian Barnes71-72=143+1
T10Clive Clark72-71=143+1
T10Peter Thomson71-72=143+1

Amateurs: Foster, Mosey, Revell, Stephen , Campbell, Homer, Gradwell, Elson, Bonallack, Clark, Berry, Gray.

Third round

Friday, 14 July 1972
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Lee Trevino71-70-66=207−6
2Tony Jacklin69-72-67=208−5
3Doug Sanders71-71-69=211−2
4Brian Barnes71-72-69=212−1
5Jack Nicklaus70-72-71=213E
T6Guy Hunt75-72-67=214+1
T6Johnny Miller76-66-72=214+1
T8Dave Marr70-74-71=215+2
T8Arnold Palmer73-73-69=215+2
T8Peter Tupling68-74-73=215+2

Amateurs: Foster, Mosey, Stephen, Revell.

Final round

Saturday, 15 July 1972
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
1Lee Trevino71-70-66-71=278−65,500
2Jack Nicklaus70-72-71-66=279−54,000
3Tony Jacklin69-72-67-72=280−43,250
4Doug Sanders71-71-69-70=281−32,750
5Brian Barnes71-72-69-71=283−12,450
6Gary Player71-71-76-67=285+12,150
T7Guy Hunt75-72-67-72=286+21,663
T7Arnold Palmer73-73-69-71=286+21,663
T7David Vaughan74-73-70-69=286+21,663
T7Tom Weiskopf73-74-70-69=286+21,663

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