1974 Open Championship
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 10–13 July 1974 |
| Location | Lancashire, England |
| Course(s) | Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club |
| Tour(s) | European Tour PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 71[1] |
| Length | 6,822 yards (6,238 m)[1] |
| Field | 154 players 81 after 1st cut 60 after 2nd cut[1] |
| Cut | 156 (+14) (1st cut) 231 (+18) (2nd cut)[1] |
| Prize fund | £50,000[1] $120,000 |
| Winner's share | £5,500[1] $13,200 |
| Champion | |
| Gary Player | |
| 282 (−2) | |
St Annes
St Annes
The 1974 Open Championship was the 103rd Open Championship, held from 10 to 13 July at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lancashire, England. Gary Player won his third Open Championship, four strokes ahead of runner-up Peter Oosterhuis.[2][3] It was the eighth of his nine major titles and second of the year; he won the Masters in April.[4] In the other two majors in 1974, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship, Player had top ten finishes.
The use of the larger "American ball" (diameter 1.68 in, 42.67 mm) was made compulsory. In previous Opens, players could use the smaller "British ball" (1.62 in, 41.15 mm).[5][6][7]
Course layout
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yards | 206 | 436 | 458 | 393 | 212 | 486 | 551 | 394 | 162 | 3,298 | 334 | 542 | 201 | 339 | 445 | 468 | 356 | 453 | 386 | 3,524 | 6,822 |
| Par | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 35 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 71 |
Source:[8]
Previous lengths of the course for The Open Championship (since 1950):[1]
- 1969: 6,848 yards (6,262 m)
- 1963: 6,836 yards (6,251 m)
- 1958: 6,635 yards (6,067 m)
- 1952: 6,657 yards (6,087 m)
Round summaries
First round
Wednesday, 10 July 1974
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | John Morgan | 69 | −2 |
| Gary Player | |||
| T3 | Bobby Cole | 70 | −1 |
| Danny Edwards | |||
| T5 | Hubert Green | 71 | E |
| John O'Leary | |||
| Peter Oosterhuis | |||
| T8 | David Chillas | 72 | +1 |
| Neil Coles | |||
| Lu Liang-Huan | |||
| Johnny Miller | |||
| Tom Weiskopf |
Source:[9]
Second round
Thursday, 11 July 1974
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Player | 69-68=137 | −5 |
| T2 | Bobby Cole | 70-72=142 | E |
| Peter Oosterhuis | 71-71=142 | ||
| 4 | Danny Edwards | 70-73=143 | +1 |
| T5 | Lu Liang-Huan | 72-72=144 | +2 |
| John Morgan | 69-75=144 | ||
| Tom Weiskopf | 72-72=144 | ||
| 8 | Hubert Green | 71-74=145 | +3 |
| T9 | Al Geiberger | 76-70=146 | +4 |
| Noel Hunt | 73-73=146 | ||
| Jack Nicklaus | 74-72=146 |
Amateurs: Lyle (+10), James (+16), Clark (+21), Burch (+22), Homer (+23), Shaw (+31).
Third round
Friday, 12 July 1974
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Player | 69-68-75=212 | −1 |
| 2 | Peter Oosterhuis | 71-71-73=215 | +2 |
| 3 | Jack Nicklaus | 74-72-70=216 | +3 |
| 4 | Hubert Green | 71-74-72=217 | +4 |
| T5 | Bobby Cole | 70-72-76=218 | +5 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 72-72-74=218 | ||
| T7 | Danny Edwards | 70-73-76=219 | +6 |
| Lu Liang-Huan | 72-72-75=219 | ||
| T9 | Johnny Miller | 72-75-73=220 | +7 |
| John Morgan | 69-75-76=220 |
Source:[10]
Amateurs: Lyle (+23), James (+24).
Final round
Saturday, 13 July 1974
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Player | 69-68-75-70=282 | −2 | 5,500 |
| 2 | Peter Oosterhuis | 71-71-73-71=286 | +2 | 4,000 |
| 3 | Jack Nicklaus | 74-72-70-71=287 | +3 | 3,250 |
| 4 | Hubert Green | 71-74-72-71=288 | +4 | 2,750 |
| T5 | Danny Edwards | 70-73-76-73=292 | +8 | 2,300 |
| Lu Liang-Huan | 72-72-75-73=292 | |||
| T7 | Bobby Cole | 70-72-76-75=293 | +9 | 1,717 |
| Donald Swaelens | 77-73-74-69=293 | |||
| Tom Weiskopf | 72-72-74-75=293 | |||
| 10 | Johnny Miller | 72-75-73-74=294 | +10 | 1,500 |
- The exchange rate at the time was approximately 2.39 dollars (US) per pound sterling.[12]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 62, 203. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
- ^ Jenkins, Dan (22 July 1974). "Gary Player's Expo". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
- ^ a b "Player wins Open, sets sights on Jack". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. 14 July 1974. p. 1B.
- ^ "Player determined to be No. 1". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. 15 July 2012. p. 3, sec 2.
- ^ "R&A made bigger ball compulsory". The Times. 22 January 1974. p. 10.
- ^ Jacobs, Raymond (22 January 1974). "American-size ball compulsory in Open". Glasgow Herald. p. 4.
- ^ "Manufacturers criticize Open ball decision". Glasgow Herald. 23 January 1974. p. 4.
- ^ "Card of course". Glasgow Herald. 13 July 1974. p. 4.
- ^ Jacobs, Raymond (11 July 1974). "Unknown shares lead with Gary". Glasgow Herald. p. 4.
- ^ Jacobs, Raymond (13 July 1974). "Oosterhuis cuts the gap to three". Glasgow Herald. p. 4.
- ^ "1974 Open Championship results". databasegolf.com. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
- ^ "Foreign exchange". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 13 July 1974. p. 11.