1963 British Open: Lefty Kiwi Wins It
Winner: Bob Charles, 277
Where it was played: Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club in Lytham St. Annes, England
Tournament dates: July 10-13, 1963
Leader after first round: Peter Thomson and Phil Rodgers, 67
Leader after second round: Phil Rodgers, 135
Leader after third round: Bob Charles, 206
Notable Notes: Bob Charles and Phil Rodgers shot 71 and 69 respectively, tying after 72 holes (with Jack Nicklaus one shot behind). That required a playoff, and in 1963 the British Open playoff format was 36 holes. Charles took a 3-stroke lead after the first 18 holes of the playoff, then pulled away over the second 18, eventually winning by eight shots (140 to 148). Charles was the first left-handed golfer to win a major championship.
Final Scores
Bob Charles | 68-72-66-71—277 |
Phil Rodgers | 67-68-73-69—277 |
Jack Nicklaus | 71-67-70-70—278 |
Kel Nagle | 69-70-73-71—283 |
Peter Thomson | 67-69-71-78—285 |
Christy O'Connor Sr. | 74-68-76-68—286 |
Gary Player | 75-70-72-70—287 |
Ramon Sota | 69-73-73-72—287 |
Jean Garaialde | 72-69-72-75—288 |
Sebastian Miguel | 73-69-73-73—288 |
Bernard Hunt | 72-71-73-73—289 |
Alex King | 71-73-73-72—289 |
Sewsunker Sewgolum | 71-74-73-72—290 |
Brian Allen | 75-71-71-74—291 |
Brian Huggett | 73-74-70-74—291 |
Hugh Lewis | 71-77-69-74—291 |
Ian MacDonald | 71-71-74-75—291 |
Peter Alliss | 71-74-77-70—292 |
Frank Phillips | 70-73-75-74—292 |
Neil Coles | 73-75-72-73—293 |
Max Faulkner | 77-71-71-74—293 |
Harold Henning | 76-68-71-78—293 |
Malcolm Leeder | 76-73-74-70—293 |
John A. MacDonald | 73-75-75-70—293 |
Brian Wilkes | 70-77-74-72—293 |
Jimmy Hitchcock | 75-73-70-76—294 |
Arnold Palmer | 76-71-71-76—294 |
Doug Sewell | 75-72-73-74—294 |
Dave Thomas | 74-74-75-71—294 |
Ken Bousfield | 73-75-71-76—295 |
Tom Haliburton | 68-73-77-77—295 |
Tony Jacklin | 73-72-76-74—295 |
Bruce Devlin | 74-71-74-77—296 |
Denis Hutchinson | 74-71-74-77—296 |
Ted Large | 78-71-76-71—296 |
Fred Boobyer | 76-70-74-77—297 |
Stewart Davies | 76-69-79-73—297 |
Walter Godfrey | 75-74-75-73—297 |
Tony Grubb | 77-72-74-75—298 |
Geoffrey Hunt | 71-76-75-76—298 |
Lionel Platts | 74-75-78-71—298 |
Anthony Moore | 72-74-75-78—299 |
Dai Rees | 72-77-75-75—299 |
Donald Swaelens | 70-75-77-78—300 |
Robert Walker | 75-73-75-78—301 |
Hedley Muscroft | 72-77-81-75—305 |
Fred Bullock | 75-74-82-74—305 |