1966 British Open: Nicklaus' First Claret Jug
The 1966 British Open was the 95th time the tournament was played. It was the first time the Golden Bear won it.
Winner: Jack Nicklaus, 282
Where it was played: Muirfield at Gullane, Scotland
Tournament dates: July 6-9, 1966
Leader after first round: Jack Nicklaus and Jimmy Hitchcock, 70
Leader after second round: Jack Nicklaus, 137
Leader after third round: Phil Rodgers, 210
Notable Notes: Jack Nicklaus had won each of the other three majors, but not yet the British Open. He checked off that box, however, here, completing the career grand slam. Nicklaus was the midway leader, but a third-round 75 dropped him to second place behind Phil Rodgers entering the final round. But in Round 4, it was Rodgers who fell, with a 76. Nicklaus' 70 was good for the 1-stroke victory.
Final Scores
| Jack Nicklaus | 70-67-75-70—282 |
| Doug Sanders | 71-70-72-70—283 |
| Dave Thomas | 72-73-69-69—283 |
| Bruce Devlin | 73-69-74-70—286 |
| Kel Nagle | 72-68-76-70—286 |
| Gary Player | 72-74-71-69—286 |
| Phil Rodgers | 74-66-70-76—286 |
| Dave Marr | 73-76-69-70—288 |
| Sebastian Miguel | 74-72-70-72—288 |
| Arnold Palmer | 73-72-69-74—288 |
| Peter Thomson | 73-75-69-71—288 |
| Dick Sikes | 73-72-73-72—290 |
| Harold Henning | 71-69-75-76—291 |
| Christy O'Connor Sr. | 73-72-74-72—291 |
| Julius Boros | 73-71-76-72—292 |
| Peter Butler | 73-65-80-75—293 |
| Alex Caygill | 72-71-73-77—293 |
| Jimmy Hitchcock | 70-77-74-72—293 |
| a-Ronnie Shade | 71-70-75-77—293 |
| Peter Alliss | 74-72-75-73—294 |
| Roberto De Vicenzo | 74-72-71-77—294 |
| Doug Sewell | 76-69-74-75—294 |
| Eric Brown | 78-72-71-74—295 |
| a-Peter Townsend | 73-75-72-75—295 |
| George Will | 74-75-73-73—295 |
| Keith MacDonald | 75-74-70-77—296 |
| a-Michael Bonallack | 73-76-75-73—297 |
| Denis Hutchinson | 74-73-73-77—297 |
| Bobby Stanton | 73-72-73-79—297 |
| Fred Boobyer | 72-76-77-73—298 |
| a-Bobby Cole | 73-75-73-77—298 |
| Christy Greene | 72-76-76-74—298 |
| Alan Henning | 73-73-74-78—298 |
| Tony Jacklin | 74-76-72-76—298 |
| Tony Lema | 71-76-76-75—298 |
| Dai Rees | 75-72-77-75—299 |
| Barry Franklin | 77-72-79-72—300 |
| Richardo Bernardini | 76-73-73-78—300 |
| Bob Charles | 74-74-77-75—300 |
| David Snell | 73-75-76-76—300 |
| Guy Wolstenholme | 73-76-73-78—300 |
| Cyril Pennington | 74-75-76-76—301 |
| Jock Burns | 76-73-76-77—302 |
| Brian Huggett | 76-73-80-73—302 |
| Hedley Muscroft | 73-75-79-75—302 |
| Bobby Walker | 74-72-76-80—302 |
| Malcolm Gregson | 79-71-74-79—303 |
| Eric Lester | 74-76-74-79—303 |
| George Low | 75-72-79-77—303 |
| Gordon Cunningham | 75-75-76-79—305 |
| John Panton | 78-72-81-74—305 |
| Craig Defoy | 76-73-79-78—306 |
| Vid Miller | 73-77-78-78—306 |
| Frank Rennie | 74-75-81-76—306 |
| Reg Knight | 77-73-77-80—307 |
| Lionel Platts | 74-74-78-81—307 |
| Sandy Wilson | 76-74-76-81—307 |
| Tony Coop | 74-76-79-79—308 |
| Tony Grubb | 79-70-84-76—309 |
| John Carter | 72-77-85-77—311 |
| Bill Hector | 76-72-78-85—311 |
| Lew Taylor | 77-71-78-87—313 |
| Iain Clark | 77-70-86-82—315 |
