1978 British Open Winner and Scores
The 1978 British Open was the 107th time the tournament was played, and it was the year of Jack Nicklaus' final victory in this major. Nicklaus won this tournament the way he won so many: by hanging around the lead, then holding his nerve while other contenders were losing theirs in the final round.
Winner: Jack Nicklaus, 281
Where it was played: The Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland
Tournament dates: July 12-15, 1978
Leader after first round: Isao Aoki, 68
Leader after second round: Seve Ballesteros, Ben Crenshaw and Isao Aoki, 139
Leader after third round: Peter Oosterhuis and Tom Watson, 211
What Happened at the 1978 Open Championship
Jack Nicklaus completed the career Grand Slam for the third time — with this victory, he had at least three wins in each of the majors — by winning the 1978 British Open. It was also his second win on The Old Course at St. Andrews, following his 1970 British Open triumph.Nicklaus, aiming for his first win in a major championship since 1975, began the final round one stroke behind co-leaders Tom Watson and Peter Oosterhuis. But neither Watson (who shot 76) nor Oosterhuis (73) figured in the end game. Watson, the defending champ, fell away with a front-nine stretch of four consecutive bogeys.
Nicklaus was paired with Simon Owen, and the championship came down to the two of them. Owen led by one following a chip-in birdie on the 15th hole. But Nicklaus reclaimed the lead after a two-shot swing on the 16th: The Bear birdied, while Owen three-putted for bogey. Nicklaus gained another stroke on the 17th and sealed the win, his 15th career victory in a professional major and his 67th career win on the PGA Tour.
Owen finished tied for second place, two behind Nicklaus. Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite and Raymond Floyd also tied for second. Owen made the cut in only four majors total in his career, and this was his only Top 10 finish.
Nick Faldo recorded his first Top 10 finish in an Open Championship or any other major at the 1978 British Open, finishing tied for seventh. It was the third appearance in the Open for Faldo, who went on to win the championship three times. And Greg Norman, a future 2-time British Open winner, made his first cut in a major here, tying for 29th. Bobby Locke, who won the Open four times from 1949 to 1957, missed the cut in his final appearance in a major.
1978 British Open Final Scores
| Jack Nicklaus | 71-72-69-69—281 |
| Ben Crenshaw | 70-69-73-71—283 |
| Ray Floyd | 69-75-71-68—283 |
| Tom Kite | 72-69-72-70—283 |
| Simon Owen | 70-75-67-71—283 |
| Peter Oosterhuis | 72-70-69-73—284 |
| Isao Aoki | 68-71-73-73—285 |
| Nick Faldo | 71-72-70-72—285 |
| John Schroeder | 74-69-70-72—285 |
| Bob Shearer | 71-69-74-71—285 |
| Michael Cahill | 71-72-75-68—286 |
| Dale Hayes | 74-70-71-71—286 |
| Orville Moody | 73-69-74-70—286 |
| Mark Hayes | 70-75-75-67—287 |
| Jumbo Ozaki | 72-69-75-71—287 |
| Tom Watson | 73-68-70-76—287 |
| Seve Ballesteros | 69-70-76-73—288 |
| Bob Byman | 72-69-74-73—288 |
| Guy Hunt | 71-73-71-73—288 |
| Tommy Nakajima | 70-71-76-71—288 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 69-72-72-75—288 |
| Bernard Gallacher | 72-71-76-70—289 |
| Nick Job | 73-75-68-73—289 |
| Antonio Garrido | 73-71-76-70—290 |
| Hale Irwin | 75-71-76-68—290 |
| Carl Mason | 70-74-72-74—290 |
| Jack Newton | 69-76-71-74—290 |
| Peter Thomson | 72-70-72-76—290 |
| Tienie Britz | 73-74-72-72—291 |
| Hubert Green | 78-70-67-76—291 |
| John Morgan | 74-68-77-72—291 |
| Greg Norman | 72-73-74-72—291 |
| Lee Trevino | 75-72-73-71—291 |
| Brian Barnes | 71-74-75-72—292 |
| Ken Brown | 73-72-71-76—292 |
| Garry Cullen | 73-67-79-73—292 |
| Arnold Palmer | 71-71-75-75—292 |
| Gary Player | 74-71-76-71—292 |
| David Graham | 73-74-70-76—293 |
| Mike Krantz | 75-72-75-71—293 |
| a-Peter McEvoy | 71-74-76-72—293 |
| Nick Price | 74-73-74-72—293 |
| Guy Wolstenholme | 73-74-71-75—293 |
| Francisco Abreu | 73-73-76-72—294 |
| Manuel Ballesteros | 73-71-74-76—294 |
| Howard Clark | 70-75-73-76—294 |
| a-Mike Miller | 70-74-74-76—294 |
| Andy Bean | 72-76-72-75—295 |
| a-Allan Brodie | 73-72-75-75—295 |
| Bob Charles | 73-70-79-73—295 |
| Neil Coles | 71-73-73-78—295 |
| John Bland | 72-73-77-74—296 |
| Rodger Davis | 73-72-73-78—296 |
| David Good | 75-73-74-74—296 |
| Simon Hobday | 73-71-77-75—296 |
| Bill Longmuir | 75-71-75-75—296 |
| Vaughan Somers | 72-72-76-76—296 |
| Rocky Thompson | 73-73-76-74—296 |
| Peter Butler | 71-74-75-77—297 |
| a-Geoff Godwin | 74-73-75-76—298 |
| Bob Wynn | 73-72-76-77—298 |
| Peter Dawson | 75-72-75-77—299 |
| Ewen Murray | 76-70-76-78—300 |
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